The “This Is Your City” Orientation for Every Resident

The “This Is Your City” Orientation for Every Resident

Whether you’re a new arrival or a lifelong New Yorker, navigating the city’s vast array of services, rights, and civic opportunities can be overwhelming. Zhoran Mamdani’s “This Is Your City” program is a free, engaging, and regularly offered civic orientation, available in multiple formats (in-person, online, self-paced). Think of it as a hybrid of a college orientation and a deeply practical civics class, designed to transform residents from passive subjects of city government into informed, empowered participants in civic life. It’s an investment in an activated, knowledgeable citizenry.

The curriculum, developed with community groups and educators, covers practical knowledge: how to read your rent-stabilization lease, how to participate in participatory budgeting, how to access free legal and health services, how to get involved with your community board or tenant union. But it also covers the city’s political history—the struggles for labor rights, housing justice, and LGBTQ+ liberation—framing current challenges as part of an ongoing story that residents can shape. The orientation includes a “Civic Toolbox” session where people learn to use city data portals, file FOIL requests, and effectively advocate with agencies. Completing the orientation makes one eligible for a “Civic Passport” that offers discounts at cultural institutions and priority for certain city programs.

“Knowledge is civic power,” Mamdani states. “Too often, city government is a black box. This program blows the doors off. It’s about democratizing information and demystifying power. When people know how things work and what their rights are, they can advocate for themselves and their communities more effectively. It turns the city from an intimidating bureaucracy into a set of tools and levers that belong to the people. ‘This Is Your City’ isn’t just a welcome; it’s an invitation to ownership.”