Let’s be honest, many people move to New York City to make money, not have it taken away. Since over half of NYC’s population isn’t even from New York, millions made the decision to move to this amazing and incredibly expensive city.
They knew it was expensive, and that life would be tough — NYC does not have a global reputation of glamor and grit for nothing — but they didn’t realize life would be this tough. The cost of living in NYC is 2.30 times the national average!
This frustration with the cost and difficulty of living has led many New Yorkers — especially young ones — to vote for Zohran Mamdani. Since Mamdani’s unexpected win in the Democratic primary, pundits have been scrambling to understand how and why a city that epitomizes the capitalist spirit could so enthusiastically embrace a socialist candidate.
The answer is far from simple, but at least in part it’s a response to the deep frustration born of living in a city where life is already difficult but made even harder by a bloated, inefficient local bureaucracy that drains the life out of its residents.
And it’s this bureaucracy that permeates almost every aspect of New Yorkers’ lives. Consider a few examples.
Renting in NYC is a nightmare of paperwork. Tenants must submit tax returns, proof of income, and wait weeks or months for approval. Brokers add fees — sometimes 15 percent of annual rent! — making the process even more frustrating.
While landlords in most cities require tenants to have a gross annual income of 36 times the rent, NYC landlords demand 40-50 times. The average one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan costs around $3,500 per month, significantly higher than the $1,200 to $1,500 typical in other major cities.
Public housing managed through the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is home to 1 in 17 New Yorkers. Its maintenance is riddled with delays. Non-emergency repairs take an average of 65 days, and emergency repairs can take up to 24 hours. As of 2024, over 600,000 outstanding work orders remain, leaving tenants with broken elevators, mold, and leaking pipes — all of which have been compounded by a bribery scandal that took attention away from New Yorkers’ real problems.
The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) takes an average of 3-4 months to process a standard building alteration permit. Compare this to Chicago’s Department of Buildings (not exactly known for its efficiency) which manages to issue many building permits the same day.
A 2023 audit revealed that NYC failed to process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications within the mandated 30-day period. Processing rates dropped below 40 percent for SNAP and 30 percent for cash assistance (under court order, the backlog has been mostly cleared). Low-income New Yorkers are left without support due to staffing shortages and increasing application volumes.
Food truck operators struggle with a complex regulatory system that limits the number of vendors allowed to operate. These restrictions led to the formation of a secondary market where basic food truck permits can cost tens of thousands of dollars, discouraging new entrepreneurs and hindering the growth of existing businesses.
Entrepreneurs trying to secure a business license must navigate various agencies like the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), which can take weeks for approval. Additional city fees also add to the financial burden on businesses. In contrast, Los Angeles issues business licenses in 4-7 days.
This bureaucratic nightmare is not just an inconvenience — it’s the root of the frustration that leads people to vote for a candidate like Mamdani. It is also a big reason why the city is struggling in many macro ways.
New York City has been in a housing crisis for decades, unable to keep up with growing demand which drives away people and jobs and harms the tax base. The city is facing potential billions in budget gaps, it is experiencing financial challenges from housing asylum seekers, and is struggling with high crime rates.
When the government is inefficient, corrupt, and costly, ideas like freezing rent, city-run grocery stores, and free buses start to sound a lot more appealing than working hard and hitting countless roadblocks. Out of frustration it seems, New Yorkers are doubling down on policies that exacerbate these problems from the start like rent control, price freezes, and state-owned grocery stores.
Many New Yorkers see voting for the status quo as endorsing a bloated government structure that’s designed more for self-preservation than for problem-solving.
The vote for Mamdani may not be about supporting socialism per se but about demanding that the system fail so that something can finally give. They hope that by burning down the current system, they can rebuild one that serves them better.
New Yorkers aren’t yearning for socialist utopia – they’re fighting to survive in a system that’s broken. In this sense, Mamdani’s rise is less about ideology and more about using a sledgehammer to break through the status quo.
Mamdani may represent the radical shift that many New Yorkers believe is needed to escape the bureaucratic quagmire and address the pervasive inequality they face every day. Whether that shift succeeds or fails at getting Mamdani elected is a question only time — and the electorate — can answer.
But one thing is for certain, the socialist policies Zohran Mamdani advocates have been tried throughout history and have shown themselves to be utter failures, time and time again.
