With Mayor Mamdani making a big push for better housing and conditions in New York, its citizens are ecstatic. And it seems he’s only just getting started. On a local level, some New Yorkers are sharing their feelings online. One woman in particular wanted to focus on something she noticed about Mamdani: That he was open to “showing us behind the curtain.” In fact, she learned from the Mayor of programs she wasn’t even aware of.
“You know what’s trippin’ me up about Zohran Mamdani?” TikToker Sv (TikTok/simplesvee) asks in her video, then answers herself: “The way that he is presenting to New Yorkers access to things they didn’t know they had access to.” One example she gives is the Emergency Snow Shovelers program. It has an official site and states very clearly: “Get paid to help keep New Yorkers safe after winter storms.” It gives a breakdown of the program, which pays over $19 per hour, and goes up to nearly $29 once you’ve done 40 hours in a week.
Sv admits she didn’t even known that program existed, even though she “grew up in New York.” But then also points out she never heard “any of our mayors” calling locals to give a hand shoveling (and get paid doing it) before Mayor Mamdani. It’s as if that information was hidden away or just completely forgotten about.
Sv gives another example: lifeguards. She says she had just witnessed an ad from Mamdani, “They’re looking to hire lifeguards.” Sv says the hiring process starts in the winter so that by the summer, the lifeguards could be out in full swing. She also says the ad was very informative, even offering up the requirements to be qualified.
One top commenter argued the reason why Sv probably didn’t hear about the snowshoveling program was because of nepotism, stating, “Many of theses programs are run by people who give the jobs to friends/family. That’s why they’re not advertised and no one has heard of them.” And there’s definitely truth to that. By making these programs known, everyone can get a shot at it.
Another commenter suggested part of Mayor Mamdani’s reason for hiring Lina Khan was for “Figuring out all the powers and tools they already have.” Naturally, it was a problem with communication. A TikTok user claiming to work in “information services,” made a call to action. “We gotta talk to our communities to let them know what services are available to them.”
What Sv is highlighting here is a genuine effort from a politician following through on their campaign promises. It feels so surprising because it’s rare, as people have become accustomed to politicians doing very little, so it catches everyone off guard when one actually acts.
