Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani listened to labor union members Friday at a gathering hosted at building workers headquarters.
That union, Local 32BJ SEIU, has been campaigning for Mamdani but against three items on the back of the ballot that would fast-track some housing development approvals. Yet Mamdani has still not yet said, with early voting starting in just over a week, how he will vote on those measures.
The Election Day ballot proposals, put forth by a commission convened by departing mayor Eric Adams, would change the City Charter to streamline approvals for affordable housing and in many cases bypass the City Council, which has used its voting power to kill some projects but also to extract community benefits, including labor agreements.
Meanwhile, his rivals Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa have taken definitive stances — with Cuomo saying he will support all three proposals and Sliwa opposing them.
Mamdani didn’t address the ballot items at the event, where workers focused on concerns about wages, benefits and challenges affording life in New York City.
But afterward, Mamdani campaign spokeswoman Dora Pekec said Mamdani is still undecided on the proposals and did not elaborate on whether he is still discussing the matter with the labor unions or other stakeholders.
“I’m continuing to have those conversations,” he told a reporter during a press conference earlier this month. “What I can say is that I’m appreciative of the fact that it’s on the ballot and that New Yorkers have a chance to weigh in.”
Last week, leaders of 32BJ and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council — both of which have endorsed Mamdani in the general election — joined City Council leaders to proclaim their fierce opposition to the proposals, stressing that they would weaken workers’ hand in reaching labor agreements with developers. So did the District Council of Carpenters, which endorsed Cuomo in the primary but has not made a decision for the general.
State election records show the hotel union recently spent $800,000 for TV ads supporting Mamdani.
How to fill in the bubbles on the back of his ballot is a fraught decision for Mamdani, who has an ambitious agenda to construct 200,000 units of union-built affordable housing and would gain important power as mayor to fulfill that agenda if the ballot measures pass.
But Mamdani is not only counting on the unions’ support to help get elected. If he wins, he will need the City Council to help him govern. Current City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams led last week’s rally against the ballot measures, and among the members joining her was Brooklyn’s Crystal Hudson, a contender in the closed-door race to succeed Adams, who is term-limited at the end of this year.
The Council is using public funds to stage a website and distributed mailers warning New Yorkers that their “power could be taken away by Mayor Adams’ misleading ballot proposals” and claiming that they would lead to “less investment,” “less affordability,” and “more gentrification.”
The ballot items are a rare issue that has united Council members across the political spectrum. A judge this week dismissed a lawsuit brought by conservative members in the Common Sense Caucus who sought to toss the three housing ballot items, a decision the lawmakers are now appealing.
‘City of Yes on Steroids’
Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks at a Chinatown community center about his plan to remake the Rikers Island jail complex, Oct. 15, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
Approached by THE CITY earlier this week, Cuomo appeared uncertain about his positions on the three development-related proposals, declaring support for only one and advising a follow-up with his campaign staff.
“A Council person alone vetoing a project — I disagree with, and I support the proposal that says there should be a committee to override,” said Cuomo.
His campaign later affirmed that Cuomo supports all three measures, as well as three others, which would authorize a ski resort in the Adirondacks, digitize the official city map and move local elections to even-numbered years.
Republican Curtis Sliwa says he’ll vote no on all six. “This is the City of Yes on steroids,” Sliwa told THE CITY on Wednesday, referring to Mayor Adams’ changes to city zoning codes to ease development.
Developers “get the right to do whatever they want in the city, and the City Hall controls everything that goes on, which means that whoever the mayor is is going to be in the back pocket of developers,” Sliwa said.
Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa speaks in Foley Square about several housing ballot proposals, Oct. 15, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
Advocates for the ballot items are pushing back on the Council campaign. Liz Denys, a Brooklyn resident and board member of the pro-housing group Open New York, said they had filed a complaint with the Department of Investigation, which probes misconduct and corruption within city agencies.
“My understanding is that these mailers were paid for with public funds, and since it is plain to anyone that these mailers have a clear opinion in opposition to the ballot proposals, this constitutes illegal electioneering,” Denys wrote in their complaint.
The Council says it is relying on guidance from the city Conflicts of Interest Board that advised city charter revisions are “a matter of city policy,” not a political campaign, and that outreach would not constitute prohibited electioneering.
A spokesperson declined to disclose how much the Council has spent on the production and distribution of the mailers, advising THE CITY to Freedom of Information Law request for the information.
Additional reporting by Samantha Maldonado and Katie Honan.
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