NYC Mayor Mamdani’s First Reaction On Abdul El-Sayed’s Massive Midterms Victory Against GOP

I wanted to ask you if you've called Abdul El-Saeed, if you've spoken to him, and how much of this election do you think was a referendum on President Trump and what's come out of his White House? I think this referendum was on politics at large across this country. This referendum was on politicians telling working people that their needs were unrealistic while those same politicians were willing to do whatever it is that the wealthiest people in the country would ask them to do. And I think this referendum is, this election is also a referendum on J.D. Vance asking for two more years to deliver on the things that Americans cannot afford even another day of delay on. And I am excited because what we now have is an opportunity to ensure that We recognize our job for what it is. It is not a job to better manage a decline. It is a job to inspire our country to heights that we've never been to before, where the working people who built this country are the ones that are then in the centerpiece of all of our politics. And to your question about Coach, you know, it is... What we saw last night is New Yorkers voting for a government that moves as fast as they do. We saw New Yorkers vote by significant margins, whether to speed up the process of outdoor dining and save small businesses money or accelerate street safety improvements or ensure that nonprofits could actually have their contracts paid on a better timetable or even to cohere the way in which we build affordable housing and strengthen our savings. And to me, what is so exciting to see is that... This is now an opportunity for New Yorkers to have a government that moves as fast as they do. And I also just want to take a moment to acknowledge Jimmy, who's here, who's worked tirelessly, as have a number of others in our team at City Hall, in ensuring that we met the state requirement of public education around these ballot proposals would not be possible without that kind of work. I haven't spoken to him yet. I'm sure he is quite busy. I've had the privilege of speaking to him in the past, and I have to say that His election is one that means so much to so many. And to see that victory in the face that all that he had to reckon with over the course of that campaign, whether in terms of the extraordinary amount of money spent to oppose him or the racism and slander that he was met with on a daily basis, it is incredibly exciting to see, as he said last night. That the good guys won. Then we've got time for a few more, Andrew. Then we'll go to Nicole right behind you after. New jacket for you too? Yeah, you know, pull it out. All right. I wanted to follow up on Jeff's question about the New Yorkers running the country. So you've got Hakeem, you've got Schumer, you've got Trump, all from New York. Does any of that matter? You've had experience. Having the president at Gracie Mansion, a building he likes, did that lead to anything tangible? And do you think the background of Jeffries and Schumer being from New York will lead to anything tangible? I think that having... Leaders in Washington be from our city and of our city is of incredible importance to our city because for them, the struggles of New Yorkers are not intellectual concerns or ones that are being mediated through the prism of media or politics. It is one that they experience and hear from their constituents about every single day. And, you know, when it comes to the president, I've said time and again that we have significant policy disagreements. And yet we look to work together on the areas that we can agree on. And one of those very limited number of areas is the welfare of the city as a whole. And it is through those conversations that we've been able to secure the release of a New Yorker who was detained by ICE. It's through those conversations that we were able to secure a visa for Javits from Pang's mother to ensure that she can be here for the burial of her child. It's through those conversations that we can always make sure there's an avenue to make and ask for the benefit of working New Yorkers. And I look forward to continuing to explore every option to deliver for this city. Great. Then we go to Nicole right behind you, and then we go to Nicole after that. Good afternoon, Mayor. Good afternoon, Nicole. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing well. If you wouldn't mind, microphone a little closer so I can make sure to hear you. Yeah, yeah. So since the governor stopped the civilian fare enforcement teams on the buses and the NYPD hasn't written bus tickets in quite a while, do you see that as you've achieved your goal of making the buses free? And if not, how do you interpret yesterday's result as either moving toward or away from your goal of making the buses free? Thank you. Thank you very much for your question, Nicole. I don't see it as the fulfillment of that goal because a key part of that goal is ensuring that we make the MTA whole as a result of making those buses free. That's why it's not just a policy goal but also a fiscal goal. Which would cover the fair revenue that the MTA would otherwise make, as opposed to telling them to find another way to make ends meet, because that is the history of New York politics, is putting policy goals on the MTA, not providing them with the financial support, and then asking ourselves, why did services suffer as a result? So there is much more of it to be won. And... And in terms of your other question. Yesterday, what we also saw here in New York was not just the passage of these five ballot proposals. We also saw the governor, the attorney general, Democrats up and down the ballot winning at margins that we haven't seen in quite some time. And especially the governor and the attorney general, I think it was a 21 point margin the last time that I saw, which is incredible considering so much of the campaign was spent hearing Bruce Blakeman talk about how it was going to be 52-48. And I don't even know if he won Nassau. Thank you. And then right there in the back. Hi, Mayor. How are you? Shantae of Channel 7. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You kind of touched on this, but I'm just kind of following up. I had a little bit of a run-up. Okay, all right. I had a little bit of a run-up. Absolutely. What was it like watching the blue wave last night, It is time for the Q&A and 1-7. All right. That's all for today, and thank you so much for attending. all the wins from New Yorkers, and so many firsts? I'll see you again. And I hope you enjoyed this webinar and the Q&A session. And also, specifically, what is your plan And I'm sorry, I know I didn't get all of our questions and then I lost you, so thank you again for staying with us. I appreciate it. that translates last night's wins to helping everyday New Yorkers? Thank you again, everyone. And I hope you all have a great weekend. I will see you in the next webinar. Thanks everyone. It was incredible to see the blue wave Thanks to everyone. All right. Thank you. and to say words that I never thought would be together in a sentence. We'll see you in the next webinar. I'll see you next time. Bye! South Carolina. Kansas, Iowa, that I mean, the races that are still yet to be called, that these are even in question. It speaks to the fact that this entire country is ready for a politics that means something to their lives and to their struggles. And what we saw Democrats running on across the country was an ambition for what government could do, as opposed to a sense that our job is simply to describe working people's struggles. Our job is to deliver on those struggles. And The the the commonality between working people in Austin and Ann Arbor in Astoria across this country is one that should inspire also a commonality of purpose for what we do with this power, because I see in that the true reflection of what the American people want, which is change they can feel in their wallets. It means that we can go from being on the defensive to being on the offensive. The defensive means trying to prevent as many New Yorkers as possible from losing their SNAP benefits or losing their health insurance. That's a reflection of the policies that Republicans have pursued for the last few years. The offensive is delivering to make life more affordable for them. That's what we've been focused on here in New York City. And that's what we could do so much more of if we had federal partners across the board. And now we're seeing the election of many of them.