Zohran Mamdani rode a wave of progressive enthusiasm and sweeping promises to become the Mayor of New York City.
Now, as he closes in on his first hundred days in office, he’s learning that governing is a lot harder than campaigning, and a new poll suggests New Yorkers are starting to be skeptical about what they voted for.
Some of Mamdani’s campaign promises won’t be fulfilled because Gov. Kathy Hochul is refusing to subsidize them. Earlier this year, snow and trash removal problems became major issues, as residents were forced to endure eight-foot-high piles of garbage on the street and rat infestations, all while the area around Gracie Mansion was kept perfectly clean. The brutal winter also resulted in a cold-related death toll of 29. These kinds of crises test political leaders quickly, and he failed.
Then came Monday, when Mamdani held a public event to congratulate himself for New York City filing its 100,000th pothole since he took office in January.
The reaction was swift and unkind.
"Taking credit for filling potholes is like taking credit for changing a lightbulb. It's what you're supposed to do," scoffed Councilman Frank Morano (R-Staten Island) told The New York Post.
A Marist College survey released Wednesday puts Madani’s approval rating at 48% — a number that tells an incomplete story, but not a flattering one.
Mamdani won his election in November with just over 50% of the vote, with Andrew Cuomo coming in second at 41.6% and Curtis Sliwa at 7%.
Clearly, Mamdani is struggling to convince even progressive voters who didn’t vote for him that he’s doing a good job.
But the numbers are even more devastating when you add more context.
Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams had a 61% approval rating at the same point in his term, proving that Mamdani is having a harder time convincing New Yorkers he’s doing a good job than his predecessor did.
The Marist poll, conducted March 26-31 among 1,454 New York City adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points, reveals a city that remains skeptical but is still forming its verdict. While 30% disapprove of Mamdani's performance. 23% remain undecided — a number that Marist polling director Lee Miringoff flagged as a meaningful vulnerability. "There are a lot of people still on the fence. The jury is out," Miringoff told The New York Post.
The sharpest drag on Mamdani's numbers comes from a specific and politically significant corner of the electorate: Jewish voters. Only 38% of Jewish residents view Mamdani favorably, while 55% view him unfavorably, putting him underwater with Jewish New Yorkers by 17 points. They are the only religious group in the poll giving him a net-negative rating.
Miringoff noted Mamdani's continued unpopularity in this community directly.
"Mamdani is going to have to pass the test of time with the Jewish community," he said.
"Jews are the voters least likely religious group to give Mamdani the benefit of the doubt."
It’s easy to understand why.
Mamdani has accused Israelis of genocide in Gaza, publicly backed the BDS movement, and aligned himself with left-wing activists — including Hasan Piker — whom many Jewish voters view as antisemitic. Mamdani’s wife has also come under fire for liking posts on social media celebrating the October 7 attacks in Israel.
Still, the broader portrait from the Marist poll is complicated.
Despite having an approval rating below 50%, the poll found 55% of registered voters hold a favorable view of the mayor, and 60% believe he's fulfilling his campaign promises. Fifty-six percent say the city is moving in the right direction, and 52% think he's changing New York for the better. Nearly 75% say he works hard. These are not the numbers of a mayor in collapse. They are, however, the numbers of a mayor who hasn't yet closed the sale.
When asked about the poll at a Brooklyn press conference, Mamdani deflected with characteristic self-assurance.
"You know, I will always leave the grades to New Yorkers themselves," he said.
"What I will say is that we are coming to the end of a hundred days in office, and we have sought to make this period one where we provide New Yorkers with a glimpse as to what these next four years will look like."