In a shocking mayoral election in November 2025, New York City voters turned out in droves to elect surprising breakaway candidate Zoran Mamdani as their new mayor, buoyed by his campaign promises of free child care, free city buses, and an affordable and dignified life for all New Yorkers. But now that he is in power, will Mamdani be able to overcome financial hurdles and limits on local power to deliver on these promises?
New York City also serves as the “capital of the world,” and when Mr. Mandani became mayor of New York City, a unique, dense, and incredibly creative place, he assumed one of the most powerful jobs in the world. Mamdani now leads a city of about 9 million people, an annual budget of more than $100 billion, nearly 350,000 employees, and a gross domestic product (GDP) higher than most mid-sized countries.
But despite this cultural, economic, and political weight, New York City remains city. As a non-sovereign political subdivision of New York State, New York City retains only those powers of autonomy that the state chooses to delegate.
Compared to other states, New York State gives municipalities relatively strong autonomy and autonomy to “regulate the quality of life in their communities and provide direct services to the people.” In fact, New York state’s mandate for local government is “the broadest in the nation.” Article IX of the New York State Constitution provides significant self-determination rights to local governments, and statutory local government laws supplement these powers.
These broad home rule powers allow New York City (through the City Council) to make policy decisions to expand its popular universal preschool and 3K programs to even younger populations and to provide free child care for 2-year-olds. This is set to begin this fall in Mamdani’s election manifesto. However, New York City actually has limited options due to its urban status. funding This proposed “2-Care” program. Despite Mamdani’s claims that he would fund the 2Cares program by increasing income taxes on high-income New York City residents and corporate taxes on city businesses, one of the powers that New York state municipalities have. please don’t You can receive authority to increase these taxes above state-imposed limits. In fact, as one legal review article memorably notes, New York City “can’t even raise dog license fees without state approval.”
In fact, New York City is one of only a handful of cities in the United States that is authorized (by the state) to collect income taxes. But cities must get state approval to increase their spending beyond state-set caps, and the state has shown no appetite for loosening the strings in this regard.
According to one estimate, the 2-Care program costs about $1 billion each year. Therefore, to fund this program, New York City would need to come up with $1 billion through the regular appropriations process or find an alternative acceptable source.
Fortunately, the state stepped in to provide funding. As part of the state’s 2026 plan, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York state would pay for the first two years of 2-Care. Hochul also pledged to “provide the necessary funding” for the program after the initial period ends. Without this state funding, and without the means to increase income and corporate taxes, it is unclear where the billions of dollars in additional annual funding needed for this program would come from.
Regarding his campaign promise of free city buses, the mayor faces major hurdles before addressing funding issues. New York City doesn’t actually have the power to set transit fare prices. That ability instead rests with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state-created public agency. As “North America’s largest transportation network serving a population of 15.3 million people in a 5,000 square mile travel area encompassing New York City, Long Island, southeastern New York State, and Connecticut,” a 23-member commission governs the transportation authority. The Mayor of New York chooses only four members from among his members.
And here too money is important. If Mamdani can show that free buses have no or minimal economic impact, it will be much easier to convince the MTA board and others of the benefits of a free bus system. Transportation authorities are notoriously in financial trouble, and this is perhaps even worse now. Since the coronavirus outbreak, ridership and associated revenue have remained depressed, and federal funding has evaporated. But even with this low ridership, bus fares are estimated at $600 million a year, making revenue difficult and convincing the MTA to give up. Additionally, obligations to existing bondholders further complicate the issue, as fare revenue is promised to pay for these bonds, and even replacing this revenue with other sources could affect the MTA’s credit rating. Creative proposals have been floated to collect revenue from other sources, such as charging fees for on-street parking in the city, and the state Legislature now appears likely to at least test a free bus pilot program. However, recent comments from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suggest that it is actually moving in the opposite direction from free buses: toward fare increases and enforcement.
New York City mayors have faced seemingly impossible challenges before. When then-Mayor Bill de Blasio first tried to launch a universal preschool program in the city, many believed it was impossible. But the program was not only implemented, it was successful and expanded. Mamdani’s supporters are hoping for similar success, and if his precedent-setting and record-breaking rise to political power is any indication, Mamdani may overcome financial and power-sharing hurdles to fulfill these promises.
Sarah L. Swan is a professor of law and dean of civil governance scholars at Rutgers Law School.
Recommended quote: Sarah Swan How do state and local laws impact Mayor Mamdani’s policy agenda?Sᴛᴀᴛᴇ Cᴏᴜʀᴛ Rᴇᴘᴏʀᴛ (March 23, 2026), https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-does-state-and-local-law-impact-mayor-mamdanis-policy-agenda
