New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, affiliated with the Democratic Socialist Party of America (DSA), seems to be prioritizing neighborhoods that supported him during his election when determining where to direct improvement initiatives, as claimed by a New York City Council member.
The 2025 election map of New York, overlaid with Mamdani’s First 100 days map, offers a glimpse into the voting patterns in areas targeted for physical improvements like roadwork, housing upgrades, and better public transport. This analysis might suggest that Mamdani’s improvement projects are leaning toward neighborhoods that leaned toward him over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. One council member pointedly accused the mayor’s office of showing favoritism based on political alliances.
“Honestly, communities such as mine have been bearing the burden for years because we haven’t aligned ourselves with politicians like Bill de Blasio and now Zoran Mamdani,” said Phil Wong, a Democratic councilman from Queens. “We keep seeing taxpayer money disproportionately funneling into areas that largely endorsed the mayor.”
“New Yorkers deserve a leader who serves the entire city, not one who uses public funding as a form of reward for political loyalty,” Wong stated.
In Queens, there seem to be around 7-8 projects located in or around areas that supported Mamdani, while only 1-2 projects are noted in regions that backed Cuomo. In another context, there’s a single project in southern Brooklyn where Cuomo received considerable support in the 2025 election. On Staten Island, the number of projects is notably fewer, and support for Mamdani trails behind other city areas. Northern Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx are projected to house the highest density of projects, corresponding to strong support for Mamdani in 2025.
Mamdani recently made headlines by claiming to have filled his “100,000th pothole of the year” during a visit to Staten Island, promoting what he’s called a “pothole blitz.” However, many responses pointed towards the realities experienced by New Yorkers. One Twitter user remarked that “Mamdani is quite strategic in how he manages his time and budget for curated social media narratives.”
Requests for comments from the mayor’s press office and the New York City Department of Transportation went unanswered.
“It’s not surprising that these projects are concentrated in areas that voted heavily for Zoran. Many of his campaign promises focused on public transit, affordable housing, and bike lane redesigns. Honestly, districts like mine have little interest in those, so he can keep his projects away,” stated Vicki Palladino, a Republican representative from Queens. “It’s not that we lack infrastructure needs—because we do—but we have little confidence this administration will address things that matter to districts like ours.”
Councilor Inna Vernikov chose not to comment.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fosella criticized the distribution of city funds during a meeting on March 17, stating, “We’re in a predicament here.” He noted a “$2 billion deal” made by the Department of Homelessness, asserting, “They’re increasing spending on issues unsupported by Staten Island residents.”
Previously, Fosella condemned the Mamdani administration for relocating Staten Island city workers to Brooklyn amid a significant snowstorm, pointing out how the snow-covered conditions were emblematic of ongoing issues in Staten Island.
Fosella did not provide further comments by the time of publication.
Other council members, including Joanne Arriola, David Carr, Kevin Riley, Virginia Maloney, Frank Morano, and City Council President Julie Menin, also did not respond to requests for comment.
