Eliza Oehmler, Fordham ELR Staffer

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has already faced significant climate hurdles in his first few months in office after an unseasonably cold and snowy winter. Central Park recorded over 40 inches of snow, when the average is normally 22 inches. This came from a large storm in January and a massive bomb cyclone in February. The February snowstorm was among the ten worst the city had ever seen, with 19.7 inches of snowfall. Consensus on Mamdani’s performance overseeing the two snowstorms seems to be that he learned from mistakes in the first storm–which included the deaths of over 20 people living on the streets and the delay of snow removal from sidewalks and crosswalks–and met the second storm prepared, getting New Yorkers back to normal as soon as possible.  

While Mayor Mamdani managed to weather the snowstorms well, there are sure to be many climate issues that face him over the next four years, as well as opportunities to implement innovative climate policy. 

Mamdani’s Campaign Promises 

On Mamdani’s campaign website, the only pledge under “Climate” is “Green Schools for a Healthier New York City.” This pledge links to an 11-page document that includes plans to renovate school buildings to make them more climate-friendly, build more greenspaces for recess, and turn schools into “resilience hubs” (spaces that are equipped to help their communities during emergency weather events). News outlets, such as New York Focus, have also noticed that some of Mamdani’s campaign proposals constitute climate policy, just packaged another way. For example, his proposal for free bus rides could help reduce carbon emissions. Additionally, Mamdani was endorsed by the Sunrise Movement, a coalition of climate activists whose objective is to stop the climate crisis. This endorsement was significant because it had never endorsed any candidate before in any race.

Challenges for the NYC Mayor 

One of the major hurdles in Mamdani’s way is Local Law 97 (LL97), which is an ambitious plan passed in 2019 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings in New York City by 40% in 2030 and to net zero by 2050. The city’s buildings produce up to 67% of its greenhouse gas emissions. LL97 has been troublesome for some building owners, and was an issue that came up on the campaign trail. One of Mamdani’s policy proposals included a plan to provide building owners with financial assistance to help them comply with LL97. He emphasized these plans in a mid-October debate.

While LL97 will help reduce New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions, there are other climate problems facing the Mayor. Currently, the city overwhelmingly relies on fossil fuels for the majority of its power. Though the Mayor has little actual power over what energy is used within the city, City Hall does negotiate contracts for the city’s public institutions. Recently, Governor Hochul has directed the New York Power Authority to create a zero-emissions nuclear power plant to source energy from; Mayor Mamdani has seemed interested in this project. 

Further, in a world of increasing extreme climate events, Mayor Mamdani will need to be prepared for scorching heat, more flooding, and general upheaval from various weather crises. Days before the mayoral election, two men died in basements in Brooklyn and Manhattan from flooding. As climate change continues to wreck havoc, weather events leading to tragic outcomes will only increase. Heat stress is one of the major leading causes of weather-related deaths. Mayor Mamdani handled the snowstorms well, and is hopefully prepared to meet what comes next as well.