Governor Kathy Hochul’s endorsement of Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor is being celebrated as a bold move by progressives. But before anyone applauds, Black New Yorkers ought to ask a simple question: what exactly does this mean for us—and what will it cost?
Political endorsements are easy. They cost nothing and promise nothing. For decades, Black New Yorkers have been showered with speeches, slogans, and symbolic gestures from the Democratic Party. What we have not been given are outcomes—safer neighborhoods, better schools, stronger businesses, or healthier families. Hochul’s embrace of Mamdani is no different. It signals allegiance to the progressive wing of her party, but it does not guarantee a single measurable improvement for the people who have carried Democrats into office election after election.
The problems are not mysterious. They are visible every day:
- Housing: Black families are hardest hit by rising rents and evictions. Will more rent regulations build housing, or will it strangle supply and drive landlords out of the market—leaving fewer options for the very people progressives claim to help?
- Education: Black boys in New York continue to fall behind in reading and math. For years, the left has run New York’s schools, but the results for Black children remain stagnant. Mamdani’s brand of politics may bring more ideology, but will it bring higher test scores or better literacy?
- Public Safety: Mamdani has openly supported letting more people out of jail. The problem is not the slogan—it’s the reality. Rikers Island houses one of the largest populations of mentally ill inmates in America. Releasing people without treatment or supervision is not compassion. It is negligence. And the neighborhoods most likely to bear the brunt of that negligence are Black neighborhoods already struggling with crime. Left-wing reforms have been tried for years, but they have done little to make our streets safer.
- Economics: Black-owned businesses make up less than 2 percent of all businesses in the state. Despite endless promises of “equity,” Democratic economic policies have done little to expand ownership, wealth, or access to capital for Black New Yorkers. Meanwhile, campaign finance in New York runs on donations of $5,000, $10,000, even $50,000 from major corporations and developers—money that shapes policy while Black entrepreneurs remain locked out.
The record is plain. Left-wing policies in New York have done little to improve Black education, Black economics, or Black public safety. Yet politicians continue to campaign as if promises are enough, and too many of our leaders continue to deliver votes without demanding results.
Hochul’s endorsement is a calculation, not a commitment. It strengthens Mamdani’s appeal to progressive white liberals and younger activists who dominate media narratives. But the math of elections in New York City still runs through Black voters. If our priorities are ignored in favor of ideological experiments, the result will be familiar: we supply the votes, others reap the benefits.
The question is not whether Mamdani can win. The question is whether Black New Yorkers will win anything if he does. That depends on what we demand: real strategies to expand Black homeownership and business ownership, clear plans to raise education outcomes measured in reading and math—not rhetoric—balanced safety reforms that protect civil rights while protecting neighborhoods from crime and untreated mental illness, and health policies that deal directly with chronic disease and mental health in our communities.
Until those questions are answered, Hochul’s endorsement is just another chapter in a long book of political promises made to Black New Yorkers—and rarely kept.
