City & State New York - Politics

Zohran Mamdani releases his first mayoral tax returns

Jeff Coltin and Sahalie Donaldson — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:16:03 -0400

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is so eager to raise taxes that he overpaid his own – and got a $7,011 refund on Tax Day

Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji ended 2025 with a $27,231 tax bill on their $143,008 adjusted gross income last year, according to a copy of his 2025 tax return. But the return suggests Mamdani was withholding more than necessary on his paycheck as an Assembly member, which earned him the healthy refund.

The release covers his last year as an Assembly member, giving some insight into the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor’s finances as he urges Gov. Kathy Hochul to raise taxes on the city’s wealthiest earners. Mamdani made $131,296 from his salary as a lawmaker and another $1,642 in royalties from his since-abandoned rap career. Duwaji reported making just $10,010 from her work as a graphic designer before expenses.

Now taking the helm of the city as mayor, Mamdani will rake in a $258,750 annual salary – a hefty increase from his life before. (Though still a far cry from the richest New Yorkers he wants to tax).

The tax return was shared with reporters to review under the agreement the document itself would not be posted publicly. Mayors have traditionally released their tax returns as a transparency measure, including Eric Adams, whose return showed him writing off rodent mitigation at his Brooklyn rental property.

Mamdani and Duwaji took the standard deduction rather than itemizing, so the return does not include information on whether Mamdani made charitable contributions in 2025.

Mamdani earned only limited investment income, reporting $119 in interest from a Municipal Credit Union account and $117 in ordinary dividends from a Fidelity account. Mamdani has family money, thanks to his Columbia University professor father and his movie director mother. He reported in his 2024 personal financial disclosure with the Conflicts of Interest Board that he also owns four acres of land in Uganda.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin declined to provide her tax return, arguing she didn’t have to as speaker. “There is no established precedent for New York City Council Speakers releasing their personal tax returns,” her spokesperson Henry Robins said in a statement. “Like all city elected officials, the Speaker complies with robust financial disclosure requirements that provide transparency into income, assets, and potential conflicts.”

Menin, whose husband co-founded a real estate development firm with business around the country, has faced scrutiny for her immense wealth. Some of her predecessors as speaker did release tax returns to the public, including Melissa Mark-Viverito and Corey Johnson. City & State also requested city Comptroller Mark Levine’s tax return. His office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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1199 backs Reynoso, three others running against DSA

Jeff Coltin — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Powerful health care workers union 1199SEIU is endorsing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the congressional race to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez.

That’s a blow to his leading opponent, Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who launched her campaign with a plan of uniting labor and the left. But despite the unwavering support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Valdez has yet to earn a significant labor endorsement other than from her own former union, UAW Region 9A.

Meanwhile Reynoso has been endorsed by the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, 32BJ SEIU, District Council 37, RWDSU and CWA District 1, among others.

“For over a decade, Antonio has taken on the toughest fights in New York in the name of supporting working people. Whether we needed him on the picket line or at the negotiating table, he always showed up,” said Dell Smitherman, 1199’s New York political and campaigns director. “We look forward to sending him to Washington where he will fight to abolish ICE, tax the rich, and stand up to Donald Trump and his billionaire friends.”

Valdez’s campaign declined to comment. But she may find comfort in the fact that Mamdani won the district that spans Brooklyn and Queens in the mayoral primary last year even though Andrew Cuomo had the lion’s share of union endorsements.

The Reynoso nod is just one of a slate of endorsements 1199 is announcing Thursday, shared first with City & State. Despite its progressive reputation, the union is endorsing against several other candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America – throwing support behind Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Assembly Members Jenifer Rajkumar and Jordan Wright.

It’s 1199’s first midterm election year under new President Yvonne Armstrong. The 250,000-member union is also endorsing several Democrats trying to flip Republican-held seats. That includes Blake Gendebien, who is looking to succeed retiring Rep. Elise Stefanik in the North Country, Lisa Kaul who’s running against state Sen. Rob Rolison in the Hudson Valley and Sarah Rogerson, taking on state Sen. James Tedisco in the Capital Region.

1199 previously endorsed almost every other Democratic incumbent in the state Legislature, including several DSA members. But the union has yet to weigh in on Rep. Dan Goldman’s reelection race against Brad Lander, or the open race to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.

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Eric Adams’ Charter Revision Commission to meet in Randy Mastro’s office on 4/20

Sahalie Donaldson — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:30:00 -0400

The Charter Revision Commission convened by former New York City Mayor Eric Adams on his final day in office plans to meet for the first time on April 20, kicking off a process likely to raise legal questions – and a clash with the Mamdani administration.

Former First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro will host the meeting at his law firm Dechert LLP. The 13-member group, a somewhat odd assemblage many of whom are Adams’ allies, is expected to consider whether to change the City Charter to open up the city’s primary elections. Official notice of the public meeting is slated to be published in the city record Thursday.

Despite doubts that the zombie-like commission would move forward with its creator no longer in office, the upcoming gathering is further confirmation that the group isn’t giving up despite the logistical challenges. Mastro, who played a significant role in crafting the commission, is offering the group pro bono legal representation in addition to space for the first meeting.

That answers at least some of the initial questions about how the commission might proceed after City & State reported that the group was exploring the possibility of accepting private contributions to fund its operations and whether to retain legal representation should the Mamdani administration try to block its efforts. Many expect Mayor Zohran Mamdani to attempt to starve the commission of resources, hence the group’s efforts to solicit outside aid. (Though that too is legally cloudy.) Other questions are still unanswered – like who will serve as the commission’s chair. Martin Connor, the person Adams initially appointed, failed to file the necessary paperwork on time, Politico New York first reported, creating a leadership void that Mamdani could likely seize upon if he wished.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said the city law department is reviewing the actions Mastro is taking.

Kayla Mamelak Altus, a commission member and Adams’ former press secretary, said that the group will review the entire City Charter with a focus on “delivering real results for New Yorkers.” But she confirmed the group intends to specifically consider a non-partisan, open primary system for city elections. This is something a prior commission considered under Adams, but ultimately dropped, choosing to focus on several ultimately successful land use and affordable housing-related measures instead. If the commission is able to get such a proposal on the ballot and it's approved by New Yorkers, voters of any party would be permitted to vote in primary elections. Democratic socialists like Mamdani generally oppose such measures, which are thought to benefit candidates who are closer to the political center.

“We will take a thoughtful look at how we can continue to modernize city government and increase public involvement in our local democratic process,” Mamelak Altus said in a statement. “This will be an open, public process, and we look forward to engaging New Yorkers every step of the way.”

What’s to come is uncharted territory. There is little if any precedent of a charter commission established by a former mayor operating without approval from the new administration. And while Mamdani doesn’t have the authority to dismiss the group outright, he still wields a lot of power over its fate.

One of the main purposes of the commission’s upcoming meeting is to discuss the appointment of a new chair, according to Mamelak Altus. It’s unclear whether commission members will seek to do this internally. Several good government experts previously told City & State that only the current mayor has the power to fill openings and appoint the group’s chair. Some have also questioned whether the commission will actually be able to accept private donations as typically, those would pass through Mamdani’s budget office.

Both matters could amount to legal clashes with Mastro and the city law department duking it out in court. Mastro, a prominent litigator, did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.

For now, the first meeting looms. While it’ll be open to the public and streaming through Microsoft Teams, attendees will have to wait to weigh in on open primaries or the group’s broader view of the city charter. The commission plans to hold at least one public hearing in each borough between now and August, according to Mamelak Altus.

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Warshaw seeks to bump comptroller race opponents from the ballot

Rebecca C. Lewis — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0400

The most crowded Democratic primary for state comptroller in decades may become a one-on-one contest if Drew Warshaw has anything to say about it. The former nonprofit housing executive filed specific challenges to tens of thousands of petition signatures gathered by his fellow insurgents Raj Goyle and Adem Bunkeddeko.

Goyle submitted over 31,000 signatures, more than double the 15,000 required to secure a spot on the ballot. Warshaw’s campaign is challenging nearly 25,000 of those signatures, arguing they aren’t legally valid for various reasons Bunkeddeko submitted a more modest 22,000, with the Warshaw campaign now challenging nearly 15,000 of them. If the state Board of Elections rules all of those signatures invalid, neither Goyle nor Bunkeddeko would have enough to remain on the ballot.

“The ballot should be open to anyone who follows the rules; no one expects perfection,” Warshaw Campaign Manager Sara Trenor said in a statement. “But candidates … should be expected to file petitions that comply with the basic standards of the well-worn law. Based on standard due diligence, our analysis shows that the petitions filed by Bunkeddeko and Goyle’s campaign fail that test by a wide margin.”

Warshaw campaign attorneys said they found numerous errors and inconsistencies within both Goyle’s and Bunkeddeko’s petitions. Warshaw’s campaign pointed out instances from both the other candidates where signatories appear to have the same handwriting, indicating the collector may have signed for the voter. That is not allowed. The Warshaw campaign also offered examples of instances where the voter did not provide a full street address and the witness did not sign a petition page.

“We have identified an exceptionally comprehensive set of problems with the candidates’ petitions,” said Leo Glickman, an election attorney for Warshaw. “So we are confident that we are going to prevail in our challenges; of course the final decisions will be made by the State Board of Elections and the courts.”

The campaigns for both Goyle and Bunkeddeko expressed confidence their petitions will hold up to scrutiny. While a spokesperson for Bunkeddeko did not offer further comment on the objections, a surrogate for Goyle offered a scathing rebuke of Warshaw’s “frivolous” attempt to take both candidates out of the race.

“Raj has outraised Warshaw 2–1 in matching funds, and we’re gaining momentum,” said election attorney Ali Najmi. “In an effort to stop the bleeding, Warshaw is trying to suppress ballot access for the only South Asian and African American candidates in the race. It’s pathetic and desperate.”

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Julie Menin touts fiscal responsibility while backing some very pricey bills

Grace Thomas — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:51:22 -0400

In the New York City budget showdown between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Menin has framed herself as the fiscally responsible adult, criticizing the mayor’s initial proposal to dip into the city’s reserves and his threat to raise property taxes to close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.

The speaker has expressed concerns that major rating agencies like Moody’s and Fitch have revised their financial outlook for the city from stable to negative due to the mayor’s initial proposal to draw almost $1 billion from the rainy day fund.

“We have been a hard ‘No’ on the property tax. We also are a hard ‘No’ on raiding the rainy day fund,” Menin said at her press conference presenting the council’s budget response. At the National Action Network convention last week, Menin said the council is focused on protecting the Black community, and that raising property taxes “is unacceptable, because if we were to do that, we would be hurting Black communities across our city.”

Some property taxes seem to be fair game. On Wednesday, Menin commended Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to tax second homes worth over $5 million, which would raise an estimated $500 million annually.

But the speaker’s comments belie a more complicated position. The council under her watch keeps advocating for big-ticket bills framed as moral imperatives, even as Menin opposes some of the mayor’s more extreme suggestions to close the budget gap. Just a long-delayed rental voucher expansion mandate and a separate bill that would distribute $10,000 annual bonuses to teacher’s aides would add hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses in fiscal year 2027.

These bills, which Menin has championed since before she was speaker, were not mentioned or accounted for in the council’s response to the mayor’s initial budget proposal. The council claimed it could close the $5.4 billion two-year budget gap without dipping into reserves, even while calling for an additional $1.1 billion in spending on their own priorities, like $25 million to expand the Fair Fares public transit subsidy for low-income people.

The speaker’s office pointed out that the council suggested raising $1.1 billion in revenue from the city’s richest by the end of the next fiscal year, mainly by reducing a tax credit used by high-income filers. “This is the comprehensive approach we need to strengthen the City’s fiscal footing and tackle the affordability crisis without burdening working New Yorkers,” Menin said in a statement.

Mamdani’s administration declined to comment for this story. But the mayor attacked the council’s budget response earlier this month, calling it unrealistic and singling out Menin specifically. “Double counting previously identified savings, overestimating revenues, and exaggerating debt service savings does nothing to close a deficit,” he tweeted.

