Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Zohran Kwame Mamdani for NYC Mayor

Candidate Name: Zohran Kwame Mamdani

Office Seeking Election for: NYC Mayor

Campaign Website: https://www.zohranfornyc.com/

1. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why do you believe you are best qualified to represent your district?

I believe working class people need a champion, and I am willing to exhaust every last avenue before me in service to them. There is no issue working class New Yorkers face that I am unwilling to fight for. That is what the Democratic Party must stand for, now more than ever in the face of Trump.

I've demonstrated that fight as an Assemblymember. It’s how I approached efforts to secure debt relief for taxi workers who were being crushed by debt after the city saddled drivers with hundreds of millions in debt they could not realistically pay back. I organized with New York Taxi Workers Alliance: leading press conferences and rallies, building a coalition of elected officials across every level of government, organizing and participating in civil disobedience, and ultimately participating in a 15-day hunger strike that I took part in alongside taxi drivers themselves. We ultimately won over $450 million in debt relief. I have shown the same political imagination and determination in winning a free bus pilot for all New Yorkers as an Assemblymember, successfully stopping a fracked gas power plant in Astoria, and delivering more funding to public institutions like CUNY.

I have the skills to bring a vision of a better New York to life while in office. The Mayor is a manager, a diplomat, and a messenger; as an Assemblymember I have shown myself adept at each of these roles. My Assembly office is an effective hub that coordinates with organizers to advance progress in New York while simultaneously responding to my constituents’ material needs. I empower my staff to work directly with leaders and activists across the state and in my district to identify innovative solutions to the issues New Yorkers face. Some of my signature policy proposals — like fast and free buses — come directly from organizers working to address issues across our city. I have effectively built broad coalitions of elected officials, organizations and advocates to deliver material wins. Since launching this campaign, I have created a genuinely grassroots operation, leading to a record fundraising pace — I’m proud to say my campaign has already raised the maximum amount we’re allowed to spend in this race! This has us poised to deploy the largest volunteer force in New York City history.

I am also uniquely prepared to meet the crises we face. I am running for Mayor to make this city more affordable. The cost of living crisis is driving working people out of our city and robbing us of what makes New York special. The need to make the city more affordable informs every decision I make on the campaign trail and will guide every decision I will make in City Hall. That includes freezing the rent, building more affordable and union-built housing, making buses fast and free, investing in public transit, creating municipal grocery stores, providing free, universal childcare, and more.

2. What LGBTQ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally? What LGBTQ candidates have you endorsed?

The first vote I ever cast after I became a citizen in 2018 was for Cynthia Nixon in the Democratic primary for New York Governor. I was proud to be a lead volunteer and coordinator on Tiffany Cabán’s 2019 campaign for Queens District Attorney before I was elected to the Assembly. I later endorsed Cabán in her successful run for city council. I also endorsed Samy Nemir Olivares in their campaign for Assembly District 54, Illapa Sairitupac in their campaign for Assembly District 65, and Jabari Brisport in his campaigns for Senate District 25.

I am also proud to have supported the Ali Forney Center and allocated tens of thousands of dollars to the organization’s efforts to provide housing for homeless LGBTQ+ youth in Astoria. I am honored to have also received the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club’s endorsement in my 2022 Assembly race. I have also worked with the Trans Working Group of the Democratic Socialists of America to fight back against the Trump administration’s attacks on gender-affirming care.

3. If you receive our endorsement, do you agree to identify the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club on all literature and electronic materials?

Yes, it would be an honor.

4. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBT issues, pro-choice legislation, racial justice, criminal justice have you attended, including rallies specifically against Donald Trump?

I have been a strong supporter of the LGBTQ+ community in office. That includes cosponsoring the repeal of the Walking While Trans ban and cosponsoring A07933, a law that now allows non-binary individuals to participate in the political process in a way that they were previously legally barred from. I supported the Ali Forney Center and allocated tens of thousands of dollars to the organization’s efforts to provide housing for homeless LGBTQ+ youth in Astoria. On the campaign trail, I have stood up to NYU Langone as they capitulated to pressure from the Trump administration to stop providing gender-affirming care. As Mayor will bring that same readiness to fight for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers using every available tool.

