Local, National, and International Implications of the NYC Mayoral Election
The mayoral race in the US’s biggest city is upon us. With just days left until the general election, and incumbent mayor Eric Adams’ recent abandonment of the election, New Yorkers have 3 big names to choose from. Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa are all that remain in those vying for New York City’s highest office.
On Wall Street – the epicenter of global finance – the outcome of this election carries significant weight. The potential policies enacted by the winner will extend across local, national, and international markets. Yet, amid the campaign spectacle, the question remains: what do each of these candidates actually propose for the city’s economic future, and by which mechanisms do they intend to realize these visions?
First, the frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has promises such as fast and free buses citywide, free universal childcare, and city-run grocery stores. To finance these plans, Mamdani intends to increase taxes by 2% on New Yorkers with incomes over $1 million, as well as increased corporate tax rates (Mamdani).
Andrew Cuomo, who was defeated by Mamdani in the democratic primary, has returned to the race as an independent. Having not lost hope, he is making another run to defeat Mamdani, who he claims does not offer real solutions (Izaguirre). Cuomo’s plans include strengthening education to prepare people for the workforce, promoting job creation through investment in infrastructure, as well as reducing crime and poverty in the city. To do so, he promises to hire five thousand additional police officers, build more affordable housing, and implement incentives for small business owners (Cuomo).
Curtis Sliwa is the race's Republican nominee, a longtime NYC activist and founder of the Guardian Angels, an organization focused on unarmed crime prevention by civilians. They patrol dangerous streets and subway stations, discouraging crime before it happens and providing a sense of security for residents (Matthias). He is running on a pro-small business platform centered on law and order. His economic plans include lowering New York’s corporate tax rate by nearly 3 percent, reducing regulation for small businesses, and ending property tax hikes. His plan to lower the corporate income tax rate is something that could attract businesses and investors to the city, thereby driving economic growth. In addition, he hopes to create pipelines from the city’s universities to local jobs, eliminating “brain drain” and keeping young talent in the city (Sliwa). However, much of the focus is on smaller businesses. When prioritized, small business policy will not have drastic economic implications on the national or international scales.
Sliwa has also recently been the target of pressure to drop out of the race, primarily from Republicans who are afraid that he will take votes away from Cuomo, thus redistributing votes in favor of Mamdani (McCarthy).
Reports have already suggested a mass exodus of billionaires will ensue should Mamdani win, an act of protest and self-salvation against his tax policies which they claim would threaten their financial success (Goldman). Indeed, billionaires such as Bill Ackman have testified that they will be in New York no longer, should this be the case (Coltin). Resultantly, there has been $19 million raised by Super PACs backed by politicians and billionaires in support of Cuomo (Gabbatt). If such an exodus were to take place, it follows that much of Wall Street would vacate and head for incorporation somewhere where their profits are maximized. The ramifications could be multifaceted, extending beyond the municipal scale to impact any capital flows linked to the New York Stock Exchange. Given that an estimated five percent of New York’s 8.5 million inhabitants are employed within the financial sector, adverse shifts in Wall Street’s performance could precipitate measurable increases in unemployment and labor-market fragility (DiNapoli and Jain).
The economic uncertainty which follows from this could lead to decreased economic activity amongst residents who want to save. These saving habits will lower demand for spending amongst consumers, leading to increased supply of goods from firms and thus potential deflation of the US dollar. This could have a similar effect as tariffs, increasing US exports and making imports into the US more expensive for American consumers.
The aforementioned issues have all been attributed to Mamdani’s victory, but what about Cuomo and Sliwa? In practice, the economic platforms of these candidates converge more closely with each other than with Mamdani’s, reflecting shared priorities for managing the city’s economy. They both include various educational initiatives to prepare people for employment, investing in the city’s infrastructure, and focusing on small businesses with incentives and reduced regulation. All of these plans are likely to spur growth in the city for the 183,000 small business owners in the city (NYCEDC). But again, the implications relating to international phenomena, like trade, exchange rate movements, and other political issues will likely not be made manifest through these channels.
