Mamdani Promises “Free.” Working-Class New Yorkers Are Skeptical

As early voting begins, self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani continues to lead the New York City mayoral race. Mamdani has pitched himself as the candidate who will “lower the cost of living for working-class New Yorkers.”

But there’s a surprising tension between his message and his support in the primaries. Working-class communities were the ones least inclined to support Mamdani last June. His support was primarily driven by younger, highly educated, and higher-income New Yorkers like those profiled in the New York Times last month.

To understand the reluctance that working-class New Yorkers feel toward Mamdani and get a fuller picture of why many support Andrew Cuomo instead, I spent several hours on the ground in Cuomo strongholds in the Bronx. Some there told me that they distrusted the idea that anything can be “free” without trade-offs and costs occurring elsewhere. Others cited the frontrunner’s lack of experience and deficiencies in his proposals for public safety as their reasons for backing Cuomo or Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

With the election fast approaching, the question may soon be: can Cuomo hold on to these voters, or will Mamdani coax them into his camp?

Dann Divine, originally from Ghana, West Africa, has resided in the Bronx for over 25 years. He loves his community and is skeptical about Mamdani’s proposals for free universal buses and childcare and rent freezes. “We have to know why it’s free,” he said, “because sometimes free is expensive.”

Divine suggested that, while Mamdani’s slogans may resonate with voters, his proposals would do little to solve the underlying affordability issues. “You can’t leave if it’s free,” he added, citing parallels he saw between socialism in America and in the Soviet Union, where his “uncle used to live.”

Divine’s comments point to a broader recognition of the economic realities that “free” goods and services entail. As I have documented, eliminating fares for all passengers, freezing rents, and introducing city-run grocery stores would entail trade-offs, making limited funding less targeted and potentially undermining expansions of public transportation and housing.

Divine also raised concerns about public safety—another major issue in the race. “There was a time when we couldn’t even be standing on the sidewalk here, walking or talking,” said Divine, pointing to the public toilets farther down Fordham Road where vagrants and drug users used to gather. “Public safety can’t be addressed through ideology.”

A little later, I spoke to Pedro Rodriguez, also a resident of the South Bronx, who said he was highly concerned about “crime on the subways.” While NYPD data show that transit crime is now 13 percent below pre-pandemic levels, Rodriguez’s comments point to a lingering perception of insecurity that many New Yorkers I spoke with feel.

Mamdani’s has walked back his repeated calls to “defund the police.” The mayoral hopeful has also pledged to keep Jessica Tisch, the tough-on-crime commissioner of the NYPD, in her position. Whether these statements will reassure the working-class New Yorkers most affected by crime remains to be seen. For now, both Divine and Rodriguez say they’re supporting Cuomo.

Transit, crime, and doubts that socialism would address the cost of living came up time and again as I spoke with residents of the Bronx on Fordham Road and in Co-Op City. Both areas heavily supported Cuomo in the primary.

Nel Raif, who said she works for the MTA, expressed concern that fare-free buses would “hurt jobs” by eliminating fares as a sustainable income stream.

“A lot of people here are skeptical about socialism,” she said, pointing both to Mamdani’s lack of experience and to socialism’s failures when implemented anywhere. New York also needs a mayor who will “stop the violence” occurring on public transportation.

Jason Torres echoed the concerns raised by Raif and others.

“Politicians know how to run a good campaign,” he said, “but then they just sit in office.” He added that “Mamdani’s morals are a question mark,” an allusion to the disconnect that voters feel between the candidates’ messaging and what they feel will actually take place when in office.

Indeed, more than one Bronxite I approached told me that they no longer vote, pointing to a broader alienation that people feel from politics. New York’s next mayor should see this situation as a call to implement policies driven by evidence of what actually works, rather than elevating process over outcomes.

Later that night, at a panel on the appeal of socialism among young people, I asked best-selling co-author of The Canceling of the American Mind Rikki Schlott why socialism has failed to resonate for working-class communities like the South Bronx.

“Handouts are sometimes not appealing to people,” she said. “They seem a little bit patronizing, especially coming from those who went to private schools.”

Economist Scott Linicome, also on the panel, suggested that wealthier economic elites also tend to be isolated from many of the costs. “They have the lawyers and the accountants,” he said, which, as a result, allows them to “avoid a lot of onerous taxes and regulations.”

To this we might add that over 30 percent of Bronx residents were born outside the United States. Much of their reluctance about socialism may stem from having experienced it themselves.

As Politico recently underscored, were Mamdani’s final margin to match current poll numbers, he would “be the first New York City mayor in recent memory to win without majority support.” Clearing that vital 50 percent threshold will require listening to the concerns of working-class voters for whom he claims to speak. Cuomo, for his part, will need to keep pressing skepticism about Mamdani while also offering a positive alternative.

Regardless of who wins, the next mayor will need to listen to these New Yorkers.

Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images