Tone Kapone: Alright, our first guest is making history, shattering expectations from tackling a massive $12 billion deficit to balance the New York City's budget, without cutting core services, to freezing rent for over a million residents and launching major housing initiatives. Now, he is rewriting the policy rule book. He is joining us tonight. That's right, the big guy himself, the man of New York City, Zohran Mamdani. What's happening? What's going on?
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: What's going on? Thank you for having me. It's a real pleasure.
Kapone: Now, it's a real pleasure to have you in the Shade Room. First of all, let me go ahead and tell you, congratulations on the New York Knicks. Fifty-three years and you get a finals victory. How are you feeling?
Mayor Mamdani: I'm still on a high. I mean, it's still orange and blue skies out here in New York City. And I gotta tell you, it’s 53 years of wait. And I mean, we hadn't even been in the finals since 1999. And for us to be able to see this team go all the way, it's still giving New Yorkers a spring in their step no matter where they are.
Kapone: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, New York's been on fire right now. I mean, you got that happening; you got the finals. You didn't just come in off of a — what is it? Three nights sold out [at] Yankee Stadium with Jay-Z — that's amazing. Taylor Swift gets married in Madison Square Garden. This has been a really, really legendary year for New York.
Mayor Mamdani: There's only one place to be, and it's New York City.
Kapone: Not mad at it at all. But we got to address the elephant in the room, Mr. Mayor. Your address at Netanyahu was powerful, and it didn't just go viral; it felt like a national address, you know what I mean? Like our audience of Gen Z and millennials, they were locked in completely on accountability and global leadership right now. And you spoke directly to a generation that feels like politicians usually skirt around these issues. Was that address a message to New York, or were you intentionally setting a standard for national leaders to follow?
Mayor Mamdani: I was speaking to New Yorkers, and I also know that there are more than just New Yorkers who have been aghast at this genocide over the last few years, and not only the continued denial of that genocide but also the fact that it continues itself. And I hear that anguish; I hear that despair no matter where I am in New York City, and I also know that it's something that is true across this country and, frankly, across the world. And I think it's important to be honest with the people of this city about both the truth as well as what we believe accountability looks like.
Kapone: Amazing, amazing, well said. Now, The Grio recently highlighted a poll that shows like 80 percent of Black New Yorkers feel you are genuinely, just genuinely unifying New York, especially on deep-rooted issues like wealth and housing and even education. Beyond the headlines, you know, specific moves that — what are the ones that you are trying to implement for long-term wealth and stability for Black working class and communities?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, we often talk about Black history, and one of the things that I want to make sure is that in this city we can keep writing Black history and not just remember what's already been written. And one of the ways we do that is actually making sure that this city is affordable, whereas right now it's the most expensive city in the United States of America. And we've seen over the last few decades, 200,000 Black New Yorkers have been pushed out of this city. From 2010 to 2019 alone, we saw the population of Black children and teenagers declined by 19 percent. And when we look at what these costs are that are driving this kind of a reversal of the Great Migration, housing is one of the primary costs; childcare is another one of those costs for working families in this city.
And so, one of the focuses of our administration has been delivering universal childcare to New Yorkers. And so, just on day eight of our administration, we secured an agreement with Governor Kathy Hochul for $1.2 billion so that we could deliver free childcare for two-year-olds for the first time in New York City. And this fall, we're going to have 2,000 seats of free childcare for two-year-olds; next fall, 12,000 seats; and then by the end of year four, a seat for every single two-year-old. And that is what will take what would otherwise be a more-than-$20,000-a-year expense and make it free for families no matter where they live in the city.
Kapone: Amazing, amazing, mayor. Now, let's turn to the World Cup. [The] 2026 FIFA World Cup generated around, oh, they say like $15 billion in total revenue, which was record-breaking. Now this massive windfall shattered FIFA's initial projection of $11 billion, making it the most financially successful tournament in football history. And that was a win for FIFA, but live sports, as we know, have gotten completely out of reach for young people and the middle class. But your administration secured $50 tickets, free shuttles and massive borough watch parties. For people that consistently feel priced out of big cultural moments, why was making the World Cup accessible to everyday New Yorkers such a line in the sand for you?
Mayor Mamdani: Well, I think, you know, you said it yourself in the question, which is the fact that for too many New Yorkers, and frankly, for too many Americans, sports has become a luxury commodity. It's something that they could only afford if they're willing to give up a rent payment. And we didn't want the World Cup, which is the most watched sporting event across the globe, to be one that New Yorkers just knew they were physically close to but would never even have a chance to go see.
And so, we were proud to secure a thousand tickets that would be $50 a piece — the only host city that was able to do that — and also proud to take Fan Fests, which, when I became the mayor were set to be things that New Yorkers would be charged to attend and instead made them free. And we wanted that because we want everyone to feel the magic of the game.
And we also know that as we see these profits climb that too often the lesson of that is that you can keep charging more and more and more. But what makes these sports moments so special is that they are actually built on the passion of everyday people. And if those people can't afford these games any longer, then sport is becoming something that, frankly, it shouldn't.
Kapone: Exactly, exactly. And congratulations too on the Knicks watch parties. I thought that was really cool too. New Yorkers getting a chance to be out right outside and feel some of that energy. That was very cool—
Mayor Mamdani: You gotta be outside; it's New York City.
