Mayor Zohran Mamdani hit the three-week mark of his historic administration on Wednesday, continuing to zero in on his affordability agenda with a ban on hidden “junk fees.” The mayor also condemned antisemitic graffiti found in Borough Park, Brooklyn.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Wednesday, Jan. 21, marked the 21st day of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city’s finances. Here’s a summary of what the mayor did today.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani hit the three-week mark of his historic administration on Wednesday, continuing to zero in on his affordability agenda with a ban on hidden “junk fees.” The mayor also condemned