{"id":192503,"date":"2026-04-10T18:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T18:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/192503\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T18:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T18:19:10","slug":"a-mixed-reception-in-brooklyn-on-mamdanis-first-100-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/192503\/","title":{"rendered":"A Mixed Reception in Brooklyn on Mamdani’s First 100 Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has considerable star power, but has been thrust into the day-to-day realities of running a city of 8.6 million. Six Brooklynites shared their thoughts as the mayor marked his first 100 days in office. <\/p>\n

Brooklyn residents gave tepid approval to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as he marked his first 100 days in office Friday, while noting it was still too early to fully assess his performance.<\/p>\n

The 34-year-old mayor has considerable star power, but has been thrust into the day-to-day realities of running a city of 8.6 million, from handling trash collection and snow removal to delivering on campaign promises like freezing rent on stabilized apartments and providing free bus service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the challenge that we set out for ourselves was to work as hard and as fast as New Yorkers do,\u201d Mamdani said when asked to assess his first 100 days in office at a press conference on Thursday. \u201cToo often we’ve seen New Yorkers regard City Hall as something that is at best uninterested in the struggles of their life. And we have sought to show an administration that is ambitious, that is unapologetic, and that is relentless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Major achievements touted by the administration have been the launch of 2-K <\/a>and expansion of 3-K, asking New Yorkers directly about their housing complaints through the Rental Ripoff Hearings<\/a>, and making sure delivery app companies don\u2019t scam deliveristas from tips and other wages, amongst other things.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we’ve done all of this while also focusing on the little things that New Yorkers often feel are overlooked by the city government, filling in more than a hundred thousand potholes,\u201d Mamdani said, referring to the damage the two large snow storms caused.<\/p>\n

The mayor has also been criticized for not involving the city\u2019s Black and Latino leadership<\/a> early in his tenure, the deaths of homeless New Yorkers<\/a> during the snow storms, and threatening to raise property taxes<\/a> to balance the budget.<\/p>\n

New Yorkers are split on Mamdani\u2019s work so far, with nearly half of New York City residents, or 48%, said they approve of the job the mayor is doing, while 30% disapprove, and 23% are unsure about how to rate his job performance, according to a recent Marist poll.<\/a> His approval ratings were high in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but low in Staten Island.<\/p>\n

Midwood resident Isabelle Ross said it was too soon to judge how the mayor was doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city hasn\u2019t fallen apart, yes,\u201d the 62-year-old nonprofit worker said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not sure what I\u2019ll feel in a year from now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross, who said the federal government cutting funds from many city nonprofits will cut into vital services in Brooklyn, especially for the elderly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes he have plans to fix this funding issue? Can government services keep up if nonprofits can\u2019t do the work? I honestly don\u2019t know,\u201d Ross said, who noted her own work hours had been cut in half last year due to funding issues.<\/p>\n

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\nNorm Escofferey, owner of Drink Lounge on Franklin Avenue, thinks the mayor has done a good job so far, especially with dealing with the aftermath of the two major snow storms. . Photo: Richard Burroughs for BK Reader <\/p>\n

Norm Escofferey, a Crown Heights resident and owner of the Drink Lounge<\/a>, thinks the mayor hit a \u201chome run\u201d in the aftermath of the two snow storms that dumped up to a foot of snow in the borough.<\/p>\n

But it was also hard for the 50-year-old to assess the mayor\u2019s accomplishments in just 100 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know if we’re going to feel what this guy said he’s going to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\nAleksandr Kundi, who immigrated to Sheepshead Bay from Belarus, is frustrated with the city’s transit system. Photo: Sofia Poznansky for BK Reader <\/p>\n

Aleksandr Kundi, 58, immigrated to Brighton Beach from Belarus in 1993 and works in auditing. He told the BK Reader that unlike the rest of his friends, he was not concerned that a Socialist Democrat had won the election.<\/p>\n

South Brooklyn, a middle class stronghold that has a significant immigrant demographic, did not vote for Mamdani when compared to other parts of the borough<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that one person cannot change everything,\u201d Kundi said.<\/p>\n

While the mayor’s first 100 days have not radically changed the system, Kundi expressed frustration over what he called an “unreliable” transit system.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo travel from Brooklyn to Manhattan on a weekend is impossible on the subway, it takes forever,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is always something that doesn\u2019t run. During the week, everything more or else is working, but when you want to enjoy your city on the weekend, you cannot do it because everything is broken and it\u2019s not fixed,\u201d Kundi said.<\/p>\n

(The Metropolitan Transportation Authority<\/a> is a public benefit corporation that is run by the state, not the city).<\/p>\n

Despite Mamdani campaigning to bring free buses, the recent MTA fare increase has been a financial burden for residents in southern Brooklyn, as public transportation on the weekends often isolates the neighborhood from the rest of the Borough, Kundi said.<\/p>\n

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\nRasheed Salik of Bedford-Stuyvesant has mixed feelings about Mayor Mamdani’s first 100 days. . Photo: Richard Burroughs for BK Reader <\/p>\n

Bedford-Stuyvesant\u2019s Rasheed Salik said he voted for Mamdani because he promised to freeze rent on stabilized apartments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the only reason I voted for him, so that\u2019s what really matters to me,\u201d the owner of Tainted Love BK <\/a>said.<\/p>\n

He thinks teachers and students should have gotten an extra snow day, but appreciates Mamdani\u2019s so-far cordial relationship with President Donald Trump, which many have prevented federal immigration agents from doing large-scale deportation sweeps as seen in Minneapolis and Los Angeles, he said.<\/p>\n

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\nSheepshead Bay resident Angela Gutman said she is weary of Mayor Mamdani’s socialist policies and doesn’t see him fulfilling his campaign promises. . Photo: Supplied\/Angela Gutman <\/p>\n

Angela Gutman, 25-year-old speech language pathologist, said the mayor\u2019s actions differ from what is seen on social media. She doubted Mamdani\u2019s charismatic presence online equates to whether he can tackle the city\u2019s affordability crisis.<\/p>\n

As a first generation immigrant whose family immigrated from the former Soviet Union, Gutman said she is not keen on his socialist policies. Meanwhile, as a twice-a-day bus commuter, she was also waiting for Mamdani to fulfill his campaign promise of free bus service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very indifferent to our new mayor because the things that he was running on didn\u2019t seem feasible and the things he ran on aren\u2019t happening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Gutman understands that a lot of that success came from the mayor\u2019s trendy TikTok videos, but said young city residents should be aware that what you see online differs from what happens at City Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want my politicians to relate to me, I want my politicians to fix the problems in my city, they shouldn\u2019t be an influencer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n


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