Why Zohran Mamdani’s NYC Is a Win for Black New Yorkers
7 Reasons Why Mamdani’s Agenda Is Pro-Black

Over the last few days, following the shock of Zohran Mamdani becoming the presumptive democratic nominee for New York City mayor, I found myself scrolling through Instagram, as I usually do. Many on my timeline were excited about the news that such a progressive candidate has a chance to become the city’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor. My mind started to turn with all the exciting possibilities, and I even wrote an article about how Mamdani, as mayor, would impact workers in NYC.
Then, I saw some posts critiquing Mamdani. The general sentiment I started seeing was that Mamdani was not “for” Black people + because many of his policies are not race/ethnicity specific, they don’t benefit Black people. I even read this New York Times piece that claimed Mamdani lacked support from many Black voters, with Cuomo dominating precincts that were at least 70% Black.
I didn’t get this Ph.D. for nothing. As a researcher, I was curious about the claims that Mamdani’s policies don’t benefit Black people.
In this piece, I explore seven of Mamdani’s policy proposals. I want to examine how, if implemented, these specific policies would impact Black New Yorkers.
Here’s what I found:
· Policy 1: Free city bus fares
Mamdani vowed to make all city buses free. I’ve taken the city buses before, in Queens and from the Bronx to Manhattan. Though it’s been years since I’ve taken the city buses, one thing I remember was that most of the people on the buses with me were also Black. There’s evidence to back up my anecdotal experience. According to Streetsblog NYC, “Black and Brown New Yorkers are more likely to rely on public transit to get to work in the New York City area.” Streetsblog NYC cited TransitCenter data. According to TransitCenter, in 2019, 44% of Black residents, 39% of Asian residents, and 36% of Latinx residents took transit to work, compared to only 24% of white residents. I do want to point out that this data didn’t exclusively look at bus riders, but they examined public transportation, as a whole, in NYC, which would include the city buses as well as the subway. I imagine that if we disaggregated the data and looked specifically at just bus riders in New York City, the same patterns would emerge. I couldn’t find stats on bus riders specifically, but the TransitCenter data gives us some good information to go off.
·Benefit to Black New Yorkers: If more Black people are riding the bus, as the TransitCenter data suggests, then free bus fares would have a direct and immediate impact on Black New Yorkers.
· Policy 2: Increase the minimum wage to $30/hour
Mamdani vowed to increase the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030.
·Benefit to Black New Yorkers: In 2004, the New York Assembly indicated that an increase in minimum wage would “particularly benefit” Black workers. Nearly two decades later, the same still holds true. According to a 2023 report from Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy, 36% of minimum-wage workers (those earning less than $15 an hour) were Black [7% were white] and 30% of lower-wage workers (those earning $15-$21 an hour) were Black [20% were white].
An increase in the minimum wage would have a direct benefit for many Black New Yorkers because a disproportionate amount of Black New Yorkers work minimum-wage and lower-wage jobs, according to the research.
· Policy 3: Free childcare for kids from 6 weeks old to 5 years old.
Mamdani vowed to offer free childcare for every New Yorker with kids aged 6 weeks to 5 years. This policy was particularly intriguing to me, as a new parent, who keenly understands how expensive childcare is. According to the Citizen’s Committee for Children of New York (CCC), “a vast majority of New York City families cannot afford any form of child care.” In addition, “Families in the Bronx and in Brooklyn still experience the highest cost burden. These communities, disproportionately Black and brown, spend up to 63% of their annual income on childcare or out-of-school care.”
·Benefit to Black New Yorkers: Speaking from personal experience, not having to worry about childcare costs unlocks so many opportunities for parents. Me and my partner were blessed to have my mom for support, but I recognize and acknowledge what an immense privilege this is.
Black New Yorkers, who are disproportionately burdened by exorbitant childcare costs, would benefit in a multitude of ways from Mamdani’s policy, including increased job opportunities and greater income potential.
· Policy 4: City-owned grocery stores.
According to USA Today, “Mamdani has said he plans to address the cost of food by creating city-owned grocery stores that will pay no rent or property taxes, buy and sell at wholesale prices from centralized warehouses and partner with local vendors to keep prices down.”
Statistics from the New York Health Foundation indicate that “Between 2022 and 2023, [food insufficiency] rates increased for Black (from 17.5% to 19.9%) and Hispanic (from 17.0% to 18.4%) New Yorkers and decreased among white (from 7.1% to 6.7%) and Asian (from 8.2% to 7.8%) New Yorkers. In 2023, Black and Hispanic New Yorkers reported food insufficiency rates 3x higher than white New Yorkers.”
Data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from 2022 indicated that “Black and Latino/a New Yorkers (24% and 29%, respectively)” had “low food security” compared to white New Yorkers (13%).
·Benefit to Black New Yorkers: If more Black New Yorkers experience food insecurity, Mamdani’s proposal for city-owned grocery stores would alleviate high food costs, which would benefit ALL New Yorkers but would specifically benefit Black New Yorkers, who experience some of the highest rates of food insecurity.
· Policy 5: Highest taxes on the wealthiest 1%
Mamdani vowed to create a “2% New York City Income Tax for anyone making more than $1 million annually” (which he believes will generate $4 billion annually)
·Benefit to Black New Yorkers: It was hard to find current data on the income of NYC residents, much less the racial stratification of this data but I did find a really interesting and informative 2012 article from the New York Times about the racial stratification of the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers. First, let me say this: I don’t think much has changed in the last 13 years. This article came out when I moved to New York in 2012. I lived in Nassau County—the specific area mentioned in piece—although I did not live in Great Neck, Manhasset or Port Washington, which were particularly affluent areas of Long Island. The article states that Nassau County is an area that has “the country’s highest concentration of 1 percenters, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.”