The rental voucher price tag

Undiscussed in the council’s budget response plan is the expansion of CityFHEPS, the city’s rental voucher program that cost $1.2 billion last fiscal year. While the City Council mandated the program’s expansion in 2023 to house more New Yorkers, Mamdani appealed a court order that would require the city to implement it.

Broadening it would cost an additional $3 billion over the next four years, according to the fiscal watchdog Citizens Budget Commission, which often advocates against increased spending. Even without expansion, the program cost has surged since its 2018 launch.

The speaker’s office said they “strongly disagree” with the administration’s decision to further litigate the expansion. “The Council has repeatedly offered solutions to the administration that both ensure we house our city's most vulnerable New Yorkers and are also fiscally responsible,” said a spokesperson for the speaker.

Supporters of a CityFHEPS expansion argue that rental assistance is cheaper than housing people in homeless shelters. That is true in the short term: the Citizens Budget Commission estimated that the daily cost of a rental voucher is $55, while the shelter costs $144. However, the average length of stay in shelters is 15 months, while CityFHEPS provides assistance for five years, with the possibility to extend.

Former Mayor Eric Adams clashed with the City Council when it passed the CityFHEPS expansion law just one day after publishing a fiscal impact statement citing a $10 billion price tag over five years. In response, one of Adams’ Charter Revision Commissions in the following year proposed a requirement for the council to publish fiscal impact statements earlier in the legislative process. Voters passed this ballot proposal, which let the public see costs upfront and give the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget time to give its own financial estimate.

Paying teacher’s aides

Yet another expensive recurring cost is the paraprofessional pay bill, called the RESPECT Check. It would give an additional $10,000 bonus to full-time Department of Education teacher assistants annually and prorated raises for part-timers.

The bill, a priority of the city teachers union, has the sign-on of 46 of 51 City Council members, and has been lauded by both Menin and the mayor during his campaign. However, the Mamdani administration opposed it after he entered office, arguing the bill would conflict with the city’s labor negotiations process by legislating raises outside of union wage talks.

“If collective bargaining were to catch up to the needs of this workforce that is in crisis, then the bill would be repealed,” said Council Member and bill sponsor Carmen De La Rosa.

If passed, the bill would cost an estimated $244 million yearly once phased in, according to the council’s fiscal impact statement. De La Rosa said that despite the cost, the RESPECT Check would also save money by helping recruit and retain paraprofessionals, who currently have an average starting salary of about $32,000. “A lot of them have lived in homeless shelters because of the high cost of housing in the city,” she said. “Keeping these families housed would save the city money.”

She also said that stronger paraprofessional staffing could help the city meet its educational obligations. Last fiscal year, the city spent $1.3 billion in so-called Carter Cases, where parents sue when the Department of Education fails to provide appropriate special needs services in public schools, as required by federal law.

De La Rosa said hiring more paraprofessionals could help reduce those penalties in the long run, which Menin echoed, saying the annual Carter Case cost could be slashed by hundreds of millions of dollars. “We can’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to raising wages on these essential workers.”

Menin reportedly asked teacher union leaders to stage a protest outside of Mamdani’s 100-day address because of his opposition to the RESPECT Check, according to an email obtained by Politico Playbook. Spokespeople at both the teachers’ union and Menin’s office denied Menin’s role in the rally.

Pricey miscellany

The council is also considering bills that wouldn’t directly raise costs for the city, but would raise costs for other entities. Council Member Sandy Nurse has a bill to raise the city’s minimum wage to $30 per hour, a significant increase from the current $17, which would make it the highest in the country.

Employers and business groups such as the Queens Chamber of Commerce oppose the $30 by 2030 bill, and the New York State Restaurant Association said it would drive prices to a level that consumers may be unwilling to pay for. Menin hasn’t taken a stance on the proposal, which hasn’t had a hearing yet.

And Council Member Chris Marte’s “No More 24” bill would ban 24-hour shifts for home care workers, who are typically paid for only 13 hours. The bill would split the 24-hour shift into two 12-hour shifts so they are paid in full.

Since most homecare workers are paid through Medicaid, this change would increase public costs significantly. 1199SEIU, a health care worker union, estimated this would cost an additional $460 million annually, split between the state and federal government. District Council 37, the city’s largest public-sector union, said this unfunded mandate could force provider agencies to shed home health jobs due to cost concerns, resulting in a loss of care for patients.

Despite the cost, Menin stood by No More 24 last month at a worker sit-in related to the bill, vowing no changes. “Speaker Menin has long fought for strong worker protections,” said a council spokesperson. But the spokesperson qualified: “This legislation is still going through the legislative process, which allows for thorough public engagement, input, and negotiation.”

The mayor is expected to present his executive budget by the end of the month, and negotiations with the council will continue until the budget is due June 30.

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Paladino presents her case

Sahalie Donaldson — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Lawyers for the New York City Law Department and Council Member Vickie Paladino’s legal team are slated to present dueling arguments in court on whether the City Council can proceed with disciplinary proceedings against the Republican council member over a series of anti-Muslim tweets she posted on social media.

The hearing, which will take place in New York Supreme Court Tuesday afternoon, comes a little over a month after the City Council’s Committee on Rules, Privileges, Elections, Standards and Ethics charged Paladino with disorderly conduct for five Islamophobic posts she made on X they said violate the council rules and anti-harassment policy. While the move was only a first step in the disciplinary process, Paladino sued the legislative body, arguing that speech from her personal social media account was protected by the First Amendment – and that she was being targeted for her conservative political beliefs. City lawyers in turn have sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Paladino’s claims are premature, that she’s yet to face an actual disciplinary hearing and that no official consequences have even been decided on.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Sabrina Kraus denied Paladino’s initial request for a temporary restraining order, which would have barred the ethics committee from proceeding with the disciplinary process. Instead, Kraus set up the April hearing, giving both parties an opportunity to argue their case ahead of the council’s planned ethics hearing later this month.

Legal experts said Kraus might not necessarily issue a verdict Tuesday, though it’ll likely come soon. The judge already gave Paladino until April 17 to provide the ethics committee with a written response to the charges she faces. Without further judicial intervention, the Republican council member would then appear before the nine-member ethics committee, at which point Paladino’s colleagues could order her to complete sensitivity or ethics training, censure her, fine her, or, most seriously, expel her from the council. Any final verdict would need to be approved by two-thirds of the 51-member council.

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Chicago’s mayor fundraises in the Bronx with former Rep. Jamaal Bowman

Peter Sterne — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 22:40:09 -0400

A mayor headed to the Bronx for a private reelection fundraiser Monday night. No, not New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, but a different leftist big-city mayor: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Johnson is in town to speak at a National Urban League summit, so former Rep. Jamaal Bowman co-hosted a fundraiser for him at Sankofa Haus, an event space in the South Bronx. Guests who had paid between $50 and $7,000 for a ticket enjoyed rum punch and hors d’oeuvres – including miniature chicken sandwiches, vegetable spring rolls and salmon bites with spicy mayonnaise – while Bowman moderated a panel with Johnson and Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell. City & State spotted congressional candidate and former Assembly Member Michael Blake among the 30 or so people in the audience.

Bowman and Johnson have a great deal in common: they’re both Black former educators known for their unapologetically leftist politics who just turned 50 years old and have faced their share of negative press. Bowman told City & State he thinks Johnson – who won the Chicago mayoralty with great fanfare in 2023 but now faces a tough reelection fight – deserves a greater national profile in progressive politics.

For Bowman, hosting a fundraiser for Johnson is part of his larger project to “build up the Black left.” In 2024, he launched a super PAC to help progressive candidates engage Black communities. And last year, he was a surrogate for Mamdani, even organizing an event for the future mayor to meet with progressive Black leaders at Sankofa Haus.

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Who’s who in Zohran Mamdani’s administration?

City & State — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:22:33 -0400

As soon as a New York City mayoral candidate wins election – and in most cases for several months before –the city’s political class and media corps eagerly anticipate news of who he will hire to actually carry out his vision.

That fervor may be especially strong for this mayor. Zohran Mamdani pulled off a stunning victory to rise from two-and-a-half-term Assembly member to mayor. But his youth (a young millennial at 34 years old) and scant management experience have attracted particular attention to the balance of old hands and newcomers that will fill his administration, as well as their diversity along the ideological spectrum.

Keep up with Mamdani’s hires and appointments below, as of April 13, 2026.

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An Albany exodus of retiring state lawmakers

Rebecca C. Lewis and Eric Holmberg — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:45:00 -0400

Every two years, the state Legislature undergoes a refresh. Some politicians decide to retire and spend more time with their families, while others lose elections and are forced to spend more time with their families. In this cycle, state Senate Deputy Minority Leader Michael Gianaris, with over 25 years of experience in the state Legislature, has been the highest-profile departure so far. However, he’s far from alone in this exodus from Albany, with Republican state Sen. Jack Martins’ exit shaking up a swing district on Long Island and Assembly Member Crystal Peoples-Stokes’ retirement promising to usher in new leadership in the Assembly. Here are the lawmakers who are retiring or not seeking reelection, which doesn’t include those who are running for a different office. This list was last updated on April 13.

State Senate

Michael Gianaris

After more than two decades in the state Legislature in both the state Senate and Assembly, Gianaris announced he would not seek reelection in order to spend more time with his young children. His departure leaves vacant not only his seat, but also the position of deputy majority leader. Gianaris served as the second most powerful Democrat in his chamber for the past seven years alongside Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and has had a hand in most major achievements both in government and politically. Progressives and the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter are expected to coalesce around Aber Kawas, who’s currently running an overlapping Assembly district, if she decides to shift to the state Senate race. In leadership, state Sen. Jamaal Bailey has long been floated as a potential successor to a top position.

Jack Martins

Democrats have a better shot at winning back a Long Island swing seat now that Martins has announced he will not seek reelection. Although he has not publicly stated that outside income limits are a reason for his exit, Martins holds a lucrative position at the law firm Harris Beach and stands to make significantly less once the rules officially take effect next year. He made the decision late in the game, after having already gathered petitions to appear on the ballot again. The timing means that Republicans in Nassau County get to choose who replaces him, with the expected choice being Assembly Member Jake Blumencranz. Democrats, meanwhile, are feeling bullish about the chances of their candidate, former New York City Council Member Rory Lancman. Martins’ seat has traditionally swung back and forth between parties, so an open race in a year expected to favor Democrats could provide them with another pickup as they seek to regain their supermajority in the state Senate.

Brian Kavanagh

Another two-decade lawmaker, Brian Kavanagh said he felt the time had come to allow a new generation of leaders to take over – so he decided he’d leave his lower Manhattan seat to allow for an open primary. He joined the Assembly in 2007 and entered the state Senate 10 years later following a special election. Kavanagh’s exit will also leave vacant the chair position of the powerful Housing Committee. At the helm of that committee, Kavanagh helped usher in the landmark rent regulation laws of 2019, as well as “good cause” eviction protections a few years later. Both former Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, who had previously considered challenging Kavanagh before running for Congress, and Assembly Member Grace Lee are running to succeed him.

Alexis Weik

First elected in 2020, Weik decided at the very end of last year that her current term would be her last one. Initially, Weik unseated Democratic state Sen. Monica Martinez during a period of political partisan reshuffling on the traditionally swingy Long Island. Redistricting ultimately made her seat more safely red, while Martinez won a bluer state Senate seat next door. Republicans have performed well on Long Island in recent elections, so Weik will likely get replaced by another member of the GOP. The party has tapped Assembly Member Jarett Gandolfo as its pick to replace her.

Assembly

William Barclay

Leadership change came more immediately when Barclay announced his plan to retire – he stepped down as minority leader in the Assembly the same day. Republicans quickly voted Assembly Member Ed Ra as his replacement to lead the conference. Barclay has served in the Assembly since 2003 representing his Central New York district and as the minority leader since 2020. He helped herald his members through the pandemic and the turbulence of a gubernatorial resignation a year after taking over. In a statement, he said “this is the right time” for him to move on. Oswego County Legislature Chair James Weatherup is running to replace Barclay, and has received his county Republican Party’s endorsement.

