thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Zohran Mamdani, the Everywhere Mayor
On your phone, on the street, on Taxi TV—you’ve been seeing New York’s new leader wherever you turn, whether you want to or not.
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- Thread starter thettctransitfanatic
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UtakataNoAnnex
Superstar
Does anyone know what their library funding kerfuffle was all about? Sounded like Zohran drop the ball on that issue...
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
''The preliminary budget released Tuesday keeps funding for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation essentially flat, at roughly half the 1% of the total budget Mamdani had pledged. At the same time, spending for the city’s library systems comes in below the 0.5% benchmark advocates sought and Mamdani endorsed on the campaign trail, landing at about 0.39% of the budget instead''.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Northern Light
Superstar
Important to note here, the new Mayor of NYC has been left with a giant budgetary hole that if not baled out in some fashion by the State will result in a tax hike of 9.5% or greater.
This seriously impairs his ability to deliver new spending, since it will potentially require a large tax hike just to maintain services, never mind enhance them.
He'll be expected to deliver at least some of his agenda items, but I expect they will be curtailed substantially in exchange for State largesse.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Inside Mamdani’s $21B housing pitch to Trump at Sunnyside Yard
The complex would be built on top of the Sunnyside train yard in Queens. The mayor hopes to secure a $21 billion federal grant to build it.
Inside Mamdani’s $21B housing pitch to Trump at Sunnyside Yard
- In a secret White House meeting, Mayor Zohran Mamdani pitched President Trump on securing more than $21 billion in federal grants to deck over Sunnyside Yard in Queens and build 12,000 affordable homes, the largest single housing project in NYC since 1973.
- The plan would construct a massive platform above the 180 acre Amtrak rail yard, creating space for thousands of apartments, 60 acres of public space, new schools, libraries, child care centers and health clinics.
- Because Sunnyside Yard is owned by Amtrak and serves roughly 780 trains daily, the project requires federal backing, making Trump’s support critical to unlocking what Mamdani calls a "once in a generation" housing investment.
What we know: At the center of the proposal is a plan to build a massive deck over the 180 acre rail yard, the busiest in North America, creating new land for housing, schools and public space. Mamdani is seeking more than $21 billion in federal grants to make it happen.
I did something that I am truly reluctant to do. I left New York City. I traveled down to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Trump in the Oval Office.
— NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani
"New York City is facing a generational affordability challenge," Mamdani said after the meeting. "Working families are being priced out of the neighborhoods they built. To meet this moment, we need a true federal partner prepared to invest boldly and act urgently."
Mayor Mamdani told the president the project would result in "more housing in any single project than our city has seen since 1973."
According to 6sqft, a master plan released by the city’s Economic Development Corporation in 2020 called for a $14.4 billion deck over roughly 80 percent of Sunnyside Yard.
Largest affordable housing development in 40 years
Why you should care:The platform would allow for 12,000 affordable apartments, split evenly between rentals for very low and extremely low income families and Mitchell Lama style homeownership units. If completed, it would be the largest affordable housing development built in New York City since Co-op City opened in the Bronx in 1973.
The President was interested in the idea, and I look forward to the ensuing conversations about how to build more housing in a city that doesn't have enough of it.
— NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani
The broader plan envisions 60 acres of new public space, 10 to 12 new schools, public libraries, child care centers and health care facilities, effectively creating an entirely new mixed-use community above active train tracks.
Sunnyside Yard is owned and operated by Amtrak and serves as a critical rail hub, with roughly 780 trains running through it daily along the Northeast Corridor and the Long Island Rail Road Main Line, as well as routes used by NJ Transit, according to 6sqft.
What's next:
Because the site is federally controlled, any redevelopment would require federal approval.
In a press release following the Oval Office meeting, Mayor Mamdani said he "underscored the city’s commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility and collaboration in deploying federal funds, ensuring every dollar delivers safe, affordable housing for New Yorkers."
He added that "both parties agreed to continue discussions" in the weeks ahead.
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thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
MAMDANI’S FIRST 100 DAYS: Mayor condemns U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as protests and celebrations erupt across city | amNewYork
Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 28-March 1, marked the 59th and 60th days of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100
www.amny.com
MAMDANI’S FIRST 100 DAYS: Mayor condemns U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as protests and celebrations erupt across city | amNewYork
Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 28-March 1, marked the 59th and 60th days of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100
www.amny.com
MAMDANI’S FIRST 100 DAYS: Mayor condemns U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as protests and celebrations erupt across city
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani maintained a light schedule this weekend, visiting with nurses on Saturday as they celebrated the end of their long strike with a trip to the bowling alley, and marching in the Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown on Sunday. But the weekend of celebrations was overshadowed by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which Mamdani strongly condemned as “an illegal war of aggression.” The strikes began on Feb. 28 and resulted in retaliatory air strikes from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard amid the reported death of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the nation for 37 years. More than 200 people have died in Iran due to the strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.Mayor Mamdani affirmed his solidarity with Iranian-Americans in New York City and wrote in a post on X that the attack marks “a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression.”
“Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace,” Mamdani wrote.
He also wrote that City Hall and the New York Police Department had begun taking “proactive steps” to protect New Yorkers’ safety following the attacks, “including increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations out of an abundance of caution.”
“Additionally, I want to speak directly to Iranian New Yorkers: you are part of the fabric of this city — you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders. You will be safe here,” Mayor Mamdani wrote.
Speaking to Pix11 on Saturday, Mayor Mamdani said that Americans “do not want another war in pursuit of regime change, we want an answer to the affordability crisis.”
“I may be a young mayor, but I am old enough to remember the devastating consequences of our country’s pursuit of regime change in the same region not that many years ago,” Mayor Mamdani said, referring to the United States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq under President George W. Bush.
Iranian state media began reporting on Saturday that Khamenei had been killed in the attack. President Donald Trump, Israel, and Iran all confirmed Khamenei’s killing.
Mayor Mamdani has long been critical of Trump’s foreign policy, condemning in January the U.S. strikes on Venezuela and the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Mamdani wants NYC to stop funding Adams' defense in lawsuit against him
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is moving to stop the city's representation of former Mayor Eric Adams in a sexual assault lawsuit.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Mamdani announces 15 mph ‘slow zones’ for more than 800 NYC schools
Zohran Mamdani pledged to lower speed limits outside all eligible schools citywide by the end of his first term.
www.chalkbeat.org
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
2 arrested after explosive device thrown at protest near Mayor Mamdani's house: NYPD
Jar filled with bolts was lit and thrown but did not explode, commissioner says
· Posted: Mar 08, 2026 4:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: March 8
New York City police said on Sunday a device that was ignited and thrown during protests outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani's home over the weekend was an explosive that could have caused serious injury or death.
The device, a jar filled with nuts, bolts and screws and wrapped in black tape with a fuse, was thrown by a counter-protester on Saturday outside Gracie Mansion, but it extinguished itself before any explosion, according to a statement from New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Two people were in custody, Tisch said.
The device was one of two that were thrown during the protests, which were led by two opposing groups, according to police. The second device was still being examined, Tisch said.
Far-right activist Jake Lang led a protest on Saturday outside Gracie Mansion in Manhattan — where Mamdani lives with his wife — against a purported Islamic "takeover" of New York City and against public prayer by Muslims. Tisch said at a press conference on Saturday that she did not believe Mamdani and his wife were home at the time.
In a statement on Sunday, Mamdani condemned Lang's protest but said the violence that followed it was more disturbing.
"Violence at a protest is never acceptable," Mamdani said. "The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are."
Lang's protest, which consisted of about 20 people, was opposed by a far larger counter-protest of 125 people aimed at running "Nazis" out of New York, Tisch said at a press conference on Saturday. Police said Emir Balat, 18, was among the counter-protesters before he lit and threw the device.
The device rolled near police before it extinguished itself, Tisch said on Saturday. Balat ran after throwing it and eventually lit and dropped a second device in the street, according to Tisch.
Balat and another man, whom police on Sunday identified as Ibrahim Kayumi, were arrested at the scene, Tisch said. New York police are working with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice on the investigation.
Tisch said on Saturday there was no immediate indication the incident was related to the U.S. attack on Iran, but that authorities were still investigating.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
The Gripes of Wrath: Inside NYC’s ‘Rental Ripoff’ Hearings
At Zohran Mamdani’s Bronx hearing, the mayor came for bad landlords, while NYCHA residents came for him, reports Josh Code.
www.thefp.com
Northern Light
Superstar
Inside Mamdani’s $21B housing pitch to Trump at Sunnyside Yard
The complex would be built on top of the Sunnyside train yard in Queens. The mayor hopes to secure a $21 billion federal grant to build it.www.fox5ny.com
Inside Mamdani’s $21B housing pitch to Trump at Sunnyside Yard
Last week, in a secret meeting at the White House, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pitched President Donald Trump on what he called a once in a generation housing investment that would transform Sunnyside Yard in Queens into a new neighborhood with 12,000 affordable homes.
- In a secret White House meeting, Mayor Zohran Mamdani pitched President Trump on securing more than $21 billion in federal grants to deck over Sunnyside Yard in Queens and build 12,000 affordable homes, the largest single housing project in NYC since 1973.
