New York City is staring down a $5.4 billion budget gap, a potential 9.5% property tax hike, and a mayor threatening to cut 5,000 cops from the NYPD.
But Zohran Mamdani has bigger priorities right now.
Starting this week, the city's first Muslim mayor is restructuring his official schedule around Ramadan – and using the machinery of city government to do it.
Mamdani's City Hall Ramadan Plan — Paid For by New York Taxpayers
Mamdani will spend the next month hosting taxpayer-funded iftar dinners at City Hall, dispatching city staff to support mosque-led meal distribution programs, filming official Ramadan videos on city time, and running targeted government outreach to Muslim communities across the five boroughs.
His senior aide confirmed the plan to the New York Times, describing it as a strategy to blend his faith "into his daily governing style."
That's not something a private citizen does during the holy month.
That's a mayor using the office of city government as a religious platform – and the press is cheering him on for it.
The Separation of Church and State Rule That Only Applies to Christians
Ask yourself a simple question.
If a conservative Christian mayor announced he was restructuring his official schedule around Lent, hosting taxpayer-funded dinners at City Hall, and directing city outreach specifically to Catholic parishes – what would the New York Times say?
You already know the answer.
Eric Adams got destroyed by the press in 2023 for telling a faith breakfast: "Don't tell me about no separation of church and state."
Mamdani does it as deliberate city policy and the Times runs a warm feature calling it "a new tradition."
Mamdani Quoted the Quran to Block ICE — Then Skipped the Catholic Archbishop's Installation
Six weeks ago, Mamdani used his first interfaith breakfast – held at the New York Public Library on the taxpayer's dime – to quote the Quran directly to justify blocking ICE from city property.
He cited the Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina as the moral framework for his sanctuary city executive order.
He told 400 faith leaders assembled on city time that Islam is "a religion built upon a narrative of migration" – then signed an order blocking federal law enforcement from schools, hospitals, and shelters.
That same day, he skipped the installation of New York's new Catholic Archbishop at St. Patrick's Cathedral – becoming the first mayor to miss the ceremony since 1939.
His schedule that Friday: an interfaith breakfast at 10 a.m., the Archbishop's installation at 2 p.m., and a press conference about the weekend weather at 4 p.m.
He made two of the three.
Mamdani's Budget: Property Tax Hike, 5,000 Fewer Cops, and Millions for Diversity Offices
New York City homeowners are now bracing for a property tax bill that hasn't risen in 23 years.
Mamdani's $127 billion budget – announced on the first day of Ramadan, a date he chose deliberately – includes $10.2 million for racial equity offices, 5,000 fewer police officers, and a 9.5% property tax hike if Albany doesn't agree to tax the wealthy first.
The typical homeowner is looking at $700 more a year.
The city's own housing experts warn the plan could destroy tens of thousands of rent-regulated apartments.
New Yorkers who can't afford their property taxes this year will want to remember what their mayor was focused on while the city went broke.
Sources:
- Maya King, "Mamdani Ushers in a New Tradition: Ramadan in City Hall," The New York Times, February 17, 2026.
- Kristine Parks, "Mamdani Quotes the Quran, Bible to Support Sanctuary City Status," Fox News, February 6, 2026.
- Katie Honan, "Mamdani Threatens Blanket Property Tax Hike as 'Last Resort,'" The City, February 17, 2026.
- "Mamdani Plan Pours Millions Into Racial Equity Offices, Cuts 5,000 NYPD Jobs," Fox News, February 18, 2026.
- "Mayor Mamdani Snubs New Archbishop's Installation, Breaking NYC Tradition," BizPacReview, February 10, 2026.
- "Mayor Adams Delivers Controversial Church and State Address," NY1, February 28, 2023.
