SAVE THE BIG APPLE! 20 Reasons to Vote Against NYC Mayoral Front-runner Zohran Mamdani [POST OP-ED]

By The New York Post Editorial Board

1. He hates the police

Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani called the NYPD “racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety.”

His “apology” rings hollow, saying that it was for “the language that I used” — but not the sentiment. His plan for public safety would instead send “mental health teams” without police backup on 911 calls, because negotiation is key when you’re about to be shoved onto the subway tracks.

2. He really hates the police

The number of officers in the NYPD is at its lowest level in 20 years — below 34,000. Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams wanted to increase the ranks to 40,000 by 2028.

Mamdani insists on no additions — and is noncommittal about shrinking the agency. He claims he doesn’t want to “defund this rogue agency” as he has said in the past.

But then he suggests that’s exactly what he’d do. “It’s not a question of headcount. It’s a question of safety,” Mamdani said recently.

3. He hates the police — with a splash of antisemitism

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani claimed.

To Mamdani, a few collaborative training exercises between the Israel Defense Forces and the police department is a full-blown conspiracy theory. The NYPD draws on the experience of many groups (including for community outreach), but since Israel = Evil in Mamdani’s worldview, the program must end.

4. His mental-health plan is half-baked

Mamdani is right that we need to help the mentally ill living on our streets, but he doesn’t have a realistic plan. He says his outreach teams will provide counseling, but any treatment program will be voluntary. How can someone who is mentally ill make decisions in their best interest? We’ve seen this movie before. Mayor Bill de Blasio spent $1 billion on his wife’s Thrive initiative, which prioritized a phone hotline. When schizophrenics told city workers they didn’t want to go to a shelter, they were allowed to sleep on the floor of a subway station. Expect more of the same — and worse.

5. Promises a bus boondoggle

Mamdani wants free buses for everyone, which he says will cost $700 million annually — though the head of the MTA predicts that will climb to $1 billion a year. That the same thing has been tried before and failed — numerous times! — doesn’t faze Mamdani. Kansas City ran out of money when it tried free buses. Olympia, Wash., had to raise sales taxes to pay for it. Meanwhile, in both those cities, as well as Portland, Ore., the quality of rides decreased. There was more vandalism; homeless camped out on them all day. We don’t often agree with the Washington Post, but its editorial board was absolutely right when it declared that “Parents would grow afraid to let their children ride alone,” as free buses become havens for drug users.

6. He’s never met a failed idea he didn’t like

Capitalism is bad, so let’s have a city-run grocery store with controlled prices! These stores wouldn’t have to pay property taxes, or rent, since they’d be in city-owned buildings. How many immigrant-owned bodegas will go out of business trying to compete against a store that gets such advantages? Details! Again, this has been tried before. And again, in places like Kansas City, city-run grocery stores were too expensive and unworkable. But that’s not going to stop Mamdani!

7. He wants to ‘Globalize the intifada’

To this day, Mamdani refuses to condemn the phrase that calls for the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews. New York already suffered when anti-Israel protesters marched through the streets, harassed Jewish residents and broke into a building at Columbia University. How much worse will it be under a Mayor Mamdani, who will encourage the protesters from inside City Hall?

8. He’ll cause an international incident

Mamdani doesn’t like the NYPD, but he’s happy to order it to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It doesn’t matter that the US is not a party to the International Criminal Court, which indicted Netanyahu on trumped-up charges. It doesn’t matter that arresting him would likely violate federal law, torpedo our relationship with Israel, and embolden terrorist states — Mamdani’s hate for him must be satisfied.

9. He sides with hate

Mamdani wrote and sang a rap song giving his “love” to the Holy Land Five, Americans who helped finance Hamas and were sent to prison for up to 65 years. He posed gleefully with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. He sits for pleasant interviews with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who says the US “deserved 9/11.” His mentor was antisemite Linda Sarsour.

10. But then claims he’s the victim

Despite all this, Mamdani says Muslims are the real injured party here. He welled up at a press conference, saying his aunt was scared to wear a hijab on the subway after the 9/11 terror attacks, as if there’s any sort of equation between the two. That the aunt turned out to be his father’s cousin, that her “fear” never had any manifestation of reality, and there was actually no proof to back up Mamdani’s tears? Quibbles.

