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In his video message, Mamdani put on his best “inspirational” tone:
“Good morning, New York City. Thank you. Last night, we made history, and today, we begin the work of making a new administration. Welcome to the Transition. This is the period over the next few months where we build a City Hall that delivers on the promises of our campaign—to make New York City affordable and to make government accountable to the people it serves.”
But the message didn’t end there. The man who once told his supporters to “stop sending us money” has now changed his tune—completely.
“Oh, and one more thing—remember how I told you a few months ago to stop sending us money? You can start again.”
WATCH:
Yes, you read that correctly. The socialist mayor-elect who railed against corporate greed now wants donations to fund his transition “staff,” “research,” and “infrastructure.”
Mamdani insisted that the money would help him “build a City Hall that works for everyone.” But many New Yorkers see it for what it is—another fundraising stunt from a politician who built his career attacking the very concept of private fundraising.
It didn’t take long for critics to call out the double standard. While ordinary citizens struggle to pay rent, energy bills, and skyrocketing grocery costs, the self-proclaimed man of the people is asking for cash to pad his bureaucracy.
And the irony only deepens. On Wednesday, Mamdani proudly announced his all-female transition team, packed with veterans from the failed administrations of Bill de Blasio, Eric Adams, and Michael Bloomberg—the very political establishment he spent years condemning.
According to Politico, the team includes:
- Former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer
- Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan
- Nonprofit president Grace Bonilla
- City budget expert Melanie Hartzog
The team will be led by Elana Leopold, a progressive strategist who once worked under de Blasio and served as Mamdani’s campaign adviser.
These are the same insiders who helped create the city’s homelessness crisis, endless spending, and suffocating taxes that have driven middle-class families to flee in record numbers. Yet Mamdani calls them “revolutionary.”
The so-called “transition team,” stacked with bureaucrats and social service elites, looks less like a grassroots revolution and more like a return to New York’s failed progressive past.
While Mamdani touts his administration as a “new era” for the city, his early actions paint a different picture—one of old politics dressed up in socialist slogans.
If this is the kind of “change” Mamdani plans to bring to City Hall, New Yorkers might soon find that the only thing he’s making “affordable” is the value of their paychecks.
At the end of the day, Mamdani’s post-election behavior sends a clear message: socialism sounds great—until the bill comes due.