In terms of actions in support of LGBTQ+ issues, reproductive freedom, racial justice, and criminal justice, I have participated in and organized, there are too many to list exhaustively here. I have been active both as a community member and an Assemblymember on all of those issues, and will be a leader on them as Mayor. I will flag a few events that stand out:

• I spoke at and coordinated with organizers of rallies against NYU Langone’s decision to stop providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth, following pressure from the Trump organization. I also penned an op-ed on the issue. The Trump administration is going to continue these attacks and we need a mayor ready to fight.

• In 2021, dozens of New Yorkers died in city custody on Rikers Island while city officials denied their family and their attorneys access to DOC facilities. That fall, I helped lead other legislators to use our constitutional privilege as elected officials to visit Rikers and expose the torturous conditions there. The visit helped spur a wave of action that culminated in Governor Hochul signing fellow SIO Assemblymember Phara Souffrant-Forest’s Less is More into law, and releasing nearly 200 people from detention.

• This March Donald Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan visited Albany to do Trump’s bidding — push for mass deportations, carry out the assault on working class New Yorkers, and justify the unjustifiable detention of legal permanent resident and father-to-be, Mahmoud Khalil. I confronted him, demanding to know if he believed in the First Amendment.

5. In light of the upcoming Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda?

Donald Trump is pushing an agenda for the billionaire class, while trying to divide us. He talked about the pain of working people, but this was a Trojan horse. We know that we can tackle the pain of the working class, while also ensuring that everyone has a place in our City, and in our country. This is the central message of my campaign: tackling the cost of living crisis through universal policies. While doing so, I will also fight to defend immigrants, people of color, the, LGBTQ+ community, and reproductive rights.

Immigration: As the first immigrant mayor of NYC, I would strengthen compliance with our sanctuary city status, including ensuring city contractors are complying with the law. We also urgently need to increase funding for immigration legal services to representation for people and communities targeted by mass deportation, and my administration would ensure this. I would also think expansively about ways to protect undocumented New Yorkers from deportation/federal interference, as de Blasio did with shredding personal documents for individuals' IDNYC applications. On the state level I will continue to advocate for New York for All. In schools, that means strengthening protocols around ICE on campuses, limiting their access to student records and training school employees to follow the protocols.

LGBTQ+ Rights: It is not only the law in NY for people of all ages to be able to access gender-affirming care easily and safely, but it is our moral obligation. I will not hesitate to take any legal actions in partnership with the NYC Commission on Human Rights and the Attorney General's Office against hospitals or clinics that deny trans New Yorkers the care they are legally entitled to. I will further increase funding to NYC Health and Hospitals to replace any federal funding and to support the increased need for their services, oversee an expansion of LGBTQIA+ healthcare clinics in all five boroughs. Throughout, I will make clear our city’s values in continuing to provide gender-affirming care – and broadly affirming and protecting trans and LGBTQ+ communities.

Reproductive Rights: Trump is also staging an assault on reproductive rights. As Mayor, I would ensure that the recent NYC Sexual and Reproductive Health Bill of Rights is fully implemented by DOHMH and H&H, including conducting robust patient outreach so patients know of their rights. We should further increase resources, including translation, for the NYC Abortion Access Hub as well; already almost 14% of these calls come from out of state and more than a third of callers require Spanish translation. We must enforce Local Law 17, which protects New Yorkers from false information spread by Crisis Pregnancy Centers, including lies about abortion safety and medications. On the state level, we need to continue to fund abortion providers (A361) and the Family Planning Grant, and medication abortion access. We must continue to offer these services to New Yorkers in state and out of state, and replace any lost federal funding.