Crystal Peoples-Stokes

Buffalo is set to get a new representative in the Assembly for the first time in two decades as Peoples-Stokes has elected to retire at the end of the year. Her departure is a sea change for Western New York, as well as for her chamber. Peoples-Stokes has served as the Democratic majority leader in the Assembly for over seven years, serving in the No. 2 position in the Democratic conference and leading floor debate for her party. She apparently timed her exit to avoid an open primary to replace her, and Democrats in Erie County tapped Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope, her former chief of staff and, as her successor.

Deborah Glick

Glick made history as the first openly gay member of the state Legislature when Manhattan voters first elected her in 1990. After serving in the lower chamber for over three decades, Glick said in her announcement that she felt as though she would not be able to dedicate all of her energy to serving her constituents beyond the end of her current term. She currently leads her chamber’s Environmental Conservation Committee, where she has championed a number of bills, and has had a hand in passing landmark protections for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. Glick has endorsed District Leader Jeannine Kiely to replace her.

Stacey Pheffer Amato

Bringing an end to a Queens mini-dynasty, Pheffer Amato has decided she won’t seek another term for her seat, which was previously held by her mother. She said that after 10 years in the Assembly, she was ready to find new ways to serve her constituents. Although 2026 is an election year that is expected to be favorable to Democrats, Pheffer Amato has had several tough races the past few elections. She will leave vacant the chair of the Committee on Governmental Employees, where she has sponsored numerous bills in support of public servants. Pheffer Amato is backing Pesach Osina, a one-time City Council candidate, as her replacement.

Donna Lupardo

Binghamton will be in search of a new representative in the Assembly as Lupardo announced she would not seek another term in office. She did not give a specific reason for the exit, although she has served in the Legislature since 2005. Lupardo said she plans to continue advocating for the issues she fought for in the Assembly even out of office, including economic development to revitalize the Southern Tier and support for agriculture in the region. She also said she hopes to get a teaching role at Binghamton University, her alma mater. Though they praised Lupardo’s service, Republicans are gearing up to attempt to flip the open seat. Lupardo has endorsed attorney Dan Norton to replace her, though Democrats Nick Libous and Dan Livingston are also running, along with Republican Lynn Parker.

Marianne Buttenschon

Buttenschon is a newer member of the Legislature, first getting elected in 2018, so she has less of a track record than some of her long-tenured colleagues. She cited the chance to draft and pass bills in support of veterans and first responders as among her proudest achievements in serving her Utica and Rome constituents. Fellow Democrat Joe Betar, currently a Utica Common Council member, announced his plan to succeed Buttenschon. John Lipe, a former aide to Rep. John Mannion and former Rep. Anthony Brindisi, is also running in the Democratic primary for Buttenschon’s seat.

Nader Sayegh

Another less tenured member, Sayegh cited the soon-to-be-enforced outside income limits as one reason why he has decided not to run for reelection. He has a successful law firm outside of his work in the Legislature that the new rules would make more difficult to practice for. Since taking office in 2019, Sayegh has focused much of his attention on issues around education equity broadly and in his city of Yonkers. His chief of staff Frank Jereis has declared that he will run for the Assembly seat this year.

Vivian Cook

Although she initially insisted she would run for another term, Cook ultimately announced she would retire at the end of the year after a 35-year career in the Legislature. A fixture of Southeast Queens and mentor to many Black politicians that have come after her, Cook’s departure is seen as the true end of an era both in the borough and in Black political power. She did not provide a specific reason for the decision, but at nearly 90 years old, her move is not entirely surprising. The Queens Democratic Party has already decided to back Nathaniel Hezekiah, deputy chief of staff to Rep. Greg Meeks, to succeed Cook. But at least one other Democrat has filed to run, so there may yet be a competitive primary.

Kenneth Blankenbush

Blankenbush said “there’s no rhyme or reason” for his decision not to run for another term after 15 years in the Assembly. The Republican said that he was most proud to provide everyday assistance to his North Country constituents, like navigating the governmental regulatory bureaucracy necessary for opening a restaurant or obtaining various licenses. Blankenbush has already endorsed his chief of staff Tammie Nabywaniec to replace him.

Brian Manktelow

Another Republican looking to retire at the end of the year, Manktelow entered office to represent a portion of the Finger Lakes region in 2019. He did not cite a reason for his decision to leave public office. At least two Republicans have already announced campaigns to replace Manktelow, so a primary is in the cards this June.

Angelo Morinello

Morinello has served in the Assembly since 2017, and at a time of heightened partisanship, said that he has been able to work with members from both sides of the aisle in that time to deliver for his Western New York constituents. He has endorsed Rebecca Wydysh, a former Niagara County Legislature Chair, to replace him in the Legislature.

David McDonough

The nearly 90-year-old Long Island Republican made local headlines for failing to show up in person to the state Capitol for the past two years – and now McDonough is going to make his absence permanent through retirement. Although he has missed more than 100 votes so far this year, the Long Islander has nearly a quarter-century under his belt in the Assembly repping the Republican district. The GOP in Nassau County has already announced its plans to support state Senate staffer Shannon Fredericks to succeed him.

Daniel Norber

Before even finishing out his first term, Norber has already decided to call it quits and leave his Nassau County Assembly seat. The Republican made history in 2024 when he unseated former Assembly Member Gina Sillitti to become the first Republican to represent the Town of North Hempstead in the Assembly in over 50 years. Norber also garnered controversy over claims he didn’t actually reside in the district – though it did not prevent him from taking office. He cited a desire to spend more time with his family for his decision. Democrats will likely target the seat to flip it back.

Keith Brown

In even more Republican Long Island turnover, Brown announced he too would not seek reelection to a fourth term in the Assembly. In a statement, he cited his work on substance abuse issues and his prolific bill drafting as key achievements from his time in office. The Suffolk County Republican Party tapped Northport Village Trustee Dave Weber as its pick to replace Brown.

Jeff Gallahan

Yet another member of the Assembly minority has decided to ditch the chamber, with Gallahan announcing his intention to retire after filing petitions to appear on the ballot. He first won election in 2020, but has not faced a challenger from either party since then. Republicans in his Finger Lakes district will choose a replacement for him to run in November. Democrat Phillip Fleming had previously announced his run for the seat.

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100 days in, Mamdani embraces democratic socialism

Sahalie Donaldson — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:43:14 -0400

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani leaned wholeheartedly into democratic socialism while delivering his 100 day address Sunday, connecting his political ideology with his administration’s early wins and the promise of what could still be to come.

“On Jan. 1, I told New Yorkers that City Hall would hold a singular purpose: to make this city belong to more of its people than it did the day before. For 102 days we have endeavored to do exactly that,” Mamdani said, citing achievements like opening new child care centers and buses running faster on Fordham Road. “That is the change that government can deliver and it is the change that democratic socialism can deliver.”

Hundreds of supporters and city workers gathered at the Knockdown Center in Queens to celebrate Mamdani’s 100th day in office – a milestone the new mayor technically reached Friday. During his historical campaign, he’d hosted a number of rallies at popular music venues, each teeming with droves of supporters, many participating in city elections for the first time. Sunday’s rally, full of political theater, had a similar buzz to it – and some tongue-in-cheek nostalgia for this “new era” of Mamdani. A handful of items representing key moments from the last few months were on display in a makeshift museum: a glass container filled with road salt and a shovel, a Taco Bell bag and a podium with a plaque touting the governor’s expansion of early childhood education to name a few.

Throughout the nearly 40-minute speech, the 34-year-old mayor celebrated city workers while simultaneously embracing his democratic socialism. “I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani joined possibly the country’s most prominent democratic socialist, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, at an unrelated rally earlier Sunday announcing the launch of Union Now, a nonprofit formed to support labor organizing efforts. Mamdani brought Sanders out on stage at his own event hours later, where the Vermonter gushed about the man who’s called him an inspiration. “I have been on platforms with hundreds and hundreds of mayors and all kinds of public officials,” Sanders said. “This is the first time I was ever introduced by someone who talked proudly about democratic socialism.”

The speech underscored Mamdani’s growing role as one of the country’s most well-known democratic socialists – a role that’s garnered him both acclaim from the left and condemnation. Throughout his tenure, and again Sunday, he’s sought to combat the latter by connecting socialism with the efficient delivery of government services to New Yorkers.

The first 100 days of every mayoral administration has been a mixed bag. For Mamdani, soaring highs like his handling of the relationship with President Donald Trump, the long-awaited opening of a hospital unit for incarcerated people at Bellevue Hospital and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s commitment to expand funding for early childhood education are juxtaposed with his threat to raise property taxes that angered many New Yorkers and the deaths of more than two dozen New Yorkers during a historic cold stretch.

On Sunday however, Mamdani kept the focus solely on the highlights, describing his approach to governing as “pothole politics” – the idea that fixing nuts and bolts problems like potholes will improve New Yorkers’ quality of life and restore their trust in government in the process. He said that this idea is the 2026 version of “sewer socialism,” referencing a focus on local services and municipal improvement over economic revolution.

“And to the cynics, we are going to fill your potholes too,” Mamdani said. “When socialists make promises, we go after it.”

To that end, Mamdani announced Sunday he’d made progress on what may have been his most classically socialist campaign promise: a city-owned grocery store in each borough. In addition to announcing that the city would recommit to trash containerization and redesign 45 major bus corridors with the goal of speeding up routes, Mamdani said that the first grocery store would open in Manhattan next year. That new store would cost the city an estimated $30 million, The New York Times first reported, refreshing an existing city-owned market in East Harlem. But Mamdani preemptively brushed aside concerns about the cost.

“Now some will insist that city-owned businesses do not work, that the government cannot keep up with corporations," Mamdani said. “My answer to them is simple. I look forward to the competition. May the most affordable grocery store win.”

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Mamdani’s first 100 days: A record-breaking winter

Sophie Krichevsky — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

It was New York City’s most intense winter of the past decade. It walloped the city with not one but two major snowstorms in the two months after Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration. The first storm was followed by a prolonged period of life-threatening cold. The city got hit with a foot more snow than a typical winter, and the average temperature was 32 degrees between Dec. 21 and March 20, CBS News New York reported, more than 4 degrees below normal. That meant mountains of snow hardened into filthy ice towers that remained on city streets and sidewalks for weeks.

Fairly or not, a new mayor is often judged by his handling of his first winter storm. For Mamdani, there were both victories and major challenges.

GOOD: Plow the way, Mr. Mayor!

Mamdani received widespread praise for the city’s immediate response to the storm that dropped nearly a foot of snow on the Big Apple on Jan. 25. Streets were plowed quickly and continuously, as were bike lanes. Mamdani was aggressive in his PSA efforts, making the rounds on TV and radio in the days leading up to the storm. And he was seen personally shoveling snow in Williamsburg (albeit, without a hat) even as the snow continued to fall.

Mamdani was perhaps better prepared for the larger blizzard that hit in late February, issuing a travel ban from 9 p.m. on Feb. 22 to noon the next day. The city’s Code Blue protocols were heightened, with additional warming centers open. Mamdani also gave city students a traditional snow day without any remote learning. During his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump criticized Mamdani for requiring two forms of ID for the city’s emergency snow shoveler program – but the critique backfired, as 1,400 shovelers signed up that day alone.

BAD: New Yorkers die in frigid temperatures

The early praise coincided with tragedy: Seven people died outside in the cold the first weekend of the cold snap that began in late January and lasted more than two weeks. As frigid temperatures stuck around for weeks after, that number grew to 29, including people who died both inside and outside. The Mamdani administration drew much criticism for those deaths as many questioned how prepared the city was for such intense, prolonged cold. It also sparked debate about whether the city should continue the Eric Adams-era policy of sweeping homeless encampments. After briefly pausing sweeps, Mamdani ended up reinstating that practice, much to the chagrin of homeless and social services groups, including The Legal Aid Society.

UGLY: Talk about a situation snowballing.

A massive snowball fight in Washington Square Park got out of control on Feb. 24 when police officers were pelted with snowballs and left with minor injuries. The mayor initially dismissed the incident as a snowball fight that “got out of hand” but many, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, took it more seriously, decrying the way the cops were treated and calling for charges to be brought. It represented the first public split between Mamdani and Tisch during the new administration. Two men, an 18-year-old and a 27-year-old, were arrested in connection with the incident. The latter, however, saw his charges reduced.

