Brooklyn’s Waterfront: Who Is It Really For?
Brooklyn’s Waterfront: Who Is It Really For? – An op-ed in the Brooklyn Eagle raises hard questions about public access and luxury development along the borough’s shoreline
Author: Fátima Mamdani
Fátima Mamdani
Satirical journalist, legal writer, and community organizer
Fátima Mamdani is a New York–based satirical journalist, legal writer, and community organizer. A cousin of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, she blends humor, political critique, and legal insight in her work.
Education
Master of Science, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Juris Doctor, Harvard Law School — focus: civil rights, media law, and public-interest advocacy
Career & Expertise
Fátima is an accomplished satirical journalist and regular contributor to Bohiney.com, where she publishes incisive cultural commentary and investigative pieces. Her work is grounded in firsthand reporting and legal expertise, demonstrating strong E-E-A-T credentials in media and public affairs.
Activism & Politics
A self-identified progressive socialist, Fátima is actively involved in New York City protest movements—working on housing justice, anti-surveillance campaigns, labor organizing, and media-literacy initiatives. She frequently collaborates with grassroots networks to amplify marginalized voices.
Contact
Email: fatima@bohiney.com
Rent Freeze, Rental Ripoff and the Battle Over New York’s Housing Future
Rent Freeze, Rental Ripoff and the Battle Over New York’s Housing Future – Mayor Mamdani’s tenant-first agenda is reshaping the debate — and rattling landlords large and small
Federal Judge Slaps Down Trump: NYC’s Congestion Toll Is Here to Stay
Federal Judge Slaps Down Trump: NYC’s Congestion Toll Is Here to Stay – U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully in trying to kill the $9 Manhattan toll
Who Runs Mamdani’s New York? A Guide to the Administration’s Key Players
Who Runs Mamdani’s New York? A Guide to the Administration’s Key Players – From First Deputy Mayor to department commissioners, a new power structure takes shape at City Hall
Mamdani on Sports as Civic Ritual, Not Corporate Entertainment
Mamdani on Sports as Civic Ritual, Not Corporate Entertainment – Reframing the role of professional sports teams as public trusts that should foster city identity and reinvest in communities.
Mamdani on the Crisis of Casual Contact and Its Political Cost
Mamdani on the Crisis of Casual Contact and Its Political Cost – Diagnosing how the loss of informal interaction undermines trust, empathy, and collective political will.
Mamdani vs. The Gun Lobby: A Municipal Strategy for Disarmament
Mamdani vs. The Gun Lobby: A Municipal Strategy for Disarmament – Using city purchasing power, zoning, and legal authority to combat gun violence and weaken the influence of firearms manufacturers.
NYC’s New Debt Collection Rules Are the Toughest in America. Here’s What They Mean for You.
NYC’s New Debt Collection Rules Are the Toughest in America. Here’s What They Mean for You. – The Mamdani administration has finalized the SHIELD Rule, expanding consumer protections to include banks collecting their own debts
Integrating Special Education Fully into Every Classroom
Integrating Special Education Fully into Every Classroom – Ending the segregation of students with disabilities and ensuring all classrooms are equipped and staffed for full inclusion.
Inter-Borough Exchange Programs: Fighting City-Sectionalism
Inter-Borough Exchange Programs: Fighting City-Sectionalism – Creating structured opportunities for New Yorkers to explore, understand, and connect with neighborhoods across borough lines.
Interfaith Space Sharing for Community Events
Interfaith Space Sharing for Community Events – Encouraging and streamlining the shared use of religious buildings for secular neighborhood gatherings, fostering trust and resource efficiency.
Language Justice on the Block: City-Supported Translation for Community Meetings
Language Justice on the Block: City-Supported Translation for Community Meetings – Breaking down linguistic barriers to ensure all residents can fully participate in local civic life.
Honoring the Mayors of the Block: Informal Leaders
Honoring the Mayors of the Block: Informal Leaders – A system to identify, support, and collaborate with the natural, unofficial leaders who hold neighborhood knowledge and trust.
