Today marks 100 days since New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani took office. On Sunday, he will celebrate by doing what he does best: holding a massive rally. The invite-only affair is expected to include sanitation workers, firefighters, and public school teachers. It’s the kind of event that helped him generate enough fanfare to go from political obscurity to leader of America’s largest city. The question is why he’s holding one now—at a moment when he’s only partially fulfilled one of his three signature campaign promises.
The rent remains unfrozen. The buses are not free. And New Yorkers still do not have access to universal childcare—only 2,000 spots have been made available for a new daycare program for 2-year-olds.
That’s not to say his administration has been without accomplishments. In the weeks leading up to his 100th day, Mamdani has pointed to a series of incremental wins: a new 104-bed unit at Bellevue Hospital for inmates in city jails, a pilot program offering free childcare to 40 children of municipal workers, and an additional $1.5 billion in state aid secured from Albany.
