Four challenges facing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdanni

On the first frigid day of winter 2026, surrounded by thousands of enthusiastic New Yorkers and progressive Democratic allies, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledged to tell a “new story of our city.”

“City Hall will deliver an agenda focused on security, affordability and abundance – where government looks and lives like the people it represents,” he told the crowd during his inaugural address.

It’s the same message that propelled the 34-year-old democratic socialist to an unexpected election victory in November. His speech to become the most expensive city in the United States included big changes, such as universal child care, free public buses and city-run grocery stores.

But the mayor will likely face several challenges in trying to keep these promises, and he will need to secure the support of other important political players – on his first full day in office.

“He will put all of his political and other muscle into getting these things accomplished,” said Patrick Egan, a professor of politics and public policy at New York University. But, he added, New York City is “a big city, it’s a complicated place, and so all bets are off as to whether these things can happen or not.”

Mamdani’s noble policy agenda has focused on cost-of-living issues, including freezing rent increases for subsidized housing and providing free, universal child care.

He will be able to achieve some of his policy goals on his own and without significant spending, government experts said. For example, if he wants to freeze rents for subsidized housing, he can appoint people aligned with that policy to the city’s rent control board.

But finding the funding to make other goals a reality when the state and city face budget shortfalls will prove complicated, government experts said.

“If he wants to provide free bus service and free child care, that kind of thing costs money,” said Robert Shapiro, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University. “The main obstacles to the things he would like to do are the state of New York, the financial capacity of the state and the political will of the governor.”

Mamdani said part of the funding would come from new taxes. He estimates that taxes on the wealthy could rise by up to $9bn (£6.6bn), with promises to increase the corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.5%.

But Mamdani needs the support of the state government to make tax changes.

The more moderate Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul supported him in the race last year as well as some of his affordability goals. But Hochul, who is making her own political calculations as she runs for office this year, has already indicated she may not support Mamdani’s broader tax plan.

In the weeks leading up to New York’s mayoral election, President Donald Trump used social media and press briefings to attack Mamdani, a rising Democratic star, as a “communist” mayor who threatened the future of America’s largest city.

Trump threatened to withhold billions in federal dollars from the city if Mamdani was elected.

But the first meeting between the future mayor and the president last November turned out to be much friendlier than expected. The two men frequently smiled at each other and shared praise, with Trump telling Mamdani that he was “confident he could do a really good job.”

However, the diametrically opposed political positions of the two politicians could lead to conflict if Mamdani takes charge of City Hall. Immigration can be a point of tension.

For now, New York has not been the target of Trump’s efforts to send National Guard troops, as he has done to Democratic-run cities across the United States in response to anti-immigration protests.

But the Trump administration has effectively stepped up immigration raids in New York as part of its crackdown efforts in several cities.

Meanwhile, the mayor promised in his victory speech that New York would “remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and…led by an immigrant.”

Mamdani’s shock victory in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary in June sent Wall Street executives into a frenzy.

Some business leaders have threatened to leave the city, while others have spent millions behind the scenes trying to rally support around other mayoral candidates.

But as Mamdani maintained his status as race favorite, some of those attitudes began to change. The current mayor has contacted his business opponents to hear their concerns.

Mamdani pledged to meet with executives, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who later said he would offer help if Mamdani was elected.

Mamdani also met real estate developer Jeffrey Gural, who described him as “gracious” and “intelligent.”

Yet Gural and others in the business community continue to express concerns that the 34-year-old lacks the experience to run the nation’s largest city — and that his plans to raise taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals will push some of them out of New York.

Mr. Egan said it remains to be seen whether a “spirit of cooperation” will persist between business leaders and Mamdani as the latter pursues an agenda that is ideologically at odds with some of their goals.

“Any New York City mayor needs the cooperation of business leaders, and especially finance and real estate, who play an important role here in New York,” he said.

As mayor, Mamdani will face an ongoing challenge for New York City leaders: fighting crime and maintaining a sense of safety for New Yorkers.

Like many major cities, New York has seen an increase in crime during the Covid pandemic, although by 2025 the rate of homicides and shootings in the city has fallen to a near-record low.

This drop in crime gives Mamdani “a little breathing room to think creatively” about public safety in New York, including improving social services and support, Mr. Egan said.

Mamdani promised to create a Ministry of Community Safety that would invest in mental health and crisis response programs, as well as deploy outreach officers to the city’s subway stations.

Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams’ administration also sent outreach workers to subway stations and established other housing and mental health programs. But some experts and community leaders say those efforts have failed to adequately address the homelessness and mental health crises.

Democratic strategist Howard Wolfson, an adviser to former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, said he and others would judge Mamdani primarily on how the city is policed ​​and how shoplifting and quality-of-life crimes are handled.

Mamdani won over some business leaders and members of the public with his decision to ask Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who served in Adams’ administration, to remain police chief.

“Public safety is sort of the prerequisite for success or failure,” Mr Wolfson told the BBC. “I think if people feel safe here, they can tolerate an awful lot of other challenges. And if they don’t, then they’re not going to be willing to tolerate a lot of other challenges.”