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Mayor Zohran Mamdani has backed away from a key campaign promise, opting not to fully implement a pedestrian-friendly parking policy, much to the disappointment of transit advocates.
During a City Council meeting on Tuesday, Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn revealed that the administration would not pursue a “universal daylighting” strategy across New York City’s 40,000 intersections, contradicting commitments made during Mamdani’s campaign.
The concept of “daylighting” involves prohibiting parking near crosswalks to enhance pedestrian safety. However, Flynn explained that the city plans to assess intersections individually rather than applying a blanket policy.
“Daylighting is certainly a valuable tool,” Flynn stated. “But as we’ve discussed, we prefer a comprehensive approach, evaluating the specific conditions and context of each location.”
Back in February, Mamdani had confidently asserted at a mayoral forum that all intersections deserved to be daylighted, a stance that now appears to be shifting.
Enacting universal daylighting could shed 300,000 parking spots across the Big Apple and cost the city up to $3 billion dollars.
The about-face is the latest flip-flop from the mayor, who took office in January as he contends with the realities of running the massive operation of city government.
Mamdani was dubbed a “class traitor” by some of his Democratic Socialists of America comrades after re-starting homeless encampment sweeps during the recent cold snap that claimed 29 New Yorkers’ lives, despite his pledge to stop the policy.
Hizzoner also promised that his freebie-filled agenda would be paid for by raising income taxes on the rich but is now threatening to raise property taxes by nearly 10% to balance his first budget as mayor.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature would have to OK an income tax hike, but Mamdani and the City Council can up property taxes without getting the state to sign off.
“The Mamdani Administration is committed to following the data, listening to the evidence, and working with City Council and our experienced advocacy partners to expand daylighting effectively and maximize street safety across the five boroughs,” Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said in a statement.