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Mamdani’s first 100 days: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

City & State — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

We are now 100 days into the Zohran Mamdani era – a milestone the city’s youngest mayor in a century is commemorating with signature enthusiasm and communication skills. On Sunday, he’ll deliver a rally-style address at the Knockdown Center in Queens.

Just a few months into his history-making tenure, it’s still wait-and-see on Mamdani’s signature campaign promises. The Rent Guidelines Board is about two weeks into its annual process to determine whether to freeze rents for nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, though he managed to appoint a sympathetic majority to the board. The mayor has acknowledged that his plan to make buses free won’t be happening this year after state lawmakers declined to wrap it into their budget proposals. City-owned grocery stores aren’t going to be popping up around the five boroughs anytime soon either. The mayor’s brightest spot is his pledge to create a free, universal child care system. While a truly universal program is likely still years down the line, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s commitment to expand free child care to 2-year-olds was an indisputably big deal.

All that to say, New York City hasn’t magically become affordable. In fact, there are some troubling economic indicators. New York City lost 20,000 jobs in 2025, according to the state Department of Labor. And unlike his predecessors, the new mayor hasn’t focused on economic development. But he has been plenty busy as he addresses the day-to-day grind of city business, filling potholes, signing executive orders, opening a long-delayed therapeutic center at Bellevue Hospital to treat incarcerated people, tackling a historic cold stretch, hosting New Yorkers for Iftars during Ramadan and appearing just about everywhere.

“The city sets the pace, New Yorkers do it as well,” Mamdani told City & State in an interview. “Now it's the job of city government to actually catch up.”

Still, New Yorkers have somewhat mixed feelings about the new mayor, at least according to the most recent Marist Poll. He has a 48% approval rating, below what former Mayor Eric Adams had at the same early point in his tenure. Mamdani performed well on other indicators though, suggesting that people’s minds aren’t set – and that there is space for the mayor to grow. Nearly 75% of New York City residents said they think Mamdani is hardworking and 61% think he’s a good leader for the city.

“If we want to win the faith of New Yorkers with the most transformational ideas, we have to deliver on the very things that they've seen unaddressed for weeks, months and years,” Mamdani said.

Here’s our take on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Mamdani’s first 100 days. – Sahalie Donaldson

THE GOOD

Day 8, a major child care announcement. / Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

Universal (eventually)! Child care!

Eight days into Mamdani’s mayoralty, Gov. Kathy Hochul committed a whopping $1.2 billion to his child care agenda for fiscal year 2027, an extra boost that would cover an expansion of the 3K program and the beginning of free child care for 2-year-olds. Ever the communicator, Mamdani repeatedly reminded New Yorkers of that early victory throughout his first 100 days, holding a series of press conferences to announce the neighborhoods where free child care would expand, to map existing daycare centers, to open a new early childhood center and to urge families to sign up for existing programs. But despite the full-court PR press, the administration has so far refused to release their early child care enrollment numbers after the Feb. 27 deadline. – Holly Pretsky

The Mamdani Machine

Mamdani racked up an early political victory by ensuring his socialist of choice replaced him in the Assembly. Not only did Diana Moreno win the special election, the Queens Democratic Party chose her as its candidate after Mamdani made it clear she was his pick. Quite a shift for the organization that has historically worked against the Democratic Socialists of America. While Moreno was Mamdani’s first candidate to win an election, he still managed to exert influence on two races before even taking office when he convinced both Council Members Chi Ossé and Alexa Avilés not to run for Congress. Impressive feats for the rookie mayor.

This all gives Mamdani momentum headed into the real test of his political power: The congressional and state legislative Democratic primaries. The future of the mayor’s machine will come into focus with the race for the 7th Congressional District, where Mamdani is campaigning hard for freshman socialist Assembly Member Claire Valdez to win the open “Commie Corridor” seat over the seasoned Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso (see below). – Rebecca C. Lewis

Trump to the City: Let’s Build

The mayor’s talent for charming President Donald Trump only improved after his first visit to the White House in November. Mamdani absconded to D.C. on an early morning flight in February, keeping his trip private at the request of the president. Afterward, he emerged with a surreal Oval Office photo in which he stands next to a grinning Trump who holds two Daily News front page covers: the famous “Ford to City: Drop Dead” in his left hand and an imitation “Trump to City: Let’s Build” in his right. Mamdani claimed he got the president interested in building 12,000 affordable homes with $21 billion in federal grants at Sunnyside Yard in Queens. He also managed to secure the release of two campus activists from immigration detention, thrilling the socialist mayor’s base. – Holly Pretsky

A social media-savvy DCWP

If there’s one New York City department that’s emulated the Mamdani campaign ethos of being everywhere all the time, elevating the needs of the working class and using viral videos to lodge its message in the maw of the chronically online New Yorker, it’s the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. A relatively small department that typically flies under the radar, Mamdani’s DCWP and its Commissioner Sam Levine came out swinging. On Day 5, Mamdani and Levine announced a new crackdown on hidden junk fees. On Day 14, they sued delivery company Motoclick. On Day 21, they went after hidden hotel fees. On Day 30, they celebrated a $5 million settlement for food delivery workers. And on Day 83, the mukbang brothers announced over Crunchwrap Supremes that fast food workers would get money back over labor violations.

If that sounds like too much for a new commissioner to do in three months, that’s because it is. The investigations that led to some of that work were underway in the Adams administration.

Levine works in the model of his former mentor at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, anti-monopolist Lina Khan. Levine will meet with big tech companies, he told City & State on Day 21, but he’s “not here because I want to be invited to their Christmas party.” Now if only DCWP could get that doubled budget Mamdani promised on the campaign trail. – Annie McDonough

Not today Eric Adams!

Former Mayor Eric Adams may have been well acquainted with the storied ghost of Gracie Mansion, but his attempts to haunt Mayor Zohran Mamdani haven’t been successful. On his first day in office, the new mayor eliminated a suite of his predecessor’s executive orders, including two championed by Adams during his final months in office that had adopted a broad definition of antisemitism and barred city employees from boycotting Israel. This was just the start of the Mamdani reign. Remember that Charter Revision Commission Adams rolled out on his final day in office, tasked with opening up the city’s primary elections? Its future is uncertain after the person Adams intended to be chair failed to file the necessary paperwork in time, likely giving Mamdani an opportunity to appoint a new leader. Perhaps the greatest win for Mamdani though was his thwarting of Adams’ attempts to stack the Rent Guidelines Board with his own appointees. With the majority of those last-minute appointments falling through, Mamdani has leapt at the opportunity to potentially bring his signature campaign pledge to fruition. He’s stacked the board with people likely to vote to freeze rents for more than 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. – Sahalie Donaldson

THE BAD

The mayor previously counted La Luchadora as a prominent ally. / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

You pissed off Nydia Velázquez

You need to pick your battles as mayor. And by recruiting, endorsing and campaigning for Assembly Member Claire Valdez in the race to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Mamdani has ended up in a Cold War with just about every one of his key Democratic allies except DSA.

It wasn’t just endorsing Valdez, but how he did it. There were attempts to coordinate with Velázquez, find a successor both the legendary Luchadora and the new mayor could agree on. She has no shortage of progressive proteges. But Mamdani was set on Valdez, the one local elected she barely knew, who’d only been in office one year.

“Honeymoons are short, and people need to pay attention to the work at hand,” Velázquez advised Mamdani in a quietly scathing New York Times interview just two weeks into the mayor’s term. The mayor getting so involved, she added, “opens up fights.”

Sure enough, now every single endorsement for Reynoso is seen as a subtle repudiation of the mayor and his influence. And there have been a lot of repudiations. The mayor couldn’t even convince the Working Families Party to join him on Team Valdez, nor District Council 37 nor Attorney General Letitia James. On the surface, everyone is still smiling and shaking hands. But the race is raising real questions about Mamdani’s political extracurricular activities, and whether he’s pissing off would-be allies by leaning on his own litmus test: whether somebody endorsed him for mayor early enough in the mayoral primary. – Jeff Coltin

The property tax fail

You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose, and you budget in poorly considered bluffs, apparently. Mamdani’s first budget is far from over – there may yet be a world in which he gets Albany to raise taxes on the wealthy or corporations. But some of his maneuvers in pursuit of that have fallen flat. Namely, his property tax ultimatum.

As gambits go, this one fooled few and angered many. His argument was that if Albany refuses to raise taxes and kick in more state aid, the city will be forced to use one of the few levers at its disposal: raising city property taxes to fill a $5.4 billion budget hole. Ostensibly, the intention was to pressure Hochul to tax the rich. Instead, he underestimated the political poison that is associated with the mere suggestion of raising property taxes, and overestimated his ability to direct that toward Hochul.

Mamdani is in an admittedly tough spot for his first budget. The new mayor has been praised for trying to more accurately reflect the city’s spending, but that leaves him weighing unpopular measures to close a yawning budget gap, catching flak from credit rating agencies and getting himself into an all-out brawl with the City Council. All while he would probably rather be fulfilling campaign promises like funding a Department of Community Safety and finally raising Parks spending. – Annie McDonough

A case of Julie Menin-gitis

Did you expect the other wing of City Hall to just fall in line with the new mayor’s whims? Not a chance! Certainly not with its own savvy leader at the helm – one with more executive experience than the 34-year-old mayor and with her own ambitions. City Council Speaker Julie Menin was far from Mamdani’s first choice to lead the legislative body, but despite his half-hearted interventions, she dominated the speaker’s race. And with her leading the charge, the council is proving resistant to some of the mayor’s moves – just look at members’ outright refusal to raise property taxes and the latest fight over rental vouchers. The tension spilled out into the newsfeed when Menin and the council released their response to Mamdani’s preliminary budget, claiming they found billions in savings the mayor’s office missed. Mamdani took the opportunity to call Menin out personally, saying that under “her proposal,” “working New Yorkers would pay the price.” Council members quickly jumped to defend their math. – Sahalie Donaldson

Homeless sweep swap

Adams took a hard line against homeless encampments, arguing that any policy that allows people to live outside is inhumane, while also failing to relocate people into more permanent shelter during encampment sweeps. In December, Mamdani told reporters at an unrelated press conference that he planned to end the sweeps, perhaps unintentionally announcing a major policy shift. In February, under pressure after some 20 New Yorkers froze to death during a prolonged cold snap, Mamdani reversed course. Though none of those deaths appeared to be people who lived in encampments, Mamdani said he would restart the practice of clearing people’s outdoor dwellings, but would do so more gently than his predecessor, sending Department of Homeless Services workers to offer services to people every day for a week before forcing them to move. – Holly Pretsky

Police shootings

There is no easy way to handle a police shooting. Mamdani, newly responsible for the NYPD, has been confronted with a handful in the first few months of his tenure. That includes three incidents in January – including a man who was killed by police after barricading himself in a hospital room with a sharp object, a man who was killed in the street after drawing what appeared to be a gun, and a man who was hospitalized after being shot at his family home during a mental health emergency.

The latter, the shooting of Jabez Chakraborty, drew attention to Mamdani’s campaign pledge to revolutionize how the city responds to people in emergency mental health crises, as the case seemed like one his promised, but not yet delivered, Department of Community Safety might be able to address. (Though because Chakraborty drew a knife after police arrived, it’s unclear how the theoretical department would have responded. Mamdani has since announced a pared-down Office of Community Safety.)

