By Bazona Barnabe Bado
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani celebrated on April 12, 2026, his first 100 days as mayor of New York City in Brookly where hundreds of people from across New York State have gathered to listen to the mayor. They brandished signs with words like “groceries, childcare for all, pothole politics, tackle corruption and waste” to remind the promises the mayor has made on the campaign trail.
Before the mayor ‘speech, a city worker from the department of transportation, a tenant organizer, and a mother came forward to testify how hard city workers have been working to make New Yorker life better by repairing potholes, how miserable New York’s tenants or residents were before the mayor took office with the mayor ordering a crackdown on bad landlords, and how happy women with children are with the mayor universal childcare policy.
When the mayor started his speech, he echoed what these three people have already said: “Universal childcare was a problem deemed too big to take on. Standing up for workers against abusive corporations was a problem too big to take on. Building more homes, lowering crime to historic levels, and defending tenants against bad landlords — these were problems too big to take on. But here’s the truth: nothing is too big for New York City to take on. And over the past 14 weeks, we have proved that there is no task too small either. Because if government can’t do the small things, how could you ever trust it to do the big ones? How can we promise to transform our city if we can’t pave your street? And that’s why, since January 1, New York City has filled more than 102,000 potholes — including 22,800 in just three days alone.”
Yes, during the mayoral campaign, mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani has made several promises such as the transit (he wants to make NYC buses free and fast), Public safety, the affordability of housing and food, the universal childcare, etc.
Regarding the housing affordability the mayor said: “We’re taking on the biggest driver of the affordability crisis in our city: housing. We’re going after the bad landlords who violate our laws and mistreat their tenants. Since January 1, we have won more than $34 million dollars in settlements, judgements, and repairs for tenants, delivered improvements to 6,070 apartments so far, and issued 195,829 violations.” The mayor unveiled he has appointed six new members to the independent board to look at the rent issues in New York.
Talking about universal childcare he stated: “We began with a promise: universal childcare. And by Day 8, we delivered it. Thanks to a historic $1.2 billion dollar partnership with Governor Kathy Hochul — and the organizing of more than one hundred thousand New Yorkers during the campaign — we will not only make 3-K truly universal, but we will deliver free childcare for two-year-olds for the first time in New York City. We will begin with two thousand children this fall, twelve thousand next year, and cover every single two-year-old by the end of four years.”
Referring to the public safety, he mentioned: “Since we took office, murders have hit record lows. There has not been a murder on Staten Island in more than 180 days. Crime is down. The NYPD has taken more than 1,000 guns off our streets since January 1. Together with the Crisis Management System, we are on pace to deliver the lowest levels of shootings in our history.” He also created a department of community safety to focus on mental health issue.
If the mayor has accomplished several of his promises in just 100 days, more needs to be done.
Buses are not free and fast yet. However, the mayor has kept his promise when he said: “Together with Governor Hochul, we will speed up buses by up to 20 percent along 45 priority corridors. We will significantly increase the number of bus stops that are fully accessible. And we will construct new, world-class, rapid bus routes for 100,000 New Yorkers who live more than a half mile away from a subway or rail stop.”
He has announced that a groceries store has been built in East Harlem and will be finished by the end of this year. Three more stores will be built in the three other boroughs in years to come.
Senator Bernie Sanders as always came to support the mayor. He said that he knows that the mayor has been criticized for “radical idea.” And he added: “I’ll tell you what a radical idea is. Giving tax breaks to billionaires, throwing people off health care. That’s radical. What’s radical is starting a terrible war. That’s radical.”
According to the mayor, he will not bow down about his policy. “We will make no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a Democratic socialist and I will govern as a Democratic socialist,” he said.