Now I will say, when I moved to New York, I was SHOCKED at the stark wealth disparities in Long Island in particular. For more context, I’m originally from Virginia and have lived in the Deep South, along the East Coast, and in the Midwest. In all the places I’ve lived, when you enter a higher income or lower income area, there are gradual demarcations that signal you’re entering a different area. In Hempstead, where I lived, (Hempstead is an area that apparently has the “lowest per capita income” in Nassau County, as indicated by this 2023 article) you go from seeing liquor stores, gas stations, and fast food restaurants to big trees and big houses as you enter Garden City. I actually talked about this in a TikTok video I made a few years ago.
According to the aforementioned 2012 New York Times article, “Only two racial groups make up a greater share of the 1 percent than of the population as a whole: whites, at 82 percent, and Asians, at 7 percent. This corner of Nassau is 77 percent white, 11 percent Asian and only 3 percent black.” Now I will say, I don’t think these numbers have changed much in the last 13 years. I’m sure the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers a) are still heavily concentrated in Nassau County and b) are still overwhelmingly white. Mamdani’s policy to tax New Yorkers making $1 million or more per year doesn’t overwhelmingly impact Black New Yorkers because a very small percentage of Black New Yorkers are part of the 1%.
According to the New York City Comptroller’s website, in 2021 only 3% of Black households in New York state made $1 million or more annually. In 2025, City Limits highlighted a report from the Robin Hood Foundation that indicates that only 8 percent of the New York City’s Black residents had achieved wealth of more than $500,000 or more. Any policy targeting the wealthiest New Yorkers will not largely impact Black New Yorkers and could potentially pour more money into the city in ways that will positively impact Black New Yorkers.
· Policy 6: Expanded trans healthcare
Mamdani vowed to “expand and protect gender-affirming care” according to PinkNews.
·Benefit to Black New Yorkers: Gender-affirming care and greater protections for trans folks is vital: trans people, and particularly Black trans women, experience some of the severest forms of harm and marginalization, according to Harvard’s Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review. A healthcare system that is equitable, culturally competent, and supports the most disenfranchised communities will lead to better healthcare experiences across the board for everyone. For Black folks, who have and continue to experience some of the harshest forms of medical racism, there are positive trickle-down effects in a system that centers the most harmed populations. When New York City’s most vulnerable and marginalized are considered, cared for and centered, everyone in New York City will ultimately benefit (but more specifically, Black folks).
· Policy 7: Rent freezing for all rent-stabilized apartments
Mamdani vowed to freeze rent on all rent-stabilized apartments and build more affordable housing. According to a Community Service Society analysis of 2023 data from the New York House Vacancy Survey, “Latino and Black New Yorkers rely on rent regulation more than any other racial or ethnic groups—and for these groups, it is the most common housing arrangement. Thirty-eight percent of Latino and 29 percent of Black New Yorkers live in rent-regulated apartments. While homeownership is more common among white and Asian New Yorkers, 19 percent of white households and 16 percent of Asian households are rent-regulated tenants.”
·Benefit to Black New Yorkers: Because a substantial portion of Black New Yorkers are rent regulated renters, a policy like rent freezing would be major. A few specific ways a rent freeze could help Black New Yorkers:
- Keeping Black families in their neighborhoods
-Offering stability during a time of economic strife
-Providing support to rent-burdened households
I could honestly write a whole dissertation on how money saved from rent freezing could positively impact the Black community. (If you want to read my thoughts on something similar, check out this article I wrote on how cash reparations could be transformative for Black folks). But I’ll spare you and simply say, for a policy like rent freezing, Black New Yorkers would benefit greatly. It’s a small step towards equity and justice in a city that’s becoming increasingly gentrified and unaffordable to live in.
If these policies weren’t enough to convince you that Mamdani is running a pro-Black platform, Mamdani is also in favor of reparations for descendants of enslaved people. According to a recently published NewsOne article, “In a statement rereleased to NewsOne after Tuesday’s results, Mamdani reaffirmed his support for reparations and programs that will improve the lives of the city’s Black residents.
‘As Mayor, I will ensure that my administration meaningfully advances equality for Black New Yorkers, in our steadfast commitment to freedom and dignity for all people. New York City participated actively in the slave trade and furthered its legacy through racist institutions, policies and laws; the City should reconcile and repair this legacy of slavery, stolen wealth, and discrimination.’”
Okay.
So, I didn’t expect this article to be 2,000+ words when I started writing it. But I had *so much* to say and wanted to share this to combat some of the misconceptions I’ve been seeing online.
I want to be clear. Two things can be true: I agree that Mamdani *can* be more outspoken about how his policies will impact Black New Yorkers. And also, he is running a pro-Black campaign, even if it’s not his explicit intention to do so.
In this current climate, resistance doesn’t have to always be loud and boisterous. I appreciate anyone, especially those in positions of power and privilege, who resist against these structures that were designed to oppress us. Mamdani’s policies are an act of resistance in a system made to destroy us.
I do want to acknowledge that Mamdani is already a target for just existing. Islamophobia is rampant in this country, in NYC, and in the reactions we’ve seen to his primary win. You could make the argument that he doesn’t need to give them folks another reason to hate him. But let me again reiterate: there *can* be more done (and there *should* be more done) to help the public understand how his powerful policies, if implemented, will benefit New Yorkers, and more specifically, Black New Yorkers. In a world where we are constantly questioning change-makers, and asking them “why?” for daring to challenge the status quo, I want to encourage us to instead ask ourselves, “why not?”
Thank you so much for highlighting this!