Mamdani’s initial response to the shooting, in which he expressed gratitude to the responding officers, was also criticized by Chakraborty’s family and Desis Rising Up and Moving, a major campaign ally, highlighting Mamdani’s challenge of leading a police department that he has so frequently pledged to reform. – Annie McDonough

THE UGLY

Far-right activist Jake Lang held an Islamophobic rally outside Gracie Mansion. / Matthew Hoen/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The extremists descend on Gracie

It’s New York City’s first Muslim mayor. Of course Mamdani’s admin took office ready to overcome hate. But no one could have expected how quickly it could escalate. A white supremacist organized a "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City" rally outside Gracie Mansion in March. That group clashed violently with counter-protesters. Two teens from Pennsylvania, who federal investigators said were inspired by ISIS, traveled to the city for the counter-demonstration and threw two homemade explosives intending a deadly attack. Fortunately, the bombs failed to detonate, but the FBI and NYPD investigated and later charged the teens with federal terrorism crimes. They are being held without bail. – Kate Lisa

Islamophobia, everywhere

Whether it was radio host Sid Rosenberg calling him a “Radical Islam cockroach” or U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville calling the mayor an “enemy” and connecting him to the terrorism of 9/11, the drumbeat of Islamophobic attacks that Mamdani faced on the campaign trail continued after he entered City Hall.

Mamdani made it a priority to conspicuously and consistently celebrate the holy month of Ramadan as mayor. He also walked a tight rope – carefully wording statements denouncing pro-Hamas chants, for example, and another denouncing a foiled bombing plot against a pro-Palestinian activist. Meanwhile, anti-Muslim hate crimes – while still limited numerically – saw a troubling increase in the first months of 2026. – Jeff Coltin

Tensions remain over Israel

Political opposition to Israel is one of Mamdani’s core beliefs. He worked overtime trying to allay many pro-Israel Jews’ concerns about him during the campaign, but becoming mayor didn’t magically fix anything.

His first legislative battle with the City Council has become, in effect, a test of whether one stands with Jews trying to go to synagogue or the protesters outside. And those who said Mamdani didn’t take antisemitism seriously could point to new hate crime statistics. There was a spike in his first month compared to the prior January, and the majority of reported hate crimes are still against Jews.

And while Mamdani’s own social media posts had already been combed through, journalists highlighted his wife Rama Duwaji’s social media activity – liking posts that justified and celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and reposting others as a teenager that celebrated Palestinian resistance. That made it open season against Duwaji on social media – former Rep. George Santos called her “American hating bitch,” and worse. The saga reopened old wounds between Mamdani and some of his harshest critics, and put the mayor on the defensive. – Jeff Coltin

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This race ain’t big enough for two Micahs

Sophie Krichevsky — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:40:13 -0400

The Democratic field for New York’s 12th Congressional District may be big, but apparently, it’s not big enough for two Micahs.

Assembly Member Micah Lasher’s campaign is trying to boot longshot candidate Micah Bergdale from the ballot because they share the same first name.

A dispute to Bergdale’s petitions was filed Thursday, records show, with Suzanne Jacobson, vice president of fundraising for the West Side Democrats, listed as the challenger. Lasher has deep ties to the club, which endorsed him in the June 23 Democratic primary. His mother, Stephanie Lasher, is a member of its board, and his campaign treasurer, Robert Gottheim, is also the club’s treasurer – and chief of staff to outgoing Rep. Jerry Nadler too.

On top of that, an election attorney for a competing campaign told City & State they ran into members of Lasher’s team Tuesday night at the Board of Elections office in lower Manhattan. When the lawyer told them they were there on behalf of another client in another race, Gottheim said they were looking to contest Bergdale’s petitions because of the confusion their shared first names might pose.

Gottheim confirmed the facts to City & State. And a person familiar with the Lasher campaign said the objection was filed because Bergdale’s petitions contained numerous errors, including signatures from people living outside the district, and that Bergdale is registered to vote at a Columbus Circle co-working space, rather than a residential address, which City & State confirmed.

FEC filings for Bergdale, who founded a rental car company, list his home address as being in the Bronx. Reached after publication, Bergdale did not dispute that he lives in the Bronx and works in Manhattan. “I’m not trying to be a spoiler – obviously, you know, there are two Micahs, which is a rarity,” he told City & State. “We’re both the same age as well, funny enough, so our mothers must have been inspired that year for the name Micah.”

Jacobson now has another six days to file a more specific objection to Bergdale’s petitions.

Objecting to opponents’ petitions is routine and it’s legal for Lasher’s campaign – or a surrogate – to do so, but Bergdale wouldn’t be the first candidate to depart the race and narrow the field in Lasher’s favor, should the challenge succeed. Lasher’s biggest West Side rival in the primary, Erik Bottcher, abandoned his bid to replace Nadler to instead win a special election to replace Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal in the state Senate. Other West Siders including Cameron Kasky and Jami Floyd have also dropped out. Meanwhile, Assembly Member Alex Bores is looking to run up the numbers on the East Side as the two legislators fend off Jack Schlossberg, George Conway, Nina Schwalbe, Laura Dunn, Patrick Timmins and Chris Diep.

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Mamdani’s first 100 days: Every politician is now making Reels

Annie McDonough — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

You are scrolling TikTok or X, brainrotting in peace, and suddenly a stiff municipal politician or congressional candidate is staring back at you, clasping a mini mic and trying desperately to relate to you using shoehorned, outdated slang like “brainrot.”

This is Zohran Mamdani’s New York.

Mamdani’s success on social media is by this point the stuff of overwritten legend. The casual, irreverent charm of his TikToks showed younger voters an approachable politician who appeared effortless and was actually entertaining.

Council Member Chi Ossé, his erstwhile frenemy, arguably perfected this medium before Mamdani more widely popularized it. (As he points out in one of his own videos, Ossé is actually Gen Z, unlike the mayor.)

Anthony DiMieri, co-founder of Melted Solids, the firm responsible for many of Mamdani’s campaign videos, told City & State over text that viewership is just one part of the overall goal in political social media. “Are we telling a story? Are people signing onto the campaign? What are the comments/reactions saying (the ones that aren’t from bot farms)?” he wrote. “While big view counts are great sometimes it’s more important to make content that deepens the connection between political leaders and their communities.”

It’s the age of Mamdani, and pretty much every New York politician (and local media outlet) is trying their hand at short-form video content.

So it seemed only fair that we take a stab at it too. (Spoiler: it is hard!!) pic.twitter.com/ql4d7Ecmvb
— Annie McDonough (@Annie_McDonough) April 9, 2026

Regardless of who is doing it, connecting with voters through short-form video requires skills not easily acquired. But that hasn’t stopped more than a dozen other New York politicians and elected officials from trying their hardest.

Six years ago, a handful of Gen Z wannabe insurgents were on TikTok. Today, the pioneering pols trying their hands at short-form span every end of the political spectrum and all age groups.

Outside of his clients, DiMieri shouted out Democratic congressional candidates Darializa Avila Chevalier and Alex Bores as doing “great work” with video, and called former Mamdani mayoral opponent, Republican Curtis Sliwa, “one of the greatest content creators in New York history.”

Farther afield, he thinks the UK’s Green Party could teach American politicians a thing or two.

One dead giveaway of a bad video? “Too much walking and talking,” DiMieri said.

Elsewhere, Council Member and congressional candidate Julie Won posted a “get ready with me” that was 80% genuine makeup tips, 20% fundraising ask.

Assembly Member Steven Raga tried out some dynamic camera work to explain public matching funds in his state Senate campaign.

Since at least last September, Council Member Lynn Schulman has maintained a TikTok page to post an “in my neighborhood” series as well as highlights from speeches at council hearings and rallies.

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine (whose presence on TikTok dates to at least 2024), is trying to make the often dry work of comptrolling the least bit appealing to a broad audience with quick cuts and jazzy background music.

Republican Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella even copped Mamdani’s signature style to criticize him for not expanding 2-K seats to the “forgotten borough.”

If they’re not all quite as polished as Mamdani or Ossé, sometimes the first TikToks out of the gate can be charming in other ways, like watching a baby deer learning to walk.

Keep in mind, we’re gently lobbing stones from a glass house. Journalism is once again pivoting to video, with local outlets including Streetsblog, New York Focus and Politico reaching their audiences with short-form content. Sooner or later, City & State will probably make its own grand return to TikTok.

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DSA unsurprisingly votes to endorse AOC for reelection

Peter Sterne — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:21 -0400

The New York City Democratic Socialists of America formally endorsed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for reelection on Wednesday night, strengthening its relationship with its most famous member as she lays the groundwork for a possible 2028 presidential campaign.

“NYC-DSA was there at Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s side when she was first elected in 2018, and we’ll have her back as she continues to lead the growing working class movement fighting back against Trump’s fascist agenda,” NYC-DSA Co-Chair Gustavo Gordillo said in a statement.

The decision to reendorse Ocasio-Cortez followed an online vote of NYC-DSA members – in which more than 3,078 people voted in favor of endorsement and just 512 voted against – and a virtual candidate forum that made international news.

Prior to the forum, some in NYC-DSA expressed concern about Ocasio-Cortez’s public support for defensive military aid to Israel. Although she had never technically voted in favor of sending aid to Israel, she had made clear in public statements that she opposed sending “offensive” weapons to Israel but did not necessarily object to sending “defensive” weapons like the Iron Dome missile defense system.

During the April 7 virtual forum, Ocasio-Cortez was asked whether she supported an arms embargo on Israel. “To answer your question, the answer is yes, I will support an arms embargo,” Ocasio-Cortez said, according to a partial recording of the forum shared with City & State. “It is time for us to be able to talk about this with the majority of the American people and about how … the Israeli government has to be able to pay for its own munitions.” Ocasio-Cortez was then asked whether she would commit to voting against all U.S. military aid to Israel – “including so-called ‘defensive capacities’” like the Iron Dome – and she replied that she would.

Initially, many in NYC-DSA cheered Ocasio-Cortez’s pledge to oppose all U.S. military aid to Israel and credited DSA with successfully pushing her to the left. For her part, Ocasio-Cortez denied that her position on Israel was shaped by political pressure, whether from the supporters of the Jewish state or its critics. “It’s also important to demonstrate and to just say that these votes (against aid to Israel) do not come without cost, and we take them, we take these positions, not out of the political calculation of what benefits and what doesn’t, but because it’s the right thing to do,” she said during the forum.

Ocasio-Cortez also spoke during the forum about her relationship with DSA and the two-way nature of an endorsement. “When we talk about the positions that I take, what an endorsement means is not just what I will do for the organization, but I think we also have to talk about what an endorsement means from the organization to one of its members,” she said, explaining that NYC-DSA should seek to correct “political misinformation” about her voting record when it comes to Israel and Palestine. “I would like us to be able to amplify our proactive votes and actions for Palestine as much, ideally more, than any disagreements on small, on the dramatic minority of these actions,” she added.

On April 8, the day after the virtual forum, Ocasio-Cortez released a public statement clarifying her new stance: “The Israeli government is well able to fund the Iron Dome system, which has proven critical to keep innocent civilians safe from rocket attacks and bombardment. Consistent with my voting record to date, I will not support Congress sending more taxpayer dollars and military aid to a government that consistently ignores international law and U.S. law. … Our allies who need our military aid must understand that we will provide it consistent with the Leahy amendment and the foreign assistance act.” (The Foreign Assistance Act contains provisions that prohibit the government from aiding foreign governments that are found to have committed human rights abuses or blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid, while the Leahy Law prohibits the government from providing arms to specific foreign military units that commit gross violations of human rights.)

That prompted a new round of criticism, as Ocasio-Cortez’s critics within DSA argued that ending U.S. military aid to Israel but still allowing Israel to buy American weapons didn’t really amount to an arms embargo on Israel. Ocasio-Cortez is also a co-sponsor of the Block the Bombs Act, which would ban the export of certain bombs, but not all weapons, to Israel.

Ocasio-Cortez was also criticized for refusing to commit to endorsing DSA’s slate of candidates for the 2026 Democratic primaries. She instead said she would assess each candidate on their own merits and according to her own strict criteria, which includes a commitment to Medicare for All, a refusal of all money from corporate PACs and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and a history of organizing in their communities.

Due to these and other concerns, some internal DSA groups like the staunchly anti-Zionist Springs of Revolution and the communist Emerge actually argued against endorsing Ocasio-Cortez for reelection. It didn’t matter. NYC-DSA members still voted overwhelmingly to endorse Ocasio-Cortez for reelection.