6. Will you seek or accept endorsements of individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, such as Ruben Diaz Sr., Fernando Cabrera or Erick Salgado? Will you pledge to denounce their homophobia and anti-choice positions in the event you receive an endorsement from such individuals?

I will not seek or accept endorsements of those who oppose LGBTQ+ rights or reproductive rights, and will denounce their homophobia and anti-choice positions should they endorse me.

7. In light of the upcoming Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda? See above!

8. Do you support the unrestricted right to reproductive care and abortion?

Yes.

9. Have you hosted, funded or otherwise supported Drag Story Hours in your community?

I have not but I would be proud to.

10. What proposals will do you support to increase the protection of immigrants and cement New York City’s status as a Sanctuary City?

As the first immigrant mayor of NYC, I would strengthen compliance with our sanctuary city status, including ensuring city contractors are complying with the law. We also urgently need to increase funding for immigration legal services to representation for people and communities targeted by mass deportation, and my administration would ensure this. I would also think expansively about ways to protect undocumented New Yorkers from deportation/federal interference, as de Blasio did with shredding personal documents for individuals' IDNYC applications. On the state level I will continue to advocate for New York for All. In schools, that means strengthening protocols around ICE on campuses, limiting their access to student records and training school employees to follow the protocols.

11. How will you represent the most vulnerable, including individuals experiencing homelessness and asylum seekers? Have you ever opposed any shelter in your district?

I have never opposed any shelter in my district. In fact, I allocated tens of thousands of dollars to the Ali Forney Center’s efforts to provide housing for homeless LGBTQ+ youth in Astoria.

The best way to address homelessness is by providing people with lasting homes. While shelters are a necessary form of emergency temporary housing, securing stable housing for someone in crisis has been proven successful at reducing homelessness. The initial stability of a roof over one’s head, and of privacy and dignity, allows people to then address other needs.

Currently, the City neglects a housing-first solution in favor of jailing people. More than 2,500 people held on Rikers Island each year need access to supportive housing. The city spends $1.4 billion to incarcerate them, while it would cost just $108 million to provide them with supportive housing—less than 8 percent of jail expenses. By expanding supportive housing beds, and deploying my newly-created Department of Community Safety to help direct people experiencing homelessness into them, we can greatly reduce homelessness and save money.

The DCS will function as part of a larger mayoral vision to build affordable housing for all New Yorkers in need, protect tenants from eviction, stand up to negligent landlords, create stable, healthy homes, expand and enforce rental assistance programs and provide more supportive and transitional housing. When the median rent goes up $100, homelessness goes up 9 percent. That means freezing the rent for rent-stabilized units, and reducing the rent burden citywide, is the most powerful tool in the fight against homelessness.

Investing in outreach and crisis intervention—plus true connection to housing and treatment programs and a continuum of care—for homeless New Yorkers can break cycles of homelessness. This will be one of the Department’s north stars.

I will uphold the Right to Shelter, end the arbitrary and harmful 30- and 60-day shelter rules, and provide families with children safe placements in non-congregate facilities with private locking rooms. As families have been sent into chaos by Adams’s harmful shelter limits, we need to create better coordination across the Department of Social Services, Department of Homeless Services, Health & Hospitals, Housing Preservation & Development, the Office of Asylum Seekers Operations, and the Office of Immigrant Affairs, as well as to create a coordinated community-based organization response system. And we need to create actual paths to stability for people who are here and want to build a life with their families.

I will also be attuned to homelessness within the LGBTQ Community. I will ensure there are resources dedicated specifically to targeting the higher rates of homelessness and insecurity experienced by trans people, especially youth. My administration would increase funding for the Trans Equity Initiative; fund more Housing Navigators in Runaway and Homeless Youth drop-in centers that can support LGBTQ+ youth in securing permanent housing; reinstate funding for Peer Navigators to support youth in drop-in centers; and more.

