Heh: Zohran Mamdani Says He Wants To Make NYC Affordable. Don’t Believe Him.

America is watching with anxious anticipation as New Yorkers head to the polls, likely to install socialist Zohran Mamdani as the city’s next mayor.

Since his shocking primary victory this summer, Mamdani’s candidacy has become a national story, with Americans wondering if the young radical represents a new direction for the national Democratic Party. And while Mamdani’s socialism and views on Israel are certainly cause for alarm, the policies he’s proposing for New Yorkers are just as shocking, though often overlooked.

That’s why we asked Jane Menton, a lifelong New Yorker, to write about one Mamdani-backed policy that has New Yorkers on edge. Local Law 97 would force most buildings to “reduce emissions” by 2030, an expensive flight of climate fantasy that could price middle-class New Yorkers out of their homes. The policy, which Mamdani has pledged to enforce without mercy, is reminiscent of Biden-era climate policies that would have forced Americans to shoulder the burdens of climate extremists.

America may have moved on from these policies.

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It’s Election Day in New York, and Zohran Mamdani, the socialist assemblyman from Queens, is almost certainly going to be the next mayor. But on his home turf, residents are terrified of the policies he supports.

Among those policies is Local Law 97, which will require over 50,000 buildings to reduce emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. For large buildings, full compliance requires full electrification and millions of dollars in renovations. The alternative is to pay hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in annual penalties.

And here’s the kicker: even if buildings follow through with electrification, at tremendous expense, there is currently an inadequate electricity supply to support the electrification mandates, and the city has no credible plan to provide it.

Mamdani has pledged to enforce the law fully, with no adjustments. To him, Local Law 97 is about “taking on the real estate industry” and achieving “climate justice.” As with most of Mamdani’s policies — free buses, city-run grocery stores — the feel-good messaging ignores residents who are concerned about their quality of life.