11. He’ll flood the streets with criminals

Mamdani insists he’ll close Rikers Island by 2027, even though replacement jails in the boroughs are behind schedule. And even if they are built, they would hold 3,000 fewer inmates than the 7,000 currently held at Rikers. Despite the propaganda of the left, these aren’t people being held on misdemeanor drug arrests. Because of the “no bail” laws, most criminals aren’t locked up. Rikers therefore holds the worst murderers, gang members, rapists — and Mamdani is saying Let ’em go.

12. He’ll put children at risk for sex trafficking

Mamdani has long wanted legal prostitution, which lowers the quality of life in neighborhoods and puts women at risk. “Decriminalizing” in Los Angeles has led to child sex trafficking, since police can’t stop prostitutes to make sure they are of age. Or what pimps might be exploiting them.

13. He’ll make the housing crisis worse

Mamdani promises to stack the Rent Guidelines Board with people who will freeze the cost of all rent-controlled apartments, about 30% of the city’s stock. That will make the market even less fluid, as people in rent-controlled units — even ones far too big or too small for their families — will refuse to move. The vacancy rate will get even tighter, and market rents will skyrocket. Developers will avoid building new housing, as Mamdani seeks to control what they can charge. But not even those living in rent-controlled apartments will escape the damage. Frozen rents will mean landlords are less likely to upgrade buildings, and will do the bare minimum in terms of amenities and repairs.

14. He’ll make schools worse

Despite his predecessors fighting for decades to get mayoral control of schools, Mamdani promises to just give it away — and let the teachers union dictate the way forward. That means no accountability. No grades or testing. No discipline. No moves to crack down on chronic absenteeism. Unaffordable contracts and pension sweeteners. And restrictions on charter schools, to prevent students from escaping from a failed system.

15. He’ll drive us deeper into debt

The Reason Foundation found that New York City had total liabilities of $300 billion last year, four times that of Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta. Yet the city council has refused any cuts to its $115 billion budget, or to increase a rainy day fund for fiscal downturns. Mamdani offers no idea on how to handle debt, only plans to spend even more money. We already spend 10.6% of our tax revenue to service interest on debt — what’s the limit?

16. And he’ll drive away the golden goose

New York City politicians are able to spend like drunken Democrats thanks to Wall Street. The top 1% of city taxpayers provided 48% of the city’s personal income tax revenue. Rather than say “Thank you,” Mamdani wants to raise their taxes even more. Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she’s against tax hikes, but will she hold the line? Will Mamdani get Albany politicians to overrule them? And with higher taxes and unsafe streets, what’s to stop the rich from just leaving town? Houses in Connecticut are already going up, up, up.

17. He’d put federal assistance at risk

Federal money helps New York hum. A Mayor Mamdani who spends his days bashing President Trump and pledging to oppose ICE may fire up the left-wing loonies, but it’s going to hurt the city with lost revenue for infrastructure projects, health care and education. Why make the city the biggest target?

18. He’ll use New York as the launchpad for a state and national movement

Mamdani would use his position as a Gracie socialist to rally other socialists. He already refuses to endorse Hochul (despite the fact that she endorsed him) because he wants to see a socialist in the governor’s mansion. Senator AOC? Gov. Cynthia Nixon? Get ready for your taxpayer matching funds to help make it happen.

19. He has no experience

The 34-year-old was a rapper, worked as a foreclosure prevention counselor for a hot minute, then began volunteering for socialists. He ran for state Assembly in 2019. In Albany, he introduced just 20 bills in four years and passed just three. As usual, his priorities were punishing nonprofits that worked with Israel. This year, he missed one-third of the legislative session. In short, Mamdani has no real experience in governance, business, law, finance, running a large organization (or even a small one). But if you want to yell about how bad Israel is, he’s got you covered.

20. He will treat New York as an experiment

If Mamdani wins, he’s sure to stock his cabinet with every Democratic socialist he can find — and they will treat Gotham as an Oberlin post-graduate study session. No business will go unpunished. No tax dollar will go unspent. Every radical idea from Marx to Noam Chomsky will get an airing.

It doesn’t matter that almost all these theories have been debunked by history, will cost us billions, and will make the city a worse place to live and work. He is naive enough, and radical enough, that he wants to make the same mistakes all over again — and you’re the one who will pay the price.