How bad is Zohran Mamdani for New York? Let us count the ways

In the dwindling days of his run for Gracie Mansion, Zohran Mamdani has picked a strange priority: publicly funding gender change treatments for minors.If elected, the New York Sun reported, Mamdani plans to spend $65 million on “gender-affirming care.”He also promised to investigate New York hospitals that have stopped providing the services, fearing the Trump administration’s wrath; and create an “Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs” at city hall.That Mamdani decided gender changes for teenagers deserved his campaign’s attention typifies his problem as a candidate — and danger to the city.It’s the latest stunt by a candidate who’s already promised to keep the NYPD emaciated, drive the rich from New York, “globalize the intifada,” and otherwise put his ideological fantasies ahead of what voters actually need.Just take his signature proposals.Mamdani wants to cut New York’s sky-high housing costs.And he’ll do it by stacking the rent guidelines board with cronies who will follow through on his promise to “freeze the rent.”That might ease the burden on New Yorkers living in under rent control (if it survives judicial scrutiny).

But it will lead to more controlled apartments sitting vacant — driving costs up for the two-thirds of New Yorkers who aren’t protected.He wants to deal with food costs and the prevalence of “food deserts” by creating government-run grocery stores.These will cut into corporate stores’ allegedly usurious profit margins (barely 1-2 percent).At least, that’s the idea.

In reality, they’ll run about as well as other public services — and eventually demand a taxpayer bailout, adding to New Yorkers’ bills.Mamdani wants to pay for all this by taxing New York’s rich.It’s a line straight from Mamdani endorser Bernie Sanders.But millionaires already pay 41% of the state’s income taxes, and the city in particular is dependent on the jobs brought by the big corporations Mamdani wants to tax.Now, wealthy New Yo...