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Ambitious pledges to make the city more affordable for New Yorkers catapulted progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani to his unlikely victory on Tuesday. Included are free buses, universal childcare, and a massive increase in low-cost housing.

However, making the city more affordable for residents is an costly government task, and many financial experts and politicians to Mamdani’s conservative side say he confronts numerous obstacles to meaningfully deliver on his signature ideas.

Further complicating the situation is the national government, which will likely pull funding for New York in an effort to sabotage Mamdani and open up budget holes that make it more difficult to fund new priorities.

Additionally, New York City must secure state government approval to adjust many income sources. One expert pointed to the state assembly stopping the municipality from increasing pet registration costs in a prior year due to a dispute between the then mayor and a lawmaker.

“The dramatic way of putting it is New York City cannot increase pet permit charges without state legislature approval, and it was true then, and it’s true now,” he said.

However, analysts point to favorable conditions: Mamdani’s proposals are very popular and would solve basic problems. Democrats now hold large majorities in the legislature, and some identify financial and political pathways to making the proposals a success.

How might Mamdani finance his bold program? Here’s a detailed look by revenue source and initiative.

Raising Revenue

His team estimates it could raise about ten billion dollars by increasing the corporate tax rate, taxes on the affluent, and existing fee and tax collections.

Critics claim companies and the wealthy will move away, but this is disputed by reliable studies. Moreover, the business levy is on earnings made in the state no matter where a company is based, making the argument largely irrelevant.

Business Levy Hike

The mayor-elect calculates a state tax increase between 7.25% and 11.5% on corporate profits would generate about $5bn, a large portion of which would be directed to the city. State leaders would have to authorize the plan. State lawmakers have in the past backed similar proposals, but the state executive is against increasing levies.

However, the state leader backs universal childcare, a highly favored proposal because child services is commonly seen as too expensive, said one policy director. It would be difficult for centrist lawmakers to “oppose enacting a historical initiative”, he continued. “Nobody says ‘We shouldn’t do anything to make childcare cheaper.’”

The missing element, he explained, has been a figure like Mamdani who says: “Yeah, it requires funding, and we will raise taxes to make it happen.”

Raising Levies on the Affluent

The proposal aims to raising $4bn with a 2% hike on those making above one million dollars annually. Though it’s a municipal levy, the state government must authorize the increase, and the proposal is generally opposed by moderate lawmakers.

But there is a feasible route, the expert noted. Increasing taxes on the wealthy is broadly popular and, as with the corporate tax increase, allocating the proceeds to support popular programs makes it easier to sell in the state capital.

Halt on Rent Increases

In terms of cost, a rent freeze on rent-controlled apartments is the easiest to implement – it’s minimally costly. However, a freeze must be authorized by the housing panel, and there may not be sufficient backing on it until Mamdani appoints members with his own appointments.

Free and Fast Buses

The plan projects fare-free transit will require a minimum of seven hundred million dollars, which includes an evasion rate of forty-eight percent. Analysts suggest Mamdani could likely pay for the cost by streamlining or reducing additional services in the city’s one hundred sixteen billion dollar annual spending plan.

Publicly Run Food Markets

A pilot program for several city-owned grocery stores that would be established in neglected “food deserts” is projected at sixty million dollars and could also be paid for by shifting priorities in the $116bn spending plan.

Building Low-Cost Homes Properties

Numerous people to the right of Mamdani have written off the plan to spend approximately one hundred billion dollars developing 200,000 affordable units over 10 years, mainly because it would require massive debt. He clarified those opposing this point largely miss that the initiative is not to take on one hundred billion dollars immediately – the debt would be accumulated and repaid in phases over several government terms.

He also stressed the plan is not for free housing, but cost-effective residences that would produce income to pay down debt. Furthermore, the projects could partially be privately financed.

“That’s the way the plan is feasible,” he said.

Universal Childcare

Establishing universal childcare would cost between two point five billion dollars and $12bn by most estimates, based on whether it is a city or state program and other factors. Financing is the major uncertainty – will the business and high-earner levies be approved in Albany? One analyst said he anticipated some compromise, as often happens with large-scale plans.

“Proposals that Mamdani pledged will likely get a haircut,” the expert remarked. “Furthermore the state leader’s expressed opposition to revenue hikes may just face reality – she probably can’t get the things she wants on the spending side without some flexibility on the tax side.”