While concerns have been raised regarding Mamdani’s policy proposals, the question remains: to what extent are these criticisms warranted? Much of the fear surrounding Mamdani’s “socialist” policies is conditional on him being an autocrat, whereas in reality his policies would have to be subject to federal and state policies. Indeed, the state government prevails for taxation decisions. Governor Kathy Hochul has been a vocal opponent of raising taxes on the wealthy, citing concerns of outward migration of businesses (JP Morgan). Mamdani’s plan to make buses fast and free may also prove difficult to attain, as the mayor does not have a significant voice on the board of the Metropolitan Transit Association (MTA), which oversees transportation in the city. His affordable housing and city-run grocery stores are plans with which he would have more leeway, but the negative impact of these on the economy, if any, is not as visible as with the plans to raise taxes (Reed). Lowering rents and subsidizing groceries do not directly appear to be initiatives which will drive out businesses, large or small, from the city.
With this in mind, we see that on the local scale, the different candidates have plans which will result in differing outcomes, as Cuomo and Sliwa take more business-forward stances whilst Mamdani favors the working class. However, zooming out, it appears that the realization of the more lofty goals made by these candidates may not even be realizable, as they will be subject to the state and federal governments. Thus, the implications do not differ massively across the candidates.
References
Gabbatt, Adam. “How the billionaire class and wealthy landlords are conspiring against Zohran Mamdani.” The Guardian, 22 September 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/22/billionaires-wealthy-landlords-zohran-mamdani-andrew-cuomo. Accessed 20 October 2025.
Coltin, Jeff. “Pro-Trump billionaire Bill Ackman gives $1M to anti-Mamdani effort.” Politico, 15 October 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/15/bill-ackman-donates-to-anti-mamdani-effort-00609490. Accessed 20 October 2025.
Zohran for NYC campaign platform (2025), Retrieved from https://www.zohranfornyc.com/platform
Sliwa for NYC campaign platform (2025), Retrieved from sliwafornyc.com/platform
Andrew Cuomo campaign platform (2025), Retrieved from https://www.andrewcuomo.com/issues
McCarthy, Craig. “Pressure for Curtis Sliwa to ditch NYC mayoral race reaches fever pitch as his boss, GOP bigwig John Catsimatidis calls on him to drop out.” New York Post, 20 October 2025, https://nypost.com/2025/10/20/us-news/john-catsimatidis-calls-on-curtis-sliwa-to-drop-out-of-nyc-mayoral-race/. Accessed 20 October 2025.
Gallagher, Maria Cristina, and Catie Tsao. “A Democratic Primary Upset and What It Means for New York City.” J.P. Morgan Asset Management, 14 July 2025, https://am.jpmorgan.com/de/en/asset-management/institutional/insights/portfolio-insights/fixed-income/fixed-income-perspectives/a-democratic-primary-upset-and-what-it-means-for-new-york-city/. Accessed 20 October 2025.
Goldman, Nathan. “If Mamdani Raises NYC Taxes, Will The Wealthy Leave The City?” Forbes, 26 August 2025, https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathangoldman/2025/08/26/if-mamdani-raises-nyc-taxes-will-the-wealthy-leave-the-city/. Accessed 20 October 2025.
DiNapoli, Thomas P., and Rahul Jain. “www.osc.ny.gov/files/reports/pdf/report-15-2026.pdf.” Office of the New York State Comptroller, 2 October 2025, www.osc.ny.gov/files/reports/pdf/report-15-2026.pdf. Accessed October 20 2025.
New York City Economic Development Corporation. “NYCEDC Announces Record Breaking Number of Small Businesses Under the Adams Administration in New Report.” NYCEDC, 29 May 2024, https://edc.nyc/press-release/nycedc-announces-record-breaking-number-small-businesses-under-adams-administration. Accessed 20 October 2025.
Reed, John. “How can Zohran Mamdani change New York City?” Financial Times, 20 October 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/ce19ea9a-d927-4592-8fce-edbb57812709. Accessed 20 October 2025.
Izaguirre, Anthony. “Cuomo to run as independent in NYC mayor's race after losing Democratic primary to Mamdani.” PBS, 14 July 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/cuomo-to-run-as-independent-in-nyc-mayors-race-after-losing-democratic-primary-to-mamdani. Accessed 20 October 2025.
Matthias, Meg. “Guardian Angels | NYC, New York City, Curtis Sliwa, & Controversy.” Britannica, October 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Guardian-Angels. Accessed 20 October 2025.