Mamdani Upheaval Will Go Far Beyond Mayor’s Office

Currently, airwaves and social media focus on Zohran Mamdani, the man and candidate. Clearly, not nearly enough attention is paid to the perfect storm brewing in New York, whereby a Marxist mayor acting together with anti-prosecution District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and existing Left-wing city council members would be joined by literally hundreds of Mamdani appointees to agencies, deputies and the courts. It’s a recipe for a coup, a catastrophe the likes we have never witnessed.

A socialist mayor with radical policies will likely cause significant upheaval across New York City agencies, boards, and commissions due to extensive appointment powers. Should he win this November, Zohran Mamdani would wreak havoc as leader of the Big Apple. His appointees, sharing similar transformational views, would facilitate implementation his agenda.

A centuries-old phrase, “No man is an island” (from 1684 actually) is appropriate to use here, when New York City mayor’s office today is interconnected with more than 40 city agencies, 300-plus boards and commissions, and nine deputy mayors. Problematically, rather than these agencies and commissions operating in a checks-and-balances capacity, appointees of Mamdani would likely join his army to take down the city. NYC’s current leadership is already Leftist-progressive; Mamdani focusing his wrath on agency heads and management roles where policy shifts would have outsized impact and rapid upheaval.

Generally, these varied board and commissions are critical to the administration of city government, as they oversee a wide range of policy areas and operational functions. Beyond this, a NYC mayor also has the authority to appoint judges to specific courts, namely the Criminal Court Judges, Family Court Judges, and Interim Civil Court Judges.

The New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) regulates rents for rent-stabilized apartments; New York City Board of Corrections (BOC) regulates conditions in correctional facilities; Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) oversees housing policy, including affordable housing development and tenant protections. Mamdani, if he won, could appoint commissioners here to push for aggressive policies like expanding public housing, seizing vacant properties or implementing strict rent controls. The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) is also of concern. The mayor appoints all nine members of the RGB, which sets annual rent increases for the city’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. Mamdani could stack the board with tenant advocates who vote for rent freezes or even rollbacks.

Mamdani can appoint the heads of approximately 50 city departments and agencies, including: Department for the Aging (DFTA); Department of Buildings (DOB) which enforces zoning regulations; Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) which oversees child welfare, juvenile justice, and early care/education services;

Department of Investigation (DOI) which acts as an independent watchdog for city government; Law Department, handles the city’s legal affairs; Police Department (NYPD) and Fire Department (FDNY); Department of Corrections (DOC) which manages city correctional facilities; Department of Transportation (DOT), manages transportation infrastructure and services; Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), manages public health and mental health services; Department of Homeless Services (DHS), addresses homelessness and related services; Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) which coordinates justice policies and programs. This list is huge.

Sounds like a lot? Yes indeed it does. The mayor of New York would need help. Mamdani as mayor will also appoint his nine deputy mayors, nine, to oversee and coordinate operations. Each has a specific portfolio, such as Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce; Deputy Mayor for Public Safety; Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services; Deputy Mayor for Operations and others.

These nine deputy mayors would report directly to Mayor Mamdani, and most agency commissioners then report to one of those deputy mayors, amplifying their Left-wing progressive influence within his administration.

One good example and major issue for New Yorkers, and an obvious flashpoint: Mamdani faces criticism for anti-Zionist rhetoric, such as his supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and defending slogans like “Globalize the Intifada”. This would most likely transform into disruption within the NYPD and current Mayor Adams’ Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, as both these entities handle public safety, hate crime prevention and more. In other words, a mayor with antisemitic rhetoric could appoint a commissioner who aligns with his views and could seek to dismantle the Office to Combat Antisemitism altogether, arguing it stifles free speech or Palestinian advocacy.

We can look back in history for two examples of so-called “socialist” mayors: David Dinkins (1990–1993) and Fiorello La Guardia (1934–1945). Despite their “socialist” leanings, each faced significant failures that damaged New York City. Dinkins, a Democratic Socialists of America member, governed during a fiscal crisis and crime surge, leading to public distrust. His “Safe Streets, Safe City” program failed to curb soaring murder rates then (over 2,000 annually), and the 1991 Crown Heights riots exposed his administration’s inability to manage racial tensions. His $1.8 billion deficit-driven budget cuts and tax hikes, which alienated businesses and residents, contributed to his 1993 loss to Rudy Giuliani. La Guardia 90 years ago, despite his transformative reputation, also faltered. He relied on policies which led to destructive urban renewal, displacing communities with projects like the Cross-Bronx Expressway. His socialist-inspired public housing prioritized optics over scalability, leaving slums intact. His authoritarian style alienated allies, and his failure to address racial inequities sparked Harlem riots twice (1935, 1943).

Both past socialist mayors, while advancing progressive ideals, were hampered by economic constraints, mismanagement, and inability to realize their visions, leaving NYC grappling with persistent inequality and division.