Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani will soon mark his 100th day in office as mayor, and recent polling suggests that New Yorkers are more positive than negative about his tenure so far.
A Marist poll released on Wednesday shows that 48 percent of city residents approve of the job that the 34-year-old democratic socialist is doing as mayor, while 30 percent said that they disapprove. Notably, 23 percent of residents said they were unsure of how they would rate Mamdani’s job performance. Marist surveyed 1,454 adults from March 26 through March 31.
Respondents largely gave Mamdani high marks for his leadership, work ethic, and empathy. Sixty-one percent of residents said they agreed that Mamdani was a good leader, while 37 percent disagreed. Seventy-four percent of residents said they believed Mamdani was working hard as mayor, while 25 percent disagreed. Sixty-four percent said they thought the mayor understood the problems facing New York City, and 35 percent said he didn’t.
On whether Mamdani was fulfilling his campaign promises, 60 percent of New Yorkers said they thought he was, compared to 36 percent who disagreed. Fifty-two percent of respondents said Mamdani was changing New York City for the better, while 27 percent said he was changing it for the worse. Only 18 percent said the mayor wasn’t changing the city at all.
Mamdani’s early weeks in office saw him contend with two major snowstorms. Sixty-five percent of city residents said they approved of how the Mamdani administration handled the winter weather with 34 percent disapproving.
Mamdani’s approval rating, while respectable, is lower than that of his predecessor around the 100-day mark of his tenure with then-Mayor Eric Adams receiving 61 percent approval from New Yorkers to 24 percent disapproving.
When asked how they felt things in New York City were going, 56 percent of respondents said they felt the city was moving in the right direction compared to 43 percent who said they felt things were moving in the wrong direction. According to Marist, that marks a significant shift from October 2025 when 66 percent of residents thought the city was in a bad place.
The survey also examined Mamdani’s burgeoning relationships with key leaders. On his partnership with the more moderate Governor Kathy Hochul — which will be essential to the success of much of his policy platform — 60 percent of residents said he was collaborating with her just the right amount, while 20 percent said Mamdani wasn’t working closely enough. Respondents were also asked about Mamdani’s relationship with President Donald Trump, an initially contentious dynamic that has since resulted in two cordial Oval Office meetings where the two discussed potential points of cooperation concerning their shared hometown. Fifty-nine percent of New Yorkers said that Mamdani has the right amount of collaboration with the president, while 26 percent said they weren’t working closely enough. Only 12 percent said the mayor was working too closely with Trump.
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