NEW YORK (WABC) — Friday is the second day in office for New York City’s new mayor and Zohran Mamdani is already looking to follow through on campaign promises.
While Thursday was about housing, on Friday, he’s talking transit.
Mamdani is expected to make an announcement in the afternoon at Grand Army Plaza — and on Friday morning he greeted commuters on a packed W train as he rode from Astoria, Queens to City Hall.
He gripped an iced coffee in one hand has she shook hands with the other — laughing and joking with riders, while taking countless selfies.
“I love your energy, you’re awesome,” one rider told him after shaking hands.
Asked by another rider how long he would be committing from Queens, he said “for just a little bit longer,” indicating he would be moving into Gracie Mansion soon.
His first attempt to tap to ride using his cell phone failed, forcing him to try another turnstile.
“Not working, that’s a real New York experience,” he said
When asked about this weekend’s fare hike to $3, which he opposed during the campaign, Mamdani said he will show it is “out of step with what New Yorkers need at this moment.”
“I made it very clear that i think that public transit should be something that each and every New Yorker can afford, when I was in the state legislature, I introduced legislation that would have frozen the fare where it was, this only heightens the urgency to make buses fast and free across all five boroughs of New York City,” he said.
The new mayor hit the ground running on Thursday, signing five executive orders, three of them aimed at confronting the city’s housing crisis.
The first executive order he signed revoked all executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams the day after Adams was federally indicted.
He also signed an executive order establishing that he will have five deputy mayors, fewer than during the Adams administration. But Mamdani said he will keep the recently created Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism.
Mamdani’s three other executive orders focused on housing. One of those orders will revive the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, which will serve as a central coordinating body to defend tenants’ rights, stand up to landlords, and ensure city agencies act swiftly on behalf of renters facing unsafe or illegal conditions.
The other two executive orders establish task forces related to accelerating housing development.
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