There is little doubt that Ocasio-Cortez will win reelection this year, though conservative Democrat Marty Dolan, whom Ocasio-Cortez trounced 82%-18% two years ago, has launched another doomed primary bid against her.

The bigger question is what 2028 holds. Ocasio-Cortez’s individual orientation to Israel is receiving greater scrutiny since she is considered a potential presidential candidate, a successor to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders who could unite the left. If she does not run for president in two years, Ocasio-Cortez is seen as a likely candidate to replace U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. Both options present major opportunities for NYC-DSA.

When Ocasio-Cortez was asked about the 2028 presidential election during the virtual forum, she just spoke about the left’s general strategy – including minimum standards for any candidate supported by progressives and what characteristics the ideal left-lane candidate might have – rather than offering any insight into her own plans.

NYC-DSA played a key role in Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 primary win over then-Rep. Joe Crowley, and the local chapter has endorsed her in each election since. National DSA, however, did not reendorse her in 2024 due to concerns that she had not taken a hard enough line against Israel.

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Jessica Ramos paid off her anti-casino poll debt. But what did it cost?

Jeff Coltin — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Two years later, state Sen. Jessica Ramos has finally paid off the poll she said solidified her opposition to Mets owner Steve Cohen’s plan for a casino and entertainment complex next to Citi Field.

But the book can’t be closed just yet – the Queens Democrat and her pollster, Slingshot Strategies, can’t seem to agree on how much she paid for its services. And to complicate matters, Ramos only updated her campaign finance filings to include the latest payments to Slingshot, following City & State’s inquiries.

Ramos first shared the poll in April 2024, announcing to The City that 75% of her constituents didn’t want a casino in their neighborhood. She initially said the poll cost $27,500 and was paid for by an anonymous donor. But that raised concerns that a rival casino bid might have been trying to influence her as she weighed whether to greenlight the casino bid in her district. Ramos changed course months later and said she’d pay Slingshot out of her state campaign account instead.

When she finally did start paying it off, the first $5,000 chunk came right after Neal Kwatra, a lobbyist for the Bally’s Corp. bid in the Bronx and a longtime Ramos ally, donated $5,000 to her reelection campaign in September 2024.

Campaign finance records show Ramos made another $5,000 payment to Slingshot in October 2024, a $14,000 payment in May 2025, a third $5,000 payment on Jan. 9 of this year and a final $8,500 payment on March 4. The last two payments were added in amended filings with the Board of Elections on Monday night, after City & State first contacted Ramos’ campaign. Before that, the $13,500 in payments by Ramos’ campaign had not been reported.

Slingshot founding partner Evan Roth Smith and Ramos campaign spokesperson Hank Sheinkopf both confirmed the poll was paid in full. But they disagree on how much was paid. Smith told City & State the firm never received the first $5,000 payment in September 2024 that’s recorded in Ramos’ campaign filings. But he said Ramos was charged $32,500 and has now paid it off – a cost that was confirmed by an invoice reviewed by City & State. Sheinkopf disputed that. “The poll cost $37,500. And that is exactly what was paid,” he said in a text message.

It’s not clear why Ramos would record paying an extra $5,000 she didn’t owe, but it wouldn’t be the first time she has failed to maintain accurate campaign finance records. When Ramos effectively suspended her New York City mayoral campaign to endorse former Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year, she was carrying tens of thousands of dollars in unreported liabilities. Her next filing showed her campaign to be more than $125,000 in debt. But she has not filed a report with the New York City Campaign Finance Board since June 2025, blowing the last two disclosure deadlines.

Even after the casino was approved for her Queens district, Ramos has been campaigning on her opposition to it. She’s facing a tough reelection battle against Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas and former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate.

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Buffalo Common Council Member Leah Halton-Pope likely to replace Assembly Member Crystal Peoples-Stokes

Rebecca C. Lewis and Kate Lisa — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:01:11 -0400

A city of Buffalo Common Council member is expected to be named to replace Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes on the ballot, after she announces Wednesday she won’t be seeking reelection.

According to two Western New York Democratic insiders, Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope, who served as Peoples-Stokes’ chief of staff for years, will likely become the new Democratic Party nominee for her Buffalo-area Assembly district. Peoples-Stokes, a longtime fixture of Democratic leadership in Western New York, has served in the Legislature for over two decades.

The timing of People-Stokes announcement means that she and party leaders can hand-pick her successor without going through the typical open primary process. The deadline to file petitions passed on Monday, and Peoples-Stokes is the only candidate to submit signatures in the deep-blue district where the Democratic nominee is all but guaranteed to win in November. In order to replace her on the ballot, party insiders that make up an obscure body called a committee to fill vacancies will choose who will appear instead. The process is similar to that for a special election, in which party leaders choose a nominee to run outside the normal election cycle.

State Sen. Jeremy Zellner, who also serves as chair of the Erie County Democratic Committee, said he plans to convene the committee to fill vacancies this weekend, members of which will speak with all interested candidates.

“I anticipate it'll be unanimous one way or another,” Zellner told City & State on Tuesday. “We've never really had it any other way.”

Zellner said the committee will interview all candidates in the coming days. He said Halton-Pope is on the shortlist of possible replacements, and so are Buffalo Common Council Member Zeneta Everhart and Erie County Legislator Lawrence Dupre. Zellner declined to identify a front-runner, but he spoke highly of Halton-Pope, whom he’s had a close working relationship with for the last eight years. It’s a relationship that Zellner said he looks forward to continuing if Halton-Pope is chosen to run for the seat.

“I don't want to be talking about frontrunners before she makes her decision, but I know Leah very well,” Zellner said. “I’m very close with her and she would do a remarkable job.”

Zellner won a special election in February to succeed Sean Ryan, Buffalo's new mayor. Ryan declined to comment on Peoples-Stokes’ plans. Zellner said the last two months in Albany have taught him that state lawmakers need to work together, build relationships and bring people together to get things done – traits he said Halton-Pope emulates. "Leah has done that over her career," Zellner said.

A third Western New York Democratic source named Halton-Pope as one of the two most likely to picks for the Assembly seat, with Demone Smith – Halton-Pope’s chief of staff – as the other. However, Zellner seemed to throw cold water on the idea by pointing out Smith likely wouldn’t cross his boss if she wanted the job. The insider also mentioned Dupre, but suggested he would be more likely to run for Halton-Pope’s Common Council seat.

Peoples-Stokes’ retirement timing and subsequent insider jockeying to replace her is nothing new to Albany, but it still drew a quick rebuke from a good government advocate. “This is a time-honored tradition,” said Blair Horner, senior policy adviser for the New York York Public Interest Research Group. “This is not the first time it's ever happened … The parties like to control who they believe the best candidate is, and it's far better to let the voters of that party make that choice.”

Politico New York first broke the news of Peoples-Stoke’s retirement, but news quickly spread. Although her office did not confirm her retirement, the NAACP New York State Conference put out a statement Tuesday afternoon commending Peoples-Stokes for her decades in the Assembly. “The State Conference is grateful for her courage, her persistence, and her clarity of purpose,” the organization said, particularly commending Peoples-Stokes work in legalizing adult-use marijuana. “She never lost sight of who she served or why it mattered. New York is better because of her work.”

Halton-Pope did not respond to a request for comment, and Peoples-Stokes’ office said it would not comment until tomorrow at 2 p.m.

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Vanessa Aronson is walking right into the Assembly

Alisha Allison — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Vanessa Aronson is a shoo-in to fill Alex Bores’ Assembly seat on the east side of Manhattan. That isn’t a political analysis of a crowded field, but the facts – Aronson is the only Democrat running who has filed petitions for the open seat. This means there won’t be a primary, and Aronson will be the Democratic party’s nominee on the ballot in November in a district President Donald Trump lost by 53 points.

Aronson, a former public school teacher and strategist at animal rights group nonprofit ASPCA, announced her intent back in September. She told City & State last year she had filed to “be prepared” if Bores, the incumbent Assembly member, decided to run for Congress instead. He did, and now he’s facing off against at least seven Democratic primary opponents hoping to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.

Aronson is luckier. Being the only Democrat running is an anomaly. Four years ago, after former Assembly Member Dan Quart declined to seek reelection, Bores beat out four candidates for the open seat. In Lower Manhattan, six Democrats are seeking to succeed Assembly Member Grace Lee as she runs for state Senate and another six Dems have filed for retiring Assembly Member Deborah Glick’s open seat. Across the East River in Queens, at least three Democrats are seeking Assembly Member Claire Valdez’s seat and another three hoping to replace Assembly Member Steven Raga.

And when Aronson ran in the open City Council race last year to succeed the term-limited Keith Powers, she got second in a field of six, and when she ran in the same council district in 2017, nine candidates made the primary ballot.

Now as the party's nominee, Aronson is announcing endorsements from borough power players – who else would they support? – including Bores, Nadler, City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Council Member Virginia Maloney, who narrowly bested Aronson last year.

“I'm grateful and proud of Virginia's support,” Aronson told City & State. “I'm really grateful that the East Side has two people who are excited to work together and do what's best for our community."

While Bores is backing Aronson, the lack of a primary may be disappointing for his own race. A competitive two-person primary to fill the seat of his rival, Assembly Member Micah Lasher, could help boost June turnout on the Upper West Side. But a Bores campaign spokesperson said it’s not a worry, since the House race is the higher profile race on the top of the ticket.

Aronson is also uncontested for the Working Families Party nomination. But she’s likely to face an opponent in the general election. Republican David Casavis, who has run and lost several times before in the deep blue district, has filed to run again.

“I intend to earn every vote in November,” Aronson said. “So I really have a plan to stay active in the community to meet as many people, as many voters as possible between now and November.”

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Reynoso quietly secures Queens Dems endorsement for NY-7

Peter Sterne and Sophie Krichevsky — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

The Queens County Democratic Party quietly voted two months ago to endorse Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the congressional race to succeed outgoing Rep. Nydia Velázquez, the county party confirmed to City & State.

Velázquez currently represents the 7th Congressional District, which spans Queens and Brooklyn. In endorsing Reynoso, the party is picking a Brooklyn politician over two opponents who actually represent Queens, Assembly Member Claire Valdez and New York City Council Member Julie Won.

The Reynoso campaign has not yet publicized the Queens Dems’ endorsement, despite the fact that the county organization endorsed him back in early February.

The Queens Dems endorsement doesn’t fit neatly into Reynoso’s brand as a progressive reformer who’s actively worked against machine politics in Brooklyn. He co-founded the New Kings Democrats in hopes of reforming the Brooklyn Democratic Party. The Queens party typically backs more moderate candidates in open primaries, such as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor in 2025.

Annabel Lassally, a spokesperson for the Reynoso campaign, objected to that characterization, saying the team was “proud to welcome Queens County” to its coalition. “For over a decade, Antonio Reynoso has fought a corrupt Brooklyn machine that's attacked progressives and prioritized its own interests over reform,” she said in a statement to City & State.

Yet Reynoso actively sought out the Queens Dems endorsement, confirmed Antonio Alfonso, the group’s political director. “He’s trying to build out a really broad coalition and working with all folks in the district and throughout,” Alfonso said of Reynoso, adding they’d “had those conversations prior to our designating meeting.”

Volunteers aligned with the county party have been gathering signatures for Reynoso over the last month, meaning he’s appearing on petitions with other more centrist, Queens Dems-backed candidates, such as Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar.

Support with petitioning is helpful to a campaign and could help explain why Reynoso would seek the endorsement, even when the county party’s seal of approval has limited sway in parts of western Queens in the 7th Congressional District. Though it could prove a boon with more moderate voters clustered in neighborhoods like Glendale and Woodhaven who are opposed to the democratic socialist Valdez.

The Brooklyn borough president’s other key endorsements include the New York Working Families Party, 32BJ SEIU, District Council 37, Attorney General Letitia James and Velázquez herself. All of those and more appear prominently on his campaign website and literature, while Reynoso has not publicized the Queens Dems’ endorsement of him at all – even as it has been settled since early February.

