LOWER MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is now doing what multi-billionaire former Mayor Michael Bloomberg did more than 20 years ago: urging people with money to donate.<\/p>\n
“As the old proverb goes, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” Mamdani said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Mayor Mamdani urged city philanthropists to get on board to support his signature plan for free universal childcare for every child in New York City.<\/p>\n
“To those people who want to help, I say the Child Care Action Fund is your way to get involved,” Mamdani said. “This fund will help us build the infrastructure necessary to make universal childcare accessible to every New Yorker who needs it.”<\/p>\n
The mayor’s goal is to raise $20 million in private contributions. The money is intended to bring more facilities online and to staff them up. Governor Kathy Hochul has already committed more than a billion dollars to expand 2-K programs.<\/p>\n
The money will be funneled through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, a city-run nonprofit already supported by several community groups.<\/p>\n
“We really try to support projects that will help transform government,” said Shawn Morehead of New York Community Trust. “So, that is accountable to all New Yorkers and delivers in ways that we can see and feel.”<\/p>\n
However, it could be a tougher sell to private donors. Many of New York’s biggest philanthropists gave millions to former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a failed attempt to stop Mamdani. And, unlike former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mamdani cannot write the big checks, himself.<\/p>\n
City Hall released his tax return on Thursday, and the mayor and his wife, Rama Duwaji, listed an adjusted gross income of roughly $143,000. That includes his assembly salary of just over $131,000, and Duwaji’s net income as a graphic designer of nearly $9,000, and the royalties from the mayor’s brief music career of just over $1,600.<\/p>\n
They paid nearly $21,000 in federal taxes and received a refund of roughly $5,700 and a New York State refund of about $1,300.<\/p>\n
It’s a tradition that goes back at least as far as Ed Koch, with every mayor releasing all or part of his tax return. Mamdani’s may be among the most transparent with apparently none but the most personal redactions.<\/p>\n
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