Everything Zohran Mamdani Has Achieved so Far

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani hit the ground running in his first week in office, issuing a flurry of executive orders aimed at tackling the city’s housing crisis, expanding tenant protections, and making progress on childcare — actions that belie critics who said his campaign promises were too vague to ever be implemented.

Zohran Mamdani Races Through First Weeks With Big Accomplishments

Sworn in earlier this month, Mamdani issued at least 12 executive orders in his first week, a pace far quicker than recent past mayors. Many of these orders directly target housing equity, tenant rights, and bureaucratic obstacles that long slowed development — key parts of his campaign platform on economic justice.

Housing Justice Takes Center Stage for Mamdani

At the heart of Mamdani’s early agenda is a suite of orders designed to reshape how the city approaches housing.

One of the most notable, Executive Order 3, revived the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, an agency created in 2019 but defunded under the prior administration. The order places new emphasis on combating negligent landlords and prioritizing renters’ interests across city agencies.

To address the city’s chronic housing shortage, Mamdani also established two major task forces:

• LIFT (Land Inventory Fast Track): tasked with identifying city-owned land suited for housing development, to find space for at least 25,000 new units over the next decade.
• SPEED (Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development): set to pinpoint procedural and regulatory bottlenecks that slow down housing approvals and recommend fixes.

Together, these efforts signal a shift toward treating housing production and tenant protections as complementary goals rather than competing priorities — a departure from past city debates.

Another order directs city departments to hold public hearings on what the administration calls “Rental Ripoff” practices, gathering tenant testimonies about abusive fees, neglectful repairs, unjust rent increases, and other exploitative landlord behaviors.

Broader Affordability and Consumer Protection

Beyond housing, Mamdani’s early executive actions also targeted everyday cost-of-living pressures:

• A task force to crack down on junk fees and hidden charges that inflate consumer costs.
• Measures to make cancelling subscriptions and services simpler for residents.

These orders frame consumer protection as part of a broader affordability agenda, aiming to reduce hidden costs that disproportionately burden working New Yorkers.

Democratic Engagement and Civic Participation

In keeping with his campaign emphasis on inclusive governance, Mamdani issued an order establishing the Office of Mass Engagement. The office’s mission is to connect everyday New Yorkers with city policymaking and ensure that public input shapes decisions rather than being sidelined by institutional barriers.

Early Wins on Childcare Thanks to Mamdani

While the Jacobin piece focuses largely on housing and affordability, progress on childcare — another major campaign promise — has also begun to materialize.

Less than two weeks into his term, Mamdani and New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced a phased rollout of free childcare for two-year-olds in New York City, backed by significant state funding. This early implementation marks a step toward broader universal childcare goals that have drawn both acclaim and debate.

What This Means for New Yorkers

Mamdani’s rapid issuance of executive orders reflects a clear intent to translate his campaign platform into concrete municipal policy, addressing some of the city’s most pressing economic challenges. From strengthening tenant protections to reducing hidden consumer costs and advancing childcare access, these early actions signal a bold start to his mayoralty.

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