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Let's get into it:
At this point in his term, just 4 years ago, former Mayor of New York City Eric Adams had a 61% approval rating. Mr. Mamdani is clocking in at just 48%. It's being framed by local leftist media as not really all that bad, and maybe it's not, but it's sure now the rousing endorsement that I'm sure the mayor's office was hoping for. The poll comes as Mamdani has hit 100 days in office, and a full 30% of New Yorkers disapprove of how he's doing.
Per Marist, "Among Democrats, 63% approve of how Mamdani is doing his job compared with 25% of Republicans. 63% of Republicans disapprove. Among those who are not enrolled in a party, 27% approve, 41% disapprove, and 31% are unsure." The poll shows that people like him, but that they're not entirely sure that he's doing a great job.
Mamdani sailed into office with a promise of free buses, which was a terrible idea that people seemed to like, but now, he's said that may not actually come to pass. Instead, he's looking at bringing the trial program back, the same one that brought limited free buses to passengers for a limited time. Instead of all buses being free, only some will be free. The MTA, which runs the buses and trains, said it wasn't super feasible—and they said that when he was running, too.
Mamdani is also working on some plans to deal with so-called racial inequity in income, which seems absolutely insane. It's not racism that creates high earners and low earners; in this day and age, it's choices. Affirmative action has leveled the playing field in higher education. There've been programs in the city to make sure minority students who underperform academically are given unearned opportunities for advancement. But now, he's harping on how average white households earn $200,000 per year, while black households in the city earn around $20,000.
That sounds like he's working on a plan to make sure that the more you earn, the more you are penalized, and the less you earn, the more you are rewarded. That's the opposite of an ethos that rewards achievement and hard work—it's instead one that rewards just the opposite.
There's also the prickly little problem of antisemitism in Mamdani's New York. He's staunchly opposed to Israel, which is an opinion shared by many, but often this anti-Israel sentiment morphs into anti-Jewish sentiment—as has happened in the Democratic Socialists of America (Mamdani's political party) and in the pro-Gaza protest movement (which is inherently anti-semitic tbh). 55% of all hate crimes in New York City are actually antisemitic.
"Confirmed hate crimes increased nearly 12 percent this quarter citywide," said Police Commish Jessica Tisch. "We continue to see that the vast majority of our hate crimes are antisemitic in nature. In fact, in the first quarter of 2026, more than half of all confirmed hate crimes, or 55 percent, were antisemitic, despite Jews only making up approximately 10 percent of the population of New York City."
Libby