The unusually cooperative meeting between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Trump late last year sent an unmistakable signal to New York’s business community: affordability is now the central economic battleground for all levels of government. Whether that moment of alignment becomes real policy will determine the city’s competitiveness for a generation.
The City of New York has always had an outsized relationship with the White House and the Governor’s Mansion. America’s Presidents and New York City’s Mayors have long held the toughest jobs in government. The Governor’s influence over city affairs stretches back to 1975, when the City faced bankruptcy and President Ford effectively said “Drop Dead,” before NYC public employee unions bailed us out. That history is a reminder that the city’s biggest breakthroughs have always depended on cooperation.
I have seen this firsthand from multiple vantage points. Over the past few decades, I have had the rare opportunity to serve every level of American government, as Assistant to the NYS Comptroller, Special Assistant to the President of the United States, and First Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York. In each role, I have seen the difference collaboration can make. When priorities align, progress rapidly follows. When they don’t, even the best intentions collapse.
The first meeting between Mayor Mamdani and President Trump was an early test of that alignment, one that underscored just how much hinges on whether our leaders can find common purpose. While their constituencies differ radically, New York City’s success offers something for everyone: a young mayor with incredible potential, a strong, moderate governor facing re-election, and a president eager to demonstrate early cooperation on the cost-of-living issues currently defining national politics.
New York City’s $2.3 trillion GDP is larger than most countries and remains the center of global capitalism. Yet many of the workers—both private and public—who keep this city running can’t afford to live here. Rents have jumped nearly 20 percent since 2020, while the city’s own workforce has shrunk by nearly 6 percent. Transit ridership still lags. Violent crime continues to erode public confidence.
These problems do not care which party is in power or who claims credit. Voters don’t either—they just want solutions.