Asked about the party’s choice to back Reynoso over her, Won seemed to suggest that seeking the county party’s endorsement was a tactical error on Reynoso’s part. “I never sought the (Queens Dems) endorsement because I am a community candidate that has always run independently. We’ve seen and experienced the political machine before,” she told City & State. In a subsequent text message, Won added, “Our engaged voters have a disdain for politics as usual such as stacking petitions on behalf of a political machine.”

Valdez, too, seemed unfazed by the party’s decision. “I was elected to the Assembly against the endorsement of the Queens County Democratic Party and I’ll do the same for Congress,” she said in a statement to City & State.

Despite the fact that backing Reynoso means opposing the two Queens candidates in the race, the move is not entirely surprising for Queens Dems. Valdez is a newcomer to political office endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats. Won, a progressive, has never been close to the county party and was a surprising late addition to the race. Reynoso, meanwhile, used to represent part of Ridgewood, Queens, in the City Council before getting elected BP.

But significantly, the Reynoso endorsement represents party boss Rep. Greg Meeks and county going against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has backed Valdez in the race. It’s a shift for the county organization, which chose not to pick a fight with the borough’s left flank in the recent Assembly District 36 special election, when the party endorsed DSA member Diana Moreno.

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Queens pols chat about Mamdani’s Trump Sunnyside Yard pitch

Holly Pretsky — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:51:11 -0400

Queens elected officials got the chance to grill the Mamdani administration Thursday about a proposal to put a deck over Sunnyside Yard in Queens and build 12,000 units of housing with 21 billion federal dollars. The idea, which resulted from a chummy photo-op between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump in February, remains theoretical.

Deputy Mayors Leila Bozorg and Julie Su convened the virtual meeting Thursday to answer questions from Council Members Tiffany Cabán and Julie Won, Council Speaker Julie Menin’s staffer Jonathan Szott, Assembly Members Claire Valdez and Diana Moreno, state Sens. Mike Gianaris and Kristen Gonzalez and staff for Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velázquez as well as New York’s U.S. senators.

“They genuinely seem to be approaching this from a positive element of engaging locals, which is not something the previous iteration of city leadership did,” Gianaris said, referring to a previous version of the project pitched during the de Blasio administration.

Mamdani administration officials didn’t have much to report. There is no commitment of federal funding yet, though city officials have begun talking with Amtrak and the MTA. Right now, the city is using a previously shelved 2020 plan as a starting point for discussions. “We’re encouraged by the early signs of interest in securing a historic level of federal investment in affordable housing here in New York, and continue to have conversations with partners across city, state, and federal government about what it would take to deliver 12,000 new homes, tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, and a once-in-a-generation investment,” City Hall spokesperson Matthew Rauschenbach said in a statement.

On the question of funding, White House representatives referred us to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not respond to a request for comment. Mamdani’s trip to Washington, D.C., earlier this year wasn’t announced in advance, and many elected officials were unaware the mayor planned to pitch the moonshot project. Won was frustrated that the mayor unilaterally brought the idea to the president. “Our community deserves a seat at the table long before anyone, including the mayor, makes headlines in the Oval Office especially for a project they have previously rejected,” she said after the mayor’s White House visit. Won, who is running for Congress against Mamdani’s preferred candidate Valdez, is hosting a town hall on the project on Monday.

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The council released its budget rebuttal. Mamdani slammed Menin personally.

Annie McDonough and Holly Pretsky — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:47:48 -0400

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his allies slammed the City Council’s budget plan Wednesday, zeroing in on one person. “Council Speaker Julie Menin just released her budget proposal,” he said in a video published online. “If her proposal was adopted, it would result in slashing billions of dollars from agency budgets, and working New Yorkers would pay the price.”

In a statement, the leaders of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani’s political network, slammed Menin as a “millionaire” and called her plan “out of touch.” The left-leaning Fiscal Policy Institute followed up with an accusation of “fuzzy math.”

It was a marked escalation in tension between the two city leaders that followed soon after the mayor poached the City Council’s top budget director. In her budget response, Menin apparently did something Mamdani cannot forgive: She is not joining his calls to raise taxes on the wealthy to address the city’s budget shortfall. Mamdani’s attacks on Menin over the budget stood in stark contrast from how he has navigated budget disagreements with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who he is careful not to anger.

Both Mamdani, the lefty mayor, and Menin, the Upper East Side moderate who he didn’t want to be speaker, have said that they don’t want to partake in the kinds of antics and games that have come to characterize the city’s “budget dance.”

But based on statements from each leader on Wednesday, they may be gearing up for more of a budget brawl.

Menin did not respond directly to Mamdani’s accusations in a video where she explained the council’s proposal. But the City Council’s X account called the mayor’s claims “untrue.” “It may be April Fools’ Day, but the Council wasn't kidding when we said NO CUTS to any services or staff,” the account, typically managed by the speaker’s office, posted.

The council budget response to the mayor’s preliminary budget plan is an annual part of the city budget process, required by law. The council on Wednesday claimed the city can close its $5.4 billion budget gap over fiscal years 2026 (ending June 30) and 2027, without raising taxes on the wealthy, raising property taxes, digging into reserves or cutting services. It also said it was possible to add $1.1 billion in additional council spending priorities. The proposal, explained in some detail in a 56-page brief, presented solutions like reestimated debt service costs ($240 million) and auditing education department contracts ($175 million this year and next).

“I think that the council is pushing in the right direction because we agree that the city should be closing the budget gap with savings and protecting reserves,” said Andrew Rein, president of the fiscal watchdog group Citizens Budget Commission. “We need as many ideas as possible … so that the city can be shrinking spending without cutting critical services.”

One of the largest areas of savings is $860 million that the council says the city over-budgeted for salaries and wages in the current fiscal year. The mayor’s office has disputed that that funding is unspent, with one Office of Management and Budget official telling Politico a few weeks ago that some of that money is being used to pay for costs like part-time teaching and if removed would amount to cuts.

Budget cuts, as former Mayor Eric Adams’ previous attempts at across-the-board savings demonstrated, can be political poison, and neither Mamdani nor Menin wants that association.

In a separate, harsh written statement shortly after Menin released her plan, Mamdani called the council’s response “unrealistic.” He singled her out, though she was joined by Finance Committee Chair Linda Lee and Finance Division Director Nathan Toth to present it Wednesday. “Speaker Julie Menin’s preliminary budget proposal would result in slashing billions of dollars from agency budgets, which would force the City to cut services. Double counting previously identified savings, overestimating revenues, and exaggerating debt service savings does nothing to close a deficit,” Mamdani’s statement read. It also criticized Menin for not joining his calls for Albany to increase taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.

NYC DSA co-chairs Grace Mausser and Gustavo Gordillo went a bit farther: “Menin’s plan is DOGE-lite for New York City. Why does she think she can fill a $5.4 billion gap through ‘savings’ alone?” Gordillo said. “Working-class people will pay–just so millionaires like her don’t have to contribute to our city.”

“I absolutely believe in progressive taxation,” Menin said Wednesday, when asked about whether Albany needs to raise taxes to deliver new revenue to New York City. But she suggested that the proposed tax hike would prompt wealthy taxpayers to move elsewhere. “I think we don’t want a situation where we’re pitting states against each other, which is basically what that would do.” Menin said repeatedly that Albany should look at “all options” on the table, however.

Council members rallied behind the body’s proposal, including multiple members of Menin’s leadership team and other members who contested Mamdani’s characterization that the proposal would amount to cuts.

“This is deeply misleading and potentially harmful!” Council Member Kevin Riley wrote on X, responding to Mamdani’s video. “I thought these four years were going to be different.”

“The fact that he’s singling out the speaker on this is actually disrespectful to the council members who helped inform the budget response,” another council member told City & State.

It wasn’t just Menin allies questioning Mamdani’s messaging on Wednesday. “I’m surprised the mayor came out as hard as he did,” one member of the council’s Progressive Caucus said. “It puts some of us in a difficult situation.”

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At DSA forum, AOC pledges not to vote for any military aid to Israel

Peter Sterne — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:50:12 -0400

During a private meeting with members of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America on Tuesday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that she would not vote to send any military aid to Israel, according to a partial recording of the virtual forum shared with City & State.

“I have not once ever voted to authorize funding to Israel, and I will never,” Ocasio-Cortez said in response to a question about whether she would support an arms embargo. “The Israeli government should be able to finance their own weapons if they seek to arm themselves,” she added.

“I wanted to clarify,” an NYC-DSA member asked in a follow-up question. “If the moment presents itself in Congress, will you commit to voting ‘no’ for any spending on arms for Israel, including so-called ‘defensive capabilities?’”

“Yes,” Ocasio-Cortez quickly answered.

“OK, and I want you to know that if and when you do vote ‘no,’ a ton of us have your back, so thank you,” added the DSA member, whose name was not included in the recording.

“I appreciate that, thank you,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Ocasio-Cortez’s new commitment to vote against funding even defensive weapons to Israel represents a small but significant shift from her previous position. The congressional representative had previously opposed sending “offensive” weapons to Israel but had defended the idea of sending “defensive” weapons, such as the Iron Dome missile defense system – a position that led some NYC-DSA members to oppose endorsing her for reelection this cycle.

The 2026 endorsement for reelection itself hardly matters – Ocasio-Cortez faces only token opposition and is the most successful small-dollar fundraiser in the country – but it is symbolically important as both DSA and Ocasio-Cortez prepare for the 2028 presidential election. Ocasio-Cortez is widely seen as a standard-bearer for the left and future presidential candidate, and any rift between NYC-DSA and its most famous member could undermine left unity going into 2028.

DSA is a proudly anti-Zionist organization that advocated early and often for a ceasefire in Gaza and is committed to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. It expects its endorsed candidates to oppose all aid to Israel – a standard that some DSA members claim Ocasio-Cortez has not met. In 2021, she voted “present” rather than “no” on a funding package for the Iron Dome.

Last year, she voted against an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act proposed by former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that would have stripped out funding for the Iron Dome from the must-pass defense bill (though it would not have touched other military aid to Israel in the bill). That amendment failed with just six votes in favor, but two other lefty “squad” members – Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar – were among those who voted with Greene. Ocasio-Cortez then voted against the Defense Appropriations Act itself and released a statement explaining that she opposed sending “offensive aid” to Israel but not “defensive Iron Dome capacities.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s apparent willingness to send defensive weapons to Israel upset a number of her DSA comrades, who circulated a petition ahead of Tuesday’s candidate forum pledging to vote against endorsing her for reelection unless she committed to opposing all “military and settlement aid” to Israel, including Iron Dome funding. Nearly 300 DSA members signed that petition, though even more signed a competing petition supporting her endorsement.

It was evident during the forum that Ocasio-Cortez felt her record on Israel-related legislation had been distorted by some of her critics on her left, which she said was counterproductive. “It does not benefit us as a movement, because I see when we try to persuade our colleagues, I see the effect that that has when people feel like if they vote our way, they are just going to be lied about anyway,” she said at one point. “I have to be able to make that case to grow our ranks.”

According to three DSA members who attended the forum, Ocasio-Cortez also said she will oppose any attempts to enshrine the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Association definition of antisemitism – which labels certain criticism of Israel as antisemitic – into law. But she did not accede to all of NYC-DSA’s demands. She declined to back the socialist group’s full slate of candidates and instead said she would consider endorsing individual candidates on a case-by-case basis.

After Ocasio-Cortez spoke at the forum, a number of DSA-backed elected officials and candidates – including Assembly Members Claire Valdez and Diana Moreno, New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and state Senate candidate Aber Kawas – spoke in favor of endorsing her.

The online endorsement vote for NYC-DSA members closes on April 6. Ocasio-Cortez’s commitment to opposing all military funding for Israel should mollify most of her critics on the left, making her a shoo-in for endorsement.

Valdez said failing to endorse Ocasio-Cortez for reelection would be a mistake because there are still millions of people who support her and are still looking for a political home; keeping Ocasio-Cortez in the fold means those people could eventually join DSA, while cutting formal ties with Ocasio-Cortez would leave them politically homeless.

Ocasio-Cortez herself spoke about the importance of working closely with DSA, contrasting her relationship to the socialist organization that has backed her since 2018 with her relationship to other groups. “There are a lot of organizations with which I may have a more transactional political relationship. I do not seek a transactional relationship with DSA,” she said. “I seek a relationship of mutuality and shared interest.”

