**Zohran Mamdani’s Win Should Send Tremors Far Beyond New York City**
*By Betsy McCaughey*
Zohran Mamdani’s victory Tuesday should send shockwaves far beyond New York City. A Mamdani win will likely ignite wholesale legislative attacks on property owners, charter schools, law enforcement, and businesses across the entire state of New York. From Buffalo to Amagansett, no sector will be spared.
In New York, the critical decisions about criminal law, education, rent laws, and taxation are made at the state level—not locally. Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) will be calling the shots not only at City Hall but also in Albany. New Yorkers, brace yourselves for radical laws and huge tax hikes.
Mamdani, currently a member of the New York State Assembly from Queens until he is sworn in as mayor, already secured endorsements from the state’s top legislative leaders and sizable blocs within both the Assembly and Senate—27 Assembly members and 16 state senators—before his victory. His triumph elevates him to national prominence and positions him as the de facto head of the Democratic Party in New York State, wielding far more influence than Governor Kathy Hochul.
With Hochul’s approval ratings at a historic low, she is now desperately seeking Mamdani’s favor to curry goodwill with the Left. Mamdani’s clout at the Capitol means moderate Democrats are likely to fall in line “to enact a lot of his wish list,” reports Democratic Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz from Long Island. Blumencranz calls it “a perfect storm” set to impact the entire state.
### A Radical Criminal Justice Agenda
At the top of the DSA’s list—and Mamdani’s agenda—is aggressive decarceration that would put criminals back on the streets. Pro-criminal DSA legislators led efforts to pass the “Less is More” Act in 2021, a law that allows violent criminals who violate parole (for example, by using drugs) to remain free.
This law partly explains why Jamel McGriff, who was allegedly violating parole, was able to invade the home of an elderly Queens couple last September, torture them to death, and set their house on fire with them inside.
DSA legislators are also pushing bills to decriminalize prostitution under the state Senate bill titled “Cecilia’s Act for Rights in the Sex Trade” and to eliminate all criminal and civil penalties for possession of illegal drugs.
Mamdani ally and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie backs a bill, already passed in the Assembly, to extend youthful offender status to alleged criminals ages 19 to 25. This would spare them from a criminal conviction and seal their arrest record, magnifying the mistake made by the 2019 “Raise the Age” legislation—which shifted the criminal responsibility age from 16 to 18.
New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch warns that “Raise the Age” has led to a quadrupling of homicides committed by juveniles and an 81% increase in juveniles being shot. Violent teens under 18 who commit heinous crimes receive merely a slap on the wrist in family court, and they soon return to offend again.
Mamdani’s allies in Albany are poised to worsen this situation by letting violent criminals in their 20s off the hook. It’s a dangerous and reckless approach.
### Hostility Toward Charter Schools
Mamdani and the DSA are fierce opponents of charter schools. They would rather see thousands of low-income and minority students languish in district schools assigned by geography—schools many consider “failure factories.”
Decisions about increasing charter schools are controlled in Albany by the State University of New York (SUNY) trustees, who generally support charters, and the SUNY Board of Regents, appointed by the legislature and heavily influenced by teachers unions aligned with the Democratic Party.
State Senate Bill 6800, sponsored by Mamdani ally Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn of Brooklyn, would strip SUNY trustees of their charter powers, effectively leaving charter schools vulnerable to the hostile Board of Regents. The biggest losers in this battle will be the students.
### Targeting Property Owners and Renters
Property owners are squarely in the DSA’s crosshairs. The party aims to expand rent regulation—which many argue has caused severe housing shortages and dilapidated properties in New York City—to the entire state through state Senate Bill 4659. Furthermore, they seek to extend rent regulations to commercial properties such as stores via Senate Bill 8319.
### Ambitious Tax Hikes and Costly Freebies
As a candidate, Mamdani promised free bus rides, free child care, and other costly benefits—expenses he wants the entire state to fund. His campaign proposed hiking the state’s corporate tax rate by almost half, to 11.5%.
Mamdani ally state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal has already introduced a bill to increase corporate taxes, though by a somewhat lesser amount.
However, corporate taxes ultimately affect employees and customers—not just business owners—and tend to stifle economic growth. New York State already ranks dead last (50th out of 50) in economic outlook, largely due to its notoriously high tax burden.
How much worse can it get? Mamdani’s appetite for money as mayor threatens to drain the state’s resources further.
### Call to Action: Mobilize Now
Now is the time to mobilize a statewide counteroffensive to prevent a socialist takeover of state government. Do not wait for next year’s statewide elections.
Leaders in the nonprofit sector, including the Business Council, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater New York, and the New York State Bar Association, need to flood the state legislature with warnings and provide reinforcements to the vastly outnumbered Republicans and beleaguered moderate Democrats.
Mamdani may have won in New York City, but the real battle is moving to Albany.
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*Betsy McCaughey is a former Lieutenant Governor of New York State and Chairman & Founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.*
Follow her on Twitter: [@Betsy_McCaughey](https://twitter.com/Betsy_McCaughey)
https://www.independentsentinel.com/mamdani-will-ravage-the-entire-state/
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