12. If incumbent, are you a co-sponsor of Resolution 2970, introduced by Council Member Shahana Hanif? If not yet elected, will you promise to co-sponsor the resolution? The text urges the NYS Legislature to pass the New York for All Act, which would ensure state and local resources are not used to facilitate federal immigration enforcement. If not, please explain.

I support Resolution 2970.

13. If incumbent, are you a co-sponsor of Resolution 2917, introduced by Council Member Crystal Hudson? If not yet elected, will you promise to co-sponsor the resolution? The text endorses the Access to Representation Act, which would establish a “universal right to counsel” for indigent New Yorkers who are subject to removal proceedings under federal immigration law. If not, please explain.

I support Resolution 2917.

14. Will you join our efforts to pass legislation mandating the review of sentences of incarcerated individuals over the age of 55 who have served in excess of 15 years to determine if they warrant release? The legislation is commonly known as the New York Elder Parole Bill.

15. Do you oppose the death penalty?

I do oppose the death penalty.

16. Do you support outlawing solitary confinement?

Yes, and my mayoralty will end it after Eric Adams has fought to maintain the harmful practice.

17. Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated? Will you work to secure the release of individuals who have demonstrated sincere remorse, worked toward rehabilitation and are not deemed a threat to society?

Yes. As an assemblymember I have both visited incarcerated New Yorkers, drawn public attention to their plight, and worked to secure their release and lower the jail population. As mayor, I will continue to do so.

As demonstration of my commitment: In 2021, dozens of New Yorkers died in city custody on Rikers Island while city officials denied their family and their attorneys access to DOC facilities. That fall, I helped lead other legislators to use our constitutional privilege as elected officials to visit Rikers and expose the torturous conditions there. The visit helped spur a wave of action that culminated in Governor Hochul signing fellow SIO Assemblymember Phara Souffrant-Forest’s Less is More into law, and releasing nearly 200 people from detention.

18. Do you commit to working to change our penal system toward a restorative rather than a retributive model of justice?

Yes. The city has for years paid lip service to decarceration while doing nothing to make it a reality. The city’s investment in actually reducing the number of people locked up has been non-existent. We have not invested in alternatives to incarceration, and our courts have taken that lack of investment as a cue to continue shuffling people to Rikers. Dozens of people have died as a result, and thousands of lives have been disrupted.

Under Eric Adams, it’s gone backwards. As of yesterday, the jail population is at 7,249. That makes it impossible to close Rikers, which means it’s dangerous for the people inside. There have been 5 deaths this year already, and 38 under Eric Adams’ administration.

My administration will change that. We’ll drastically drive down the jail population by investing in supportive housing and mental health outreach. It costs $42,000 to provide someone transitional housing and services for a year, but the city instead spends $550,000 to lock someone up on Rikers. My administration will invest in transitional housing and services will allow it to actually decarcerate in a way it has not to date.

I will work closely with MOCJ and OCA to ensure that our courts view the city’s support services, finally operating with meaningful funding, as viable alternatives to Rikers. I’ll coordinate with DAs to get more people to await their day in court at home.

I will also change the culture within DOC, which under Eric Adams has not cooperated with federal investigations into abuses and altogether stopped reporting on jail deaths.

19. Do you commit to make applications for clemencies available to your constituency including a link to an application in a constituent newsletter? Will you submit it to our club?

Yes.

20. Who did you support for mayor in the 2021 Democratic primary election?

I did not endorse in the 2021 mayoral election, but I voted for Maya Wiley.

21. Which 2025 Democratic candidates have you removed from your consideration? Have you endorsed anyone? If so, who?

I hope New Yorkers rank me first on their ballot for Mayor. I am urging all New Yorkers to not rank Andrew Cuomo — we cannot afford another four years with a disgraced executive leading our city.

22. Do you support the renaming of the Ed Koch bridge and will you work towards the renaming including sponsoring such legislation?

Yes, I support renaming.