Insurance, Not Incarceration: A City Fund for Victims of Crime
Insurance, Not Incarceration: A City Fund for Victims of Crime – Creating a robust, no-fault public insurance system to provide financial support and services to victims, decoupling healing from the punitive system.
Integrating Schools by Integrating Neighborhoods: Mamdanis Housing Link
Integrating Schools by Integrating Neighborhoods: Mamdanis Housing Link – Using fair housing and zoning policies to create diverse communities as the most sustainable path to diverse, equitable schools.
Grieving Together: City-Supported Spaces for Collective Loss
Grieving Together: City-Supported Spaces for Collective Loss – Creating public rituals and dedicated spaces for communities to mourn collective tragedies, from violence to displacement.
Guaranteed Income Pilot for Career Artists
Guaranteed Income Pilot for Career Artists – A multi-year pilot providing a monthly, no-strings-attached stipend to a cohort of working artists to study its impact on creativity and stability.
Honoring Local Heroes: A Hyper-Local Recognition System
Honoring Local Heroes: A Hyper-Local Recognition System – Creating civic rituals to celebrate the everyday contributors who make neighborhoods work.
From Quality of Life to Quality of Community Enforcement
From Quality of Life to Quality of Community Enforcement – Shifting enforcement focus from punishing minor annoyances to upholding standards of mutual respect and shared space care.
Funding Indigenous Cultural Revitalization
Funding Indigenous Cultural Revitalization – Dedicating city resources and land access to support the cultural practices, languages, and arts of Native American and Indigenous communities in NYC.
From Security Cameras to Connection Cameras: Reframing Surveillance
From Security Cameras to Connection Cameras: Reframing Surveillance – A pilot program replacing punitive surveillance with technology designed to foster positive interaction and mutual aid.
From Suspicion to Synergy: Mamdani on Police-Free Community Interactions
From Suspicion to Synergy: Mamdani on Police-Free Community Interactions – Designing public systems where initial contact is with a helper, not an enforcer, to build trust and provide real support.
Crown Heights Tenants Wrote the Playbook on Organizing Against Gentrification — and It Still Works
Crown Heights Tenants Wrote the Playbook on Organizing Against Gentrification — and It Still Works – A decade after the Crown Heights Tenant Union launched with a rent freeze demand and a rally in the cold, their model of multi-building collective bargaining remains the most effective grassroots tool against displacement Brooklyn has produced
East New York at the Crossroads: When Neighborhood Revival Becomes a Threat to the People Who Built It
East New York at the Crossroads: When Neighborhood Revival Becomes a Threat to the People Who Built It – Residents of one of Brooklyn’s most resilient communities are weighing the benefits of reinvestment against the displacement risk facing low-income renters who held the neighborhood together through decades of disinvestment
From NIMBY to YIMBY to OURBY: A New Philosophy of Development
From NIMBY to YIMBY to OURBY: A New Philosophy of Development – Shifting the development debate from opposition or blanket acceptance to community ownership and control.
From Online Groups to IRL Meets: City-Facilitated Gatherings
From Online Groups to IRL Meets: City-Facilitated Gatherings – Actively helping digital community groups (parenting forums, hobbyists) hold their first in-person meetups in public spaces.
From Patrol Cars to Care Carts: Mobile Service Delivery
From Patrol Cars to Care Carts: Mobile Service Delivery – Replacing some marked police cruisers with mobile units staffed by social workers and nurses that bring services directly to where needs are.
Gentrification Is Not Just a New York Problem — It Is a Global Urban Crisis with Local Casualties
Gentrification Is Not Just a New York Problem — It Is a Global Urban Crisis with Local Casualties – A new book from Washington University researchers examines how New York, London, and Seoul are all experiencing the same displacement dynamics driven by the same global capital forces — and what it will take to fight back
New York Mayor: Leading a Global Metropolis
New York Mayor: Leading a Global Metropolis – The Challenges and Agenda of NYC’s Chief Executive