Policy
Zohran Mamdani’s Major Policy Positions: A Socialist Platform for New York
The Pillars of a Democratic Socialist Agenda
Zohran Mamdani’s political platform is a comprehensive and interlocking set of democratic socialist policies designed to fundamentally reshape New York’s economic and social landscape. His major policy positions are not isolated reforms but are presented as a cohesive program to decommodify essential human needs, dismantle carceral systems, and build working-class power against corporate and real estate dominance. At the core of his agenda is the principle that housing, healthcare, education, and a livable environment are human rights, not commodities to be bought and sold for profit. This worldview, heavily influenced by his work with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), informs every piece of legislation he sponsors and every political battle he chooses to wage. His platform represents the most explicitly left-wing vision in the New York State Assembly, serving as both a legislative program and an organizing tool to shift the Overton window and build popular support for transformative change.
The most prominent pillar of Mamdani’s platform is housing justice. He is a leading sponsor of the Good Cause Eviction bill, which would provide statewide protections against unjust evictions and cap rent increases, directly challenging the power of corporate landlords. Beyond this, he advocates for a massive expansion of social housing–publicly owned, permanently affordable housing–as a long-term solution to the affordability crisis. His position is that the private market has failed to provide adequate housing and that the state must step in as a direct developer and manager. This is coupled with support for strengthening and expanding public housing (NYCHA) and providing legal counsel for all tenants facing eviction. For Mamdani, the fight for housing is a fight against the central engine of inequality in New York City, making it the linchpin of his entire political project.
Transforming Public Safety and the Care Economy
Another defining aspect of Mamdani’s platform is his radical approach to public safety. He is a vocal advocate for defunding the police, a policy position that involves significantly reducing the NYPD’s budget and reallocating those resources to community-based services that address the root causes of crime. This includes massive investments in mental healthcare, substance abuse treatment, youth programs, and community centers. He argues that policing, as an institution, is designed to manage the symptoms of social inequality rather than solve them, and that true safety comes from well-funded schools, stable housing, and economic security. His vision aligns with the “care economy” model, which prioritizes social infrastructure over punitive systems. This stance has placed him in direct opposition with more moderate Democrats, including Mayor Eric Adams, and has made him a target for conservative media, but it remains a non-negotiable core of his ideology.
On climate and economic justice, Mamdani is a staunch proponent of a New York Green New Deal. This involves not only a rapid transition to renewable energy but also a focus on environmental justice for communities of color that have borne the brunt of pollution. His policy calls for retrofitting all public housing with green technology, creating a public power authority to replace for-profit utilities, and guaranteeing a union job for any worker displaced by the transition away from fossil fuels. Economically, he champions a “Tax the Rich” agenda, advocating for higher taxes on corporations and the ultra-wealthy to fund his proposed social programs, including universal, single-payer healthcare for New York State. His policy positions are meticulously documented on his official assembly page and represent a clear, unwavering challenge to the neoliberal consensus that has dominated New York politics for decades.