Kapone: Yeah, man. Yeah. Now let's get to this. What [are] two things that surprise you about being mayor?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, there's the phrase, “don't sweat the small stuff.” And one of the things that surprised me about being the mayor is that actually the small stuff is not only critically important, because I think we all understand that what City government should do, but it's also important to New Yorkers. Like, I'll give you an example. We fixed a bump on the Williamsburg Bridge, and we thought it was good to do; it was right to do and important to do. But we thought maybe in about a few days, people would have forgotten that. That is still something that people bring up to me, because it shows that if people can't trust government to deliver on the smallest of issues, then why would they ever believe that government could deliver on the biggest of problems? And when you can win that trust by earning that trust, it's something that leaves people far more willing to believe that tomorrow could actually be better than today.
Kapone: Love that, love that. Biggest accomplishment thus far, you feel?
Mayor Mamdani: I got to say, putting us on a path to universal childcare. The team did incredible work so that Governor Hochul and I could be standing together on that eighth day. Sometimes politics feels like it's irrelevant from a working person's struggle, from a working person’s life. When we stood together on that day and announced that there's going to be free childcare for two-year-olds — for thousands of two-year-olds this fall, for even more next fall — it was something that you didn't have to explain to someone because when they're spending $20,000 a year, that explains itself.
Kapone: Absolutely. Absolutely. That's a great accomplishment. How about this week? How about this week? Anything big happening?
Mayor Mamdani: This week, you know, at the top of the week, we introduced a program called OPEN, which is more than 50 reforms that we are going to do to change the regulations for small businesses to make it cheaper for them to keep their doors open, to make it easier for them to deal with City government and to cut a lot of the fines and fees that they have to deal with on a daily basis.
Kapone: Oh, wow, I know they're gonna be happy. I sure get to paying fines a lot in Chicago. How about your biggest accomplishment today?
Mayor Mamdani: Today, honestly, it's a tie between being here with you guys and having survived being in a stuck elevator earlier this afternoon.
Kapone: Whoa, you're better to than me. I still need —
Mayor Mamdani: I had that claustrophobia. It was hitting me.
Kapone: Yeah, we're glad we got you out of there.
Mayor Mamdani: I was like, I gotta be in The Shade Room.
Kapone: Yeah, got you on The Shade Room. We good. Now, how about this? Now, this one, don't get mad at me, man. [What’s the] biggest fumble you feel? Like, you're like, “Ugh.” Like, was there one of those moments?
Mayor Mamdani: Biggest fumble — you know, someone was talking to me about this today. It wasn't even when I was the mayor, but it still lives with me: which is eating a burrito on the train and taking a photo of it. Shouldn't have done it.
Kapone: Shouldn't have done it. All right, let's have some fun, man. Let's have some fun. How about this? Although we know your story is still being written, when they make the Mamdani movie, who's playing you and who's playing your wife?
Mayor Mamdani: Okay, playing me would be Ashton Kutcher from the popchips commercial. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out. And playing my wife, nobody can play my wife.
Kapone: Well said, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Mamdani: Yeah, I guess it's just going to be Ashton Kutcher as me.
Kapone: Okay, how about this — favorite song right now for you?
Mayor Mamdani: I know it is not a recent song but “Stay Schemin.”
Kapone: Oh, wow, that's a good record.
Mayor Mamdani: I think that's French Montana's best verse.
Kapone: Yeah, yeah, that's one of the top ones. Shout out French. Okay, all-time favorite movie?
Mayor Mamdani: Okay, I have to give it to Mississippi Masala, which is a movie that my mother directed. And not only do I love that film, but I also wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for that film because that's how she met my father.
Kapone: That is a great story.
Mayor Mamdani: I would say the Odyssey, but I'm alive already, and that didn't make me alive.
Kapone: Yeah, there we go.
Mayor Mamdani: Brought me back to life.
Kapone: Alright, let's do some rounds of “first thought” so the room of shade gets to know you better. Now we're gonna throw some names out, and you give us the very first sentence that pops in your head, cool?
Mayor Mamdani: Okay.
Kapone: Alright, Kamala Harris.
Mayor Mamdani: Madam Vice President.
Kapone: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC.
Mayor Mamdani: Fighter for working people and a friend.
Kapone: Ah, shout out to her.
Mayor Mamdani: Shout out to her.
Kapone: DNC.
Mayor Mamdani: Work in progress.
Kapone: Oh, this one. How about this one? Trump.
Mayor Mamdani: President. It's factual.
Kapone: It's factual. It's The Shade Room, Mr. Mayor. It is The Shade Room. That's all. Working Families Party.
Mayor Mamdani: Partners.
Kapone: Okay, Barack Obama.
Mayor Mamdani: Hope.
Kapone: Michael Jackson.
Mayor Mamdani: Thriller.
Kapone: Thriller, alright. Mr. Mayor, it's been an absolute pleasure. I know the roomies are enjoying this interview, and we hope to have you back on again soon. I hope not for another finals victory because I want Chicago to get something.
Mayor Mamdani: Brother, you're gonna be praying for a long time.
Kapone: I know, right? We're gonna be praying for a long time. It's cool. I'll live through you. I’ll live through New York.
Mayor Mamdani: Live through me. Next year, we'll be back.
Kapone: Absolutely.
Mayor Mamdani: I mean, you see the Celtics are posting Knick's highlights right now. That's how good things are.
Kapone: It's great for you. Again, I appreciate you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you again. Please, please come on back anytime.
Mayor Mamdani: Absolutely. It was a real pleasure. Thank you, guys.
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