City-run grocery stores, defunding police, safe injection sites: What to know about NYC's next potential mayor
By Peter Pinedo, Andrew Miller
Published June 25, 2025
A relative unknown until now, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani propelled himself to a stunning upset victory in New York City's Democratic primary after running on a platform that included a laundry list of far-left agenda items, including government spending, tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy and a slew of other policy positions deemed by both Republicans and Democrats as radical.
Chief among his campaign promises has been his vow to redirect tax funds away from subsidies to private grocery chains to create a network of city-owned grocery stores, which he says will be "focused on keeping prices low, not making a profit."
In a TikTok video, Mamdani said that his city-run grocery stores will "operate without a profit motive," instead of focusing on "price gouging" as he alleged some private stores do. He claimed that without having to pay rent or property taxes, these city-run stores will buy and sell at wholesale prices, centralize warehousing and distribution, and be able to offer New York residents lower prices than privately owned stores in the city.
"Grocery prices are out of control," he said in the video. "The job of city government isn't to tinker around the edges while 1 in 4 children across our city go hungry."
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Another central tenet of Mamdani's campaign has been his vow to crack down on "bad landlords" by having the city take control of properties when a landlord refuses to make repairs or "demonstrates consistent neglect" of their tenants. He also believes he can fix New York City's affordable housing crisis by immediately freezing the rents of the over two million New York residents who live in rent-stabilized apartments.
To address the city's safety crisis, Mamdani has said he will create a new government agency called the Department of Community Safety (DCS) that he says will utilize "evidence-based strategies that prevent violence and crime before they occur." Among the new agency's top priorities, as stated by Mamdani in a campaign video, will be to expand gun violence programs, address hate and tackle homelessness. The agency would also deploy mental health workers to subways and trouble spots, which he said "will make all of us safer."
He has also pledged to institute universal free childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years as well as to raise wages for childcare workers to be on par with public school teachers.
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Other priorities include his pledge to champion a law to raise the minimum wage in New York City to $30 an hour by 2030 and expanding funding for hate violence prevention programs by 800%.
Another major tenet of Mamdani's platform is "Trump-proofing" New York City. He made headlines in March when authorities had to hold him back while he yelled and verbally berated Trump's border czar Tom Homan, who was visiting the New York state Capitol building.
His website states that President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement, tariffs and other policies are "tearing at the fabric of New York City."
Mamdani's website states that he will strengthen the city's sanctuary city apparatus by kicking ICE out of all city facilities and ending any cooperation with the agency, as well as increasing legal support for immigrants and shielding their personal data.
His website further states that, as mayor, Mamdani will make New York City an LGBTQ+ sanctuary city and protect "reproductive rights."
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Perhaps even more controversial, however, are the policy positions Mamdani has previously advocated for but has not made central parts of his campaign.
During his campaign, Mamdani attempted to justify the use of the phrase "globalize the intifada" and stayed firm in his support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions effort against Israel, calling it a "legitimate movement."
He has previously called to defund the New York Police Department, though he has since stated that "police have a critical role to play." Following the death of George Floyd, Mamdani tweeted on June 8, 2020, that he did not want to reform the police but asserted, "We want to defund the police."
In another tweet later that month, Mamdani wrote, "We don't need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD … NO to fake cuts – defund the police."
In November 2020, Mamdani again tweeted, "queer liberation means defund the police."
In 2020, Mamdani also called for the prison system to be dismantled, saying that it is a system that cages and kills those just trying to "survive."
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"As socialists, we believe people should not have to endure violence & coercion of a criminal-legal system that props up the exploitation of the market by surveilling, caging & killing those fighting to survive under capitalism," he said, adding, "We can abolish that system."
He called on the New York state assembly to fight the construction of any new prisons and instead invest those funds in communities "that have been impacted by mass incarceration."
Again in 2021, he said, "Our prison system relies on dehumanization and brutality, so the goal must be to abolish this exploitative system entirely. We must #DecarcerateNow."
Mamdani also called to abolish private health insurance and medical bills, saying, "This is no time to put the ideology of capitalism above helping those who are in the greatest need."
In addition to calling for less policing and less incarceration, Mamdani also tweeted in 2022 that "we need to ban all guns."
He has further called for legislation to decriminalize sex work, permit "safe injection sites" for drug use, re-enfranchise convicts and end all cooperation with ICE.
Following Mamdani's victory over Cuomo on Tuesday night, many are now expressing alarm that his policy proposals could come to fruition if he is unable to unseat the sitting Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for reelection as an independent.
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In a post on X, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is widely rumored to be planning a GOP gubernatorial run in New York in 2026, called Mamdani a "radical, Defund-the-Police, Communist, raging Antisemite." She blamed Mamdani's rise on New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, who she said will "own this dangerous insanity."
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., also chimed in, calling Mamdani a "radical, antisemitic socialist" and predicting that an "exodus will begin from New York City as Zohran Mamdani runs it into the ground."
Meanwhile, Mamdani received praise and congratulations from several big-name, national politicians such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., both of whom have endorsed his candidacy.
Cortez said that Mamdani's "dedication to an affordable, welcoming, and safe New York City where working families can have a shot has inspired people across the city," while Sanders commended Mamdani, saying, "you took on the political, economic and media Establishment- and you beat them."
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, who is also known for controversial statements about Israel and America, congratulated Mamdani as well: "Thank you NYC for not letting the bigots and corrupt billionaires prevail," and "Alhamdulillah," which is Arabic for "praise be to Allah."
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Adams has also commented on Mamdani's win, saying, "What NYC deserves is a mayor who's proud to run on his record—not one who ran from his record, or one who has no record. We deserve a mayor who will keep driving down crime, support our police, fight antisemitism, and stand up for working-class New Yorkers."
"It's time to unite. It's time to fight. We have a city to save," said Adams.
Mamdani's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment at the time of publication. Print Close
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