flaminm

right now, what’s happening in new york city is honestly absurd. rent has gone completely out of control. even studio apartments are going for four to five thousand dollars a month. so mamdani says, “i’m going to freeze rent increases, and the city will build affordable housing.” can he actually do that? i have no idea, because it’s a complicated issue. the mayor can’t just snap his fingers and freeze rent. the state government has to approve. we’ll see how that plays out. at the very least, i think he’ll try.

public transit is a whole separate disaster. the subway system is falling apart. half the stations don’t even have elevators. they replaced the old metrocard with this new omny system, but it barely works. you used to be able to buy unlimited weekly or monthly metrocards, but they removed those. now omny claims you ride 12 times in a week and then it becomes unlimited, but then you check and your balance is negative instead of unlimited. it’s a mess.

food prices are skyrocketing. i see it where i live. there’s a trader joe’s nearby, and everyone shops there because at least it’s a little more affordable and the quality is good. other grocery stores are empty because everyone flocks to trader joe’s. and it makes sense: if you’re paying thousands for a tiny studio, of course you’re waiting in line for cheaper groceries.

anyway, what i’m saying is: people here are hungry for food that is both good and affordable. so mamdani says, “the city should run its own grocery chain. not for profit. its mission will be to provide good, affordable food.” it’s like the public city cafeterias i̇mamoğlu started in istanbul, and i fully support that idea.

new york’s city budget is around $130 billion. so the money exists to do these things. but of course, it’s not that simple. for example, he says public transit should be free. but the transit system is run by the mta, which is a state organization, not a city one. so mamdani would need to negotiate with the state. either the city covers the revenue the mta would lose, or the city starts its own bus system in selected neighborhoods as a pilot.

he also talks about free healthcare clinics. that’s actually realistic because it already exists in some form. there is a program called nyc care. i was unemployed for a while and enrolled in it, and for a year i didn’t pay a single dollar for hospital visits. if he expands that, it’s already a win.

he also promises free childcare, a $30 minimum wage, and higher taxes on the wealthy. we’ll see how much of that he can actually deliver.

but here’s what i want to emphasize: this guy won as an openly socialist candidate in the capital city of capitalism. that means something. it means you cannot just buy new york. people are saying “enough.” new york is not only wealthy folks in the upper east side. we live here too. you can’t just pretend we don’t exist.

cuomo’s side poured millions into trying to defeat him. trump supporters and billionaires backed cuomo. and even with all that money behind his opponent, mamdani still won.