Staff Reports
New York City just handed the keys to a democratic socialist who ran on promises of free buses, rent freezes, and tax hikes — a seismic shift that should alarm anyone who loves this city. Zohran Mamdani’s victory is real and historic, and it didn’t happen in a vacuum; it was the product of energized, mostly young progressive voters who turned out in record numbers.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin — a New Yorker who knows the city and its people — didn’t mince words when he warned that the city will have to “survive” the coming years under this new leadership, and he made clear he feels sympathy for those who fought against it but none for those who sat out or supported it. Zeldin, now running the EPA in the Trump administration, spoke bluntly about the fiscal and safety consequences he expects from Mamdani’s agenda.
Supporters of Mamdani celebrate lofty-sounding pledges: a $30 minimum wage by 2030, city-run grocery stores, universal childcare, and freezes on rent for stabilized units. Those policies read well on a flyer, but real-world economics have a nasty habit of punching holes in blue-sky promises, leaving taxpayers and small businesses to pick up the tab.
Conservatives have every right to point to history and say: ask Bill de Blasio what happens when you dare to punish success and invite mass departures of capital and jobs. Zeldin invoked that exact lesson, warning that taxing the wealthy and expanding entitlements will chase out the very people and companies that keep New York afloat. If the left wants to experiment with fiscal suicide, they can — but New Yorkers will be the ones to survive the fallout, not the ideologues who promised paradise.
Public safety and fiscal responsibility are not abstract talking points when families and businesses are already voting with their feet. The election shined a light on deep dysfunction and anger, and now those who stayed silent or cheered this result must live with the consequences when services fray and taxes spike. Democrats like Mamdani ran on hope, but hope does not balance a budget or stop crime.
So what should patriots do? Hold the new mayor accountable every step of the way. Demand transparent budgets, push for policies that preserve jobs and public safety, and organize at the local level to protect homeowners, small businesses, and law-abiding residents from the disastrous outcomes that follow unchecked progressive experiments. Leadership is not an excuse to watch a city decline — it’s a call to action.
We’ll stand with the hard-working New Yorkers who love this city, not the politicians who use glossy promises to paper over reality. If Mamdani’s term becomes a cautionary tale, let it be because citizens fought back with common-sense ideas, muscle, and the truth — not because decent people stayed on the sidelines while activists reshaped a metropolis overnight.
