New York will survive even the Islamo-socialist mayor Mamdani

As revelers gathered in Times Square as the new year began, Zohran Mamdani took the oath of office to become the new mayor of New York City. He was sworn in underground, in the beautiful but long abandoned City Hall subway station on the number 6 line. He swore his oath on not one, but two, family Korans, the first time that a Bible was not used for the occasion. Mamdani chose the former subway stop to show his concern about transportation just as subway fares were set to rise to $3 due in a fare rise approved last year. One of the mayor’s plans is to make city buses free but not the subways.

On New Year’s Day, despite the severe cold, a more formal swearing ceremony took place on the steps of City Hall with the oath administered by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, accompanied by an introduction by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both fellow “Democratic Socialists” serving in Congress. The mayor had ordered a “block party” around the City Hall area, and an estimated 40,000 or so showed up to enjoy the jaunty music.

Shortly thereafter, Mamdani was at work signing “executive orders” to rescind measures approved by the outgoing black Mayor Eric Adams who earlier was booed by the City Hall crowds.

The election of an inexperienced 34-year-old whose only prior position was that of an undistinguished Representative in the New York State Assembly and who holds such radical views – socialism is the antithesis of American capitalism – needs some analysis.

New York City, population 8.5 million, has been home to immigrants since its founding in 1624. The ethnic and religious composition has been changing in the last few years. The city now has about one million Muslims who are believed to slightly outnumber Jews. Some of the city’s Muslims are blacks who converted from Christianity. Data are hard to come by because American censuses to not cover religion.

The 2025 mayoral election saw many Muslims who may never have voted previously, come out in droves to vote for one of their own. Even many Jews voted for Mamdani, despite his strong support of Palestinians, given that the majority are known to be left-wing adherents of the Democratic Party.

New York City also has many young college graduates; the vast majority having been inculcated with leftist ideology by left-wing professors who have dominated in American universities for several decades. They too voted for Mamdani.

Mamdani himself projects a determined image and speaks with a certain eloquence that has captured world-wide attention. No other mayor-elect has received such notoriety. As such he managed a White House visit with President Donald Trump that almost turned into a love fest between the two, much to the surprise of the press and Americans in general.

Despite all the fanfare, Mamdani has so far stuck to his radical positions. Besides free buses, he wants free childcare but has not revealed how he would achieve this. He advocates for a rent freeze in a city that has numerous rent regulations. To deal with “affordability,” a word all American hear numerous times a day, Mamdani wants city operated grocery stores – an idea that should scare the many Hispanics who run “bodegas” found all over the city and who would be put out of business. To pay for his administration’s ideas, Mamdani proposes to increase taxes on the “very rich” – the ones who provide most businesses and employment. However, some of Mamdani’s proposals would require state approval. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, who seemingly reluctantly endorsed Mamdani, may not be in full accord with what Mamdani wants.

Many concerned New Yorkers who do not cherish socialist ideology are concerned at what the next four years will portend. Older New Yorkers, with a sense of history and perspective will recall the many severe crises that the city has experienced over several decades. First and foremost, they recall September 11, 2001, when thousands died in the World Trade Center bombing which was masterminded by Islamic terrorists who were inspired by the Allah of the Koran. There was the severe financial crisis of the 1970s that nearly caused bankruptcy for the city. There were subway strikes and years of burning buildings in disadvantaged areas. More recently, a major disaster was the widespread destruction due to severe flooding caused by super storm Sandy in October 2012. Somehow New York City survived.

The administrations of Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg brought an end to rampant crime, helped the city regain its strength after 9-11, and gave the city 20 years of good government starting from 1994. The last two Democratic party administrations, eight years of Bill DeBlasio and four of Eric Adams, set the city back.

As the Mamdani government takes shape, it will not have the Judeo-Christian foundation on which the United States was founded. Having sworn on the Koran, it is well to remember the latter has inspired many nefarious undertakings around the world.

Moreover, most business leaders in New York City are understandably concerned with the Socialist ideas championed by Mamdani and could leave the city if squeezed too hard with taxes and regulations. However, one executive stood out in support for Mamdani himself. Jamie Dimon, the highly regarded President and Chairman of J.P.Morgan, in a wide-ranging interview with Fortune magazine before the mayoral election, first characterized Mamdani as “more Marxist than Socialist” but then indicated that, if elected, he would “call him and offer my help.” With his vast banking and advisory experience his influence can help.

 In that interview Dimon concluded: “New York will survive.” Coming from him that may be a consoling thought if things get tough in the next four years.