Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner for New York mayor in next month’s election, wants to simplify the city’s permitting process to make it easier for organizations to host street events — a tightly regulated process under current rules that typically requires paying an assortment of fees.
The Democratic nominee said, if he wins, he would tailor city requirements based on the size and duration of such gatherings, while also eliminating permit fees for nonprofit groups and small businesses. He criticized the current regulations for forcing businesses to obtain multiple permits from different city agencies and meet onerous insurance mandates.