New York City (NYC) Mayor Zohran Mamdani on April 12 marked his first 100 days in office at a campaign-style rally touting the early accomplishments of his administration and unveiling three new priorities, the Detroit News reported.
Mamdani used the event to highlight a shift in focus from ambitious campaign promises to what he calls “pothole politics,” emphasizing practical, everyday improvements for New Yorkers.
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What are Mamdani’s three new priorities?
According to a report, the NYC mayor outlined three new priorities for the city as his administration completed 100 days in office. Priorities include:
1. The city’s first grocery store will open by 2027. According to The New York Times, the mayor plans to spend about $30 million to build a store in La Marqueta, an urban market under elevated railroad tracks in a predominantly Latino neighborhood.
2. The Ministry of Hygiene will containerize all waste from households in five city districts by the end of 2031.
3. The Department for Transport will launch an initiative to reduce bus journey times on dozens of key corridors by 20%.
Mamdani said at the event: “We will containerize all garbage in all residential properties,” adding that “by the end of next year, there will be at least one fully containerized community neighborhood in every neighborhood. We will start aggressively rolling out new containers to store this garbage and new trucks to take it away. And by the end of 2031, we will complete full containerization throughout the city. According to his quoted report.”
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Commenting on the development of the urban grocery store, the 34-year-old Democratic Socialist noted, “During our campaign, we promised New Yorkers that we would create a network of five urban grocery stores, one in each borough. Today, we are making good on that promise.” He added that his administration would install all five by the end of his first term.
The mayor said the bus project aims to reduce waiting times by 20% on 45 busy corridors. He also noted that bag-to-container recycling, an initiative started by former mayor Eric Adams, has yet to receive funding for a citywide rollout.
Some other victories of the Mamdani administration
According to an Al Jazeera report, Mamdani’s first 100 days in office have been marked by several major victories, including the fulfillment of one of his promises – universal childcare. And now he’s unveiling a plan to add at least 2,000 daycare spaces, starting in lower-income neighborhoods, with the promise of taking the burden of expensive child care off New Yorkers.
Reports indicate that the child care wins benefited both Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochula as they pushed for a common priority without requiring any tax increases. Together, they secured $1.2 billion for the initiative from existing state revenue streams in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
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He recently gained public support after his administration proposed an initiative to fix the city’s potholes. By early April, the city had filled 100,000 potholes, a milestone reached on Monday. He said, “One of the reasons we’re so focused on filling 100,000 potholes across the city is because it’s indicative of a city government that can actually take care of the smallest tasks in New Yorkers’ lives, to show that we can be trusted to take on the biggest problems in their lives.”
He also recently released a preliminary citywide Racial Equity Plan (REP) and True Cost of Living (TCOL) measures. The REP is his administration’s first government-wide racial justice framework in the city’s history. It outlines the agency’s data-driven goals, strategies, and indicators to address long-standing disparities in public policy.
The TCOL measure provides a clear picture of what New Yorkers need to meet their basic needs and aims to achieve basic economic security.
