State can ‘Mamdani-proof’ New York City and save it from socialism

 New York City has elected its first socialist mayor, and Albany now faces a test of whether it will let his radical policies take down the city as well as the state. 

Zohran Mamdani’s far-left proposals, from city-run grocery stores to massive tax hikes, will be tested in the Big Apple — a laboratory for ideological experimentation. As the state capital, Albany can and must use its legal and constitutional authority to protect the city and the state from the Mamdani agenda.

Albany’s power over New York City is not just symbolic — it is enshrined in the very structure of state government. Like every other local government in New York, the Big Apple is a political subdivision of the state. And because the state created the Big Apple, it retains tremendous authority over how the city governs itself. That gives lawmakers wide latitude to check a mayor whose policies are irresponsible or dangerous.

Albany has many tools at its disposal to rein in Gotham’s new mayor. For instance, many city functions are actually controlled by state public authorities. Take the Metropolitan Transportation Administration. It operates the city’s subways and commuter rail service, yet it is governed by a board primarily controlled by the governor. The state legislature could easily establish new public authorities to manage other vital city functions, keeping them beyond the reach of a radical mayoral administration. 

And if existing checks seem insufficient to halt Mamdani’s most radical policies, Albany can establish new ones. The state may, in many circumstances, enact laws that supersede the New York City charter. The charter outlines the basic functions of city government, including the vast powers of the New York City mayor. The state legislature, on certain issues of state concern, can enact laws to transfer much of the mayor’s authority to state officials or other New York City officials.

Albany doesn’t necessarily need to legislate to stop Mamdani; it can also simply refuse to play along.

The simplest way to halt Mamdani’s agenda is for the state legislature to withhold its consent for any proposal that requires state approval. Mamdani’s proposed tax hike and rent freeze, for example, cannot take effect without state legislation. Albany can kill these simply by doing nothing. Likewise, Mamdani’s expensive ambitions for free city buses and universal child care will almost certainly need state funding that Albany can deny.

Even in an overwhelmingly Democratic city where he was the Democrats’ nominee, Mamdani’s victory came with approximately half of all voters backing other mayoral candidates. That result should serve as a warning to Albany: New Yorkers were not looking for a socialist revolution.

Mamdani and his comrades seem to have drawn a different conclusion. Since his surprise primary win in June, Mamdani has shown little interest in moderation. He has made no effort to distance himself from his most extreme statements and proposals. Many of his top administration appointees come from the far-left nonprofit and political advocacy machine that elected him. Compromise and conciliation will have no place in Mamdani’s City Hall.

And the mayor-elect has shown that he isn’t interested in undertaking the important yet mundane work of a municipal leader. Instead, he is interested in imposing a radical, out-of-the-mainstream agenda on New York City.  

State lawmakers — who all must run for reelection themselves in 2026 — should remember that their first duty is to the people of New York, not to the ideological ambitions of one radical mayor. Albany has the power and the responsibility, to put the brakes on New York’s new socialist mayor. The state has stepped in before to save the city from ruin. With Mamdani about to become mayor, it must do so again and Mamdani-proof New York City. 

Joe Burns is a partner with the Holtzman Vogel law firm, with a focus on election cases in New York State. He previously served as deputy director of election operations at the New York State Board of Elections.

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5662368-albany-checks-radical-policies/