By Rabia Iclal Turan
NEW YORK (AA) - Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian to hold the office, according to a projection by The Associated Press.
Mamdani, 34, defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in a historic victory for the Democratic party’s progressive wing.
Mamdani, an avowed democratic socialist, has run a campaign focused on affordability and social services, promising free buses, universal childcare, city-run grocery stores, rent-stabilized housing and a plan to raise the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030 from $16.50 currently.
All of this would be paid for, he says, by raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5% -- the same as in neighboring New Jersey -- as well as a 2% income tax on those earning over $1 million per year.
He has also pledged that he would order the New York Police Department (NYPD) to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he enter the city, citing the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against him over war crimes in Gaza.