- The plan would construct a massive platform above the 180 acre Amtrak rail yard, creating space for thousands of apartments, 60 acres of public space, new schools, libraries, child care centers and health clinics.
- Because Sunnyside Yard is owned by Amtrak and serves roughly 780 trains daily, the project requires federal backing, making Trump’s support critical to unlocking what Mamdani calls a "once in a generation" housing investment.
What we know: At the center of the proposal is a plan to build a massive deck over the 180 acre rail yard, the busiest in North America, creating new land for housing, schools and public space. Mamdani is seeking more than $21 billion in federal grants to make it happen.
I did something that I am truly reluctant to do. I left New York City. I traveled down to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Trump in the Oval Office.
— NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani
"New York City is facing a generational affordability challenge," Mamdani said after the meeting. "Working families are being priced out of the neighborhoods they built. To meet this moment, we need a true federal partner prepared to invest boldly and act urgently."
Mayor Mamdani told the president the project would result in "more housing in any single project than our city has seen since 1973."
According to 6sqft, a master plan released by the city’s Economic Development Corporation in 2020 called for a $14.4 billion deck over roughly 80 percent of Sunnyside Yard.
Largest affordable housing development in 40 years
Why you should care:
The platform would allow for 12,000 affordable apartments, split evenly between rentals for very low and extremely low income families and Mitchell Lama style homeownership units. If completed, it would be the largest affordable housing development built in New York City since Co-op City opened in the Bronx in 1973.
The President was interested in the idea, and I look forward to the ensuing conversations about how to build more housing in a city that doesn't have enough of it.
— NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani
The broader plan envisions 60 acres of new public space, 10 to 12 new schools, public libraries, child care centers and health care facilities, effectively creating an entirely new mixed-use community above active train tracks.
Sunnyside Yard is owned and operated by Amtrak and serves as a critical rail hub, with roughly 780 trains running through it daily along the Northeast Corridor and the Long Island Rail Road Main Line, as well as routes used by NJ Transit, according to 6sqft.
What's next:
Because the site is federally controlled, any redevelopment would require federal approval.
In a press release following the Oval Office meeting, Mayor Mamdani said he "underscored the city’s commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility and collaboration in deploying federal funds, ensuring every dollar delivers safe, affordable housing for New Yorkers."
He added that "both parties agreed to continue discussions" in the weeks ahead.
Catching up on this.....my back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the deck alone puts you at close to 1.8m USD per unit. (25% more surface area than the 2020 report, plus construction inflation).
That's before the cost of amenities, and the units themselves...
We could easily be over 2.5M per unit, USD.
That'a a very expensive solution, and consider, up to 130,000 homeless in NYC. So this would address, ~10% of that need, maybe?
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Fatal LaGuardia crash has ‘shaken’ New Yorkers: Mayor Mamdani
New York City Mayor Mamdani says this is the first fatal crash at LaGuardia Airport in over 30 years.
www.ctvnews.ca
Fatal LaGuardia crash has ‘shaken’ New Yorkers: Mayor Mamdani
New York City Mayor Mamdani says this is the first fatal crash at LaGuardia Airport in over 30 years.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Mayor Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn announced that Saturday’s pothole repair blitz resulted in more than 7,000 pothole repairs across the city in one day. The five-borough effort was launched by the Mayor and Commissioner Flynn to repair potholes after a historic winter marked by record snowfall and sustained cold temperatures.
Since Mayor Mamdani took office, NYC DOT has fixed more than 50,000 potholes, with an average response time of around two days. Additional pothole blitzes are planned for later this spring. NYC DOT will resurface 1,150 miles of roadway this year, ensuring our streets remain safe for all New Yorkers.
“No problem too big, no task too small, no pothole too deep — this weekend, DOT crews went across all five boroughs filling over 7,000 potholes in a day-long blitz,” said Mayor Mamdani. “Repairing potholes is about more than simply ensuring a smooth ride for New Yorkers, it’s about making sure our streets are safe and accessible for everyone. I am extremely grateful to the hard-working people of the Department of Transportation who spent their Saturday improving our roads, and we will continue to use every tool available to make our streetscape and transit systems the envy of the world.”
“NYC DOT crews stepped up yesterday to fill almost a week's worth of potholes in a single day,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Flynn. “Now that the streets have thawed from a historic winter, we've ramped up our pothole-filling efforts and are beginning to fully repave streets across the five boroughs. This year, we'll repave more than 1,100 lane miles of streets — the best way to help ensure our streets are safe and smooth for all New Yorkers.”
Pothole season begins in New York City around the spring, when more potholes form on our roadways because of high-moisture, winter weather conditions and the cycle of freezing and thawing conditions.