23. What are your plans to address rent affordability in NYC? Did you vote for “City of Yes”? If not, please explain.

As Mayor, I will freeze the rent for the two million tenants living in rent-stabilized housing by appointing people who understand the plight of tenants to the Rent Guidelines Board.

I will also build 200,000 new units of affordable housing over the next 10 years. This will triple the City’s current production of affordable housing. These units will be permanently-affordable, union-built, and rent-stabilized. This 10 year commitment will once again make New York City a leader in providing homes for families who earn less than $70,000 a year – the median income for renters in New York – and ensure that our City’s resources are used to provide jobs with safety and dignity. I will also facilitate a citywide planning process, as mentioned above, to ensure we build equitably across our city.

I applaud the Council’s work to fight displacement and include deeper housing affordability within the City of Yes, and would honor these commitments as Mayor. I would further expand them—making them not just something the Council has to negotiate but a part of the City’s common practice. We must ensure developments don’t dictate what our neighborhoods look like. That’s why I am committed to initiating a comprehensive citywide planning practice which will allow NYC both to address the legacy of racially discriminatory zoning and to proactively plan for the health and needs of the city—in housing, transit, education, and other areas.

24. What are your plans regarding short-term housing?

Increasing transitional and supportive housing, expanding Respite Residences, improving shelter conditions (by improving oversight of shelters and contracts, reducing burdens on them as w e strengthen rental assistance), ensuring our current supportive housing units are actually filled (4,117 vacant units of supportive housing as of Sept. 3, 2024, across dozens of nonprofit providers) while also working with Albany to expand SROs (plan forthcoming)

As part of my Department of Community Safety, new outreach workers will help that person navigate their housing options. Too often, city and state agencies fail to identify and meet the needs of people experiencing mental health crises and homelessness simultaneously. The DCS will fill that gap, and help individuals receive sustained treatment, support, and housing. That interlocks with a broad housing first vision.

25. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why should we believe you would be a dynamic and progressive voice in elected office?

As I said in my answer to Question #1, New York City needs a working class champion who will make the city more affordable. I have been an unwavering fighter for that cause my entire political life, and will continue to be one as Mayor.

As a legislator, I have also been not just a reliable vote but also a staunch advocate for progressive causes and working people. I have helped win millions of dollars to deliver more reliable subway service; a free bus pilot that I will expand citywide as Mayor; more fair taxes; $450 million in debt relief for taxi workers the city had turned its back on. I also worked with organizers and successfully stood up to one of the richest and most powerful energy corporations in the country, NRG, in halting the construction of a polluting peaker plant in Astoria.

I brought that fight, and won those victories, as an Assemblymember. With a movement supporting me, we can win even more together with me as Mayor.

26. What additional information would you like the Jim Owles club to consider when we are making our endorsement decision?

I would just like to thank the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club for its consideration. I believe we can win the city we deserve together, and hope to partner with you to do just that.

27. Are you a potential candidate for City Council speaker in the upcoming term? If so, what is your platform?

I’m a candidate for New York City Mayor. My platform is too extensive to list in full here — I invite you to visit my Platform page to read about all that my administration will deliver New Yorkers, from Public Safety to new housing and streamlined approvals. But my overarching platform can be boiled down quite simply: we’re going to lower the cost of living for working class New Yorkers. That means freezing the rent for the 2 million New Yorkers in rent stabilized apartments. It means making our buses fast and free. And it means providing universal childcare to all New Yorkers. We need to make sure working class families can afford to make our city their home, and the only way to do that is to make it cheaper to live here.

I will also:

• Build municipal grocery stores to bring down costs

• Create a Department of Community Safety to prevent crime before it happens and deliver the sense of safety and security that everyone should feel across our city.

• Build more housing, invest in NYCHA, increase our zoned capacity, and support climate sustainability and accessibility in our housing

• Stand up to bad landlords

• Raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030

• Give baby baskets to provide new parents and guardians with a collection of essential goods and resources.