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Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn is losing her grip on the Brooklyn Dems

Jeff Coltin and Sahalie Donaldson — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:56:49 -0400

Her husband resigned from his lobbying job after his phone was seized by the feds, her political mentee is getting in a legal battle with the governor’s handpicked running mate – and also had her phone seized by the feds – and her campaign donor just got indicted on corruption charges. Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn also screwed up the council speaker race, and baffled her borough by un-endorsing and then re-endorsing Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Things are not going well for the leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party. And Bichotte Hermelyn’s six-year reign as county leader may be coming to an end.

Will she be reelected this summer? “I hope she isn’t,” said New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse, a fellow Brooklyn Democrat. “I think the county chair has demonstrated a lack of sensibility on a number of things. Most important, the total failure to make the largest party in the country a resounding success.”

Bichotte Hermelyn has endured political challenges before – City & State reported she was likely to lose her leadership role back in 2022 after a “conflict-filled” two years. And she’s maintained enough clout that her biannual fundraisers could draw the state’s top leaders, including Hochul, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Attorney General Letitia James. But critics within the party are going to seize on her latest round of troubles.

“This will allow people who already have a deep mistrust and severe issues with her to rise up and say for the good of the party and the good of the organization you need to step down,” said one Brooklyn-based political strategist.

There’s a lot still unknown about the investigation. The Associated Press first reported Monday night that federal prosecutors are investigating Bichotte Hermelyn’s husband Edu Hermelyn, City Council Member Farah Louis, and Hochul aide Debbie Esther Louis in a probe tied to bribes, kickbacks and the appropriation of city funds to a migrant shelter provider. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed an indictment, accusing two former officials of BHRAGS Home Care – a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that’s received more than $185 million in city contracts – and two BHRAGS contractors of pocketing the nonprofits money and running a bribery and kickback scheme.

The now-indicted president of BHRAGS, Roberto Samedy, has made several political donations since 2020 to Bichotte Hermelyn, Farah Louis and the Brooklyn Democratic Party.

The indictment didn’t name or reference the Louis sisters or Bichotte Hermelyn’s husband, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in the clear. Hermelyn lobbied council members to provide city funding to BHRAGS, though he wasn’t registered to lobby for the nonprofit, Politico reported. All three of their phones were seized by federal investigators in recent days and the investigation is ongoing, according to The New York Times.

Hermelyn is also no longer working for Mercury, the powerful public affairs firm he joined after a brief stint in the Adams administration. "Edu Hermelyn has decided to leave Mercury and is no longer associated with the firm,” a Mercury spokesperson told City & State.

Farah Louis was elected to the City Council in 2019 with Bichotte Hermelyn’s full support, and the pair have remained close political allies. Now, Farah Louis has filed a notice of claim, planning to sue the City Council for $10 million alleging harassment, discrimination, defamation and more by former Speaker Adrienne Adams and two top staffers, Jeremy John and Jason Otaño. Louis herself could not keep her own office fully staffed and at least one former aide filed an equal employment opportunity claim against her, the Daily News first reported.

“This is one of the most frivolous things that I have ever heard,” Adrienne Adams told City & State about the claim. “I’m shocked and insulted. We're talking about a sitting council member that is looking for $10 million from the city’s taxpayers? When you think about it, it boggles the mind.”

Farah Louis, Bichotte Hermelyn and Hermelyn did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Brooklyn Democratic Party declined to comment.

Bichotte Hermelyn has publicly clashed with the former speaker on several occasions, including when the Brooklyn Democratic Party rescinded its endorsement of Hochul in February after the governor selected Adrienne Adams to serve as her running mate. The move, widely attributed to Bichotte Hermelyn’s distaste for the Southeast Queens Democrat, raised eyebrows, spurring calls for her resignation as leader. But new reporting Tuesday shed some light on why she did it. Bichotte Hermelyn pulled support from the powerful governor on Feb. 4. The very next day, her protege Louis filed the paperwork with the city, laying the groundwork to sue Adams.

That un-endorsement came months after Brooklyn Democrat Crystal Hudson lost the speaker race to Julie Menin of Manhattan. Bichotte Hermelyn tried to organize her borough’s council members in the race, but publicly undermined Hudson’s bid rather than support her. Brooklyn members were largely left out of top council roles – though Bichotte Hermelyn repeatedly met with Menin’s team in an unsuccessful effort to secure Louis a leadership position.

Now even Louis’ chair role may be in jeopardy. A spokesperson for Menin’s office said it’s too soon to say whether Louis’ committee chair assignment on the council’s Zoning Subcommittee will be impacted or whether she’ll be investigated by the standards and ethics committee.

“The council is closely monitoring the situation based on press reports. New Yorkers deserve confidence in their government,” City Council spokesperson Jack Lobel said in a statement. “It is essential that the federal investigation proceed fairly and expeditiously to bring this matter to a resolution.”

Five Democratic district leaders contacted by City & State said there haven’t been any immediate calls for Bichotte Hermelyn to step down. The district leaders are up for election this June, and the winners will elect a county leader months later, typically around August. And no one has declared interest yet in running for county leader – though retired subway conductor and community board district manager Henry Butler has been considered a contender in the past.

Progressive reform club New Kings Democrats has been trying to take over leadership of the county party for years. City Council Member Lincoln Restler, who helped form the group over a decade ago, said that while things don’t look good for Bichotte Hermelyn, other county-aligned candidates could still win if reformers don’t play their cards right.

“There are a lot of reform-oriented district leader candidates running against the machine this year, and this episode further weakens (Bichotte Hermelyn’s) hand and her coalition’s ability to hang on,” he said.

One thing that may benefit Bichotte Hermelyn is that petitions are due this week, and district leaders are busy grabbing their final signatures and binding, cleaning and submitting them.

“The district leaders right now don’t have the bandwidth for this scandal,” said district leader Diana Gonzalez. “Right now I’m sitting in front of reams of green paper. … We all need to catch our breath.”

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Blakeman denied public matching funds in decision criticized as partisan

Rebecca C. Lewis — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:51:02 -0400

Members of the state Public Campaign Finance Board on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of denying public matching funds to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the likely Republican nominee for governor. While the outcry from fellow Republicans came as no surprise, a number of good government advocates – including those that rarely align with the GOP – cried foul as well.

At the conclusion of a heated debate among commissioners of the state PCFB – where Democrat-appointed commissioners hold a one-vote majority – members voted along party lines to deny Blakeman millions of dollars worth of matching funds over a filing error. At issue was a relatively new law that requires candidates for governor to run on a ticket with a lieutenant governor candidate in party primaries – a change from previous elections, when gubernatorial candidates and lieutenant governor candidates ran independently. Blakeman applied for matching funds well before he had selected his running mate Todd Hood, but he never updated his application ahead of a February deadline to include Hood.

“With the race tightening and her poll numbers sagging, it’s no surprise Gov. Kathy Hochul’s handpicked appointee would vote to take away funds from Bruce Blakeman’s campaign,” said Blakeman spokesperson Madison Spanodemos. “While it reeks of corruption, no money in the world can hide Kathy Hochul’s record of driving up taxes, rent, utility bills, and insurance premiums.” Blakeman has retained a lawyer to explore his legal options.

The Hochul campaign denied the PCFB took action to directly benefit the incumbent, or at her behest. “The bipartisan Public Campaign Finance Board makes its own determinations, and the onus is on each campaign to ensure they meet its requirements,” spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said. “‘100% MAGA’ Bruce Blakeman doesn’t need any help from us to run an incompetent, losing campaign – and by embracing Trump’s illegal tariffs and enabling ICE’s overreach, he’s ensuring New Yorkers will send him packing this November.”

While the issue may seem straightforward, good-government groups pointed out the fact the board erred by failing to give Blakeman an opportunity to cure his application once it had adopted new regulations regarding the joint ticket. “The early actions of the Public Campaign Finance Board are really important because they're precedent setting,” said Alex Camarda, senior policy adviser at Reinvent Albany. “All eyes are on them, and they want to establish, it's important to establish a culture of non partisanship … And so for the public campaign finance board to make what appears to be a very highly partisan decision right out of the gate, to deny a major party candidate public matching funds, is a very bad look.”

Camarda said the fact Blakeman’s application ultimately was incomplete should not be in question, despite what Republican commissioners argued during the meeting. But he said the board had the opportunity and responsibility to inform Blakeman of the missing aspect – adding on his lieutenant governor candidate once selected – so he could fix it. Camarda pointed out Blakeman even proactively amended his application after choosing Hood and before the February deadline to update his treasurer. “The board at that point should have said to him, ‘Your application is incomplete because there is no lieutenant governor provided,’ and that his registration needed to be supplemented,” Camarda said.

Reinvent Albany put out a statement the day before the board vote, urging commissioners not to deny Blakeman matching funds, as did fellow good government groups the Brennan Center for Justice and Citizens Union. The Brennan Center’s legal analysis, included in a letter to the board’s chair and vice chair, concluded Blakeman had “substantially complied with the requirement to jointly register” by announcing his running mate and forming a single committee for both candidates before the deadline to apply for matching funds. The organization further recommended a two-week period to cure the mistake that affected six other candidates who had applied for matching funds as well.

Grace Rauh, executive director of Citizens Union, said on Tuesday after the vote that she said she was “disappointed” in the decision. “New York State’s public campaign finance system is a cornerstone of our democracy, designed to level the playing field and restore public trust in elections,” Rauh said in a new statement. “That trust depends on the program being administered fairly, consistently, and without the appearance of partisan influence. Denying Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman public funds based on a filing deficiency risks undermining that trust.”

Republicans were also quick to denounce Tuesday’s decision from the board. Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra told reporters in Albany he hopes Blakeman takes the decision to court, arguing the board did not adopt regulations requiring the filing of a joint form until after Blakeman had already enrolled in the program.

“I think they’ll be successful because this was, this is, an arbitrary decision,” Ra said. “It’s an extreme step to actually kick the candidate out. They could have reached out to the Blakeman campaign and clarified what he needed to do. The form still does not exist.”

State Republican Party Chair Ed Cox called Hochul and Democrats “drunk on power” and accused them of rigging elections. “Republicans have been warning about the corruptibility of public campaign finance for years, and now New Yorkers are seeing exactly how Democrats will weaponize the system to protect their own power and silence their opposition,” Cox said.

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Hochul leads Blakeman by just 13 points in latest Siena poll

Rebecca C. Lewis — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 05:30:00 -0400

While Gov. Kathy Hochul still holds a double-digit lead over her likely GOP gubernatorial opponent Bruce Blakeman, the latest poll from Siena College shows that lead has continued to dwindle.

According to the new poll, Hochul would beat Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive, by 13 points among registered voters. That’s down 7 points from Siena’s previous poll released at the start of the month, and an even bigger dip compared to the 26-point lead the governor had in an early February survey. The latest poll, which had Hochul beating Blakeman 47-34%, is also the first time this year Hochul has not won the support of a majority of registered voters. While Democrats and Republicans remained largely split along party lines, Blakeman now has more support among independents, taking the group after Hochul previously held a slim plurality.

“While Hochul maintains very narrow leads upstate and in the downstate suburbs, her lead in New York City fell from 46 points, 63-17%, last month to 29 points, 54-25%, today,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said. “Is that movement or merely noise? Let’s see what happens next month after the budget and as the campaign unfolds.”

A recent poll from Tusk Strategies reported in Politico New York came to a similar conclusion as the Siena poll. According to that poll, Hochul holds a 15-point lead over Blakeman.

Despite the narrowing race, Blakeman still remains largely unknown among registered voters surveyed by Siena. A whopping 64% of New Yorkers said they did not know who he was, or had no opinion of him.

Additionally, the poll found that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani remains overall popular across the state, even if his favorability fell slightly compared to the survey released earlier this month. His proposal to raise the personal income taxes on wealthy New York City residents also maintained a slight majority of support among registered voters. The poll comes just a day after Blakeman held a press conference in New York City denouncing Mamdani’s proposals to tax the rich.

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