Zohran Mamdani Has Signed Just One Law in 10 Months on the Job

Muslim Democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has signed just one bill into law after 10 months in office, a measure allowing year-round outdoor dining on sidewalks. It’s the only New York City Council-passed bill he’s approved since he was sworn in in January, the New York Post reported.

Nearly 100 other bills have sat on his desk, with some critics calling him “lazy” and more interested in his social media profile than leading the government of the largest city in the country.

“It’s easier to govern by TikTok than to actually perform the duties of the job,” a former City Hall staffer told the Post. “It’s lazy in two ways — one is you are not taking a stand, easier to do nothing than figure out where you stand on something. And lazy from a practical perspective — you can’t focus City Hall staff to hold the hearings, write the briefings, and execute the bill signings.”

Nearly every other bill that sat on his desk eventually became law, though, as city policy stipulates legislation is automatically approved if no action is taken within a four-week period.

While approving legislation has been a secondary concern for Mamdani, his office has apparently spent most of their time focused on social media videos.

One source in City Hall commented, “The mayor and his team are obsessed with becoming a content farm, often delaying or can-kicking boring governmental meetings so the mayor and his staff can hold pitch sessions for social media videos.”

Mamdani’s TikTok account has over 44 million followers and the short-form videos typically garner millions of views. 

In comparison to previous mayors, Mamdani’s single signed piece of legislation falls behind Eric Adams, who signed 30 laws in the 10-month time period, Bill de Blasio, who signed 47, and Mike Bloomberg, who signed 28.

Mamdani made time to call Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” earlier this year and said he’d asked NYPD to look into how to arrest him, but sat on bills requiring wellness checks on elderly city residents when temperatures rise above 95 degrees and expanding free childcare programs, which he campaigned on last year.

Follow Matt Mercer on X: @mattmercer.