Zohran Mamdani, freshly elected as New York’s next mayor with a marathon-sized mandate—over a million votes—pledges to freeze rents for the city’s two million rent-stabilized tenants. Fans say he’s tackling relentless cost-of-living pressures, while property owners warn the move could put rental buildings on ice financially. Whether Gotham’s affordability can weather a deep freeze remains to be seen—or thawed by reality.
New York City in brief
Top five stories in the five boroughs today
Starting Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration will order airlines to cut flights by up to 10% at New York’s JFK, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty, and Teterboro, citing air traffic controller absences amid the federal shutdown. Airlines must scramble to share the pain—a challenge, given few details and Thanksgiving fast approaching. We trust nothing says “safe travels” like a government lopping flights with less than a day’s notice.
After felling Andrew Cuomo’s comeback bid, Zohran Mamdani was hailed as New York City’s mayor-elect in scenes that ranged from a Brooklyn basement brimming with Bengali chants to a ballroom where the former governor seemed unconvinced by defeat. Promising fare-free buses and rent freezes, Mamdani faces exuberant supporters, a wary party, and a city where the honeymoon phase typically lasts about as long as a subway delay.
Zohran Mamdani, 34, swept to victory in New York City’s mayoral race, besting Andrew Cuomo by nine points and crashing through the city’s century-old youth ceiling; now the democratic socialist faces the unenviable task of herding progressive backers, wary moderates, and a vengeful President Trump—who’s threatening to tighten the federal purse strings—while New Yorkers expect instant miracles, or at least faster subway trains.
A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP, America’s food aid programme for some 41.7 million people, despite the government shutdown now dragging to a record 37 days. President Trump derided the move as “absurd” and blamed Democrats for the deadlock. Meanwhile, airports brace for delays; those with an appetite for compromise remain peckish as ever.