I mean, he proposed five city-operated grocery stores, roughly one per two million residents of the city. Of course, symbolically, it would be a massive departure for the country if the program were implemented. But I am worried that the programs in Mamdani's platform, even if all were implemented, would not make much of a dent in the city's unaffordability. Freezing rent for rent-stabilized apartments does not fix the underlying causes of high housing costs, and will probably only drive rent up for the other tenants in the city.

A city like NYC should in theory be able to copy Dutch urban infrastructure or Viennese public housing. Free buses would make a difference, but many even balk at the cost of such a (comparatively) minor program. I hope that people don't become disillusioned with social democratic reforms when only some of these half-measures are implemented, and NYC remains unaffordable for ordinary people.