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Zohran Mamdani: “The affordability crisis from within [is the second crisis…”

Featuring: Zohran Mamdani, Democratic | Mayor of New York City

Up Close with Bill Ritter: Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani

Published October 27, 2025 | Video Starts at 14:26

First letter of the Alphabet. There you go. It has also been a problem for decades in this city. How do you make this city more affordable? I think … The affordability crisis from within [is the second crisis facing New York City]. … transit, groceries. So you focus on exactly those sectors so that you can actually provide a more affordable life there. As you said, 8.5 million people call this city home. (14:26–14:32)

CLAIM

Asserts that New York City is facing an affordability crisis.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Zohran Mamdani

“I have won close to $500 million in debt relief for working class taxi drivers.”
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“There are more than a million New Yorkers who are Muslim in this city.”
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“In 2020, the police response time was a little less than 11 minutes. Today, it's closer to 16 minutes.”
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“We're asking officers to deal with 200,000 mental health calls a year.”
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“Close to two and a half million [New Yorkers] live in rent stabilized apartments.”
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“The mayor has used that power to increase the rent by more than 12%.”
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“Childcare is the next highest cost for New Yorkers... $22,500 a year.”
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“We had just won the Democratic primary in the city and that in fact, it was a margin that at that point was only going to grow to about 13…”
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“Today, we have more than 90,000 [volunteers].”
Up Close with Bill Ritter: Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani | Uploaded October 27, 2025 | 02:04-02:06
“More than a million [New Yorkers] ride the buses every day.”
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“We're not just going to increase funding for hate crime prevention programming by 800%.”
Up Close with Bill Ritter: Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani | Uploaded October 27, 2025 | 06:58-07:03
“We're also going to actually implement a curriculum called Hidden Voices that would celebrate the breadth and the beauty of Jewish life in…”
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“It's more money to find childcare than it is to send that same kid 18 years later to CUNY.”
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“We're talking about raising personal income taxes on the top 1% of New Yorkers.”
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“These are New Yorkers who make a million dollars a year or more and raising it by 2%.”
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“For businesses, we're talking about the top rate of the state's top corporate tax.”
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“We'd match the tax of New Jersey.”
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“The first [crisis] is an authoritarian administration in Washington that is going to stop at nothing to try and spread chaos across these…”
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“Right now in New York City, the city is refusing to issue additional permits to ensure that New Yorkers can actually vent.”
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“Paying a middleman often more than $20,000 for the right to use their license.”
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“We were polling at 1% as recent as February.”
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“What New Yorkers deserve is a mayor who can understand the twin crises that are facing the city.”
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“That includes the 8.5 million people who live in every one of the five beautiful bars of this city.”
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“After our rally with more than 10,000 New Yorkers there.”
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“To start that work right here in New York City so that we can do it for New Yorkers.”
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“Ensuring that they can move around the city without fear, that they'll have to deal with the National Guard.”
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“Move around the city without fear they'll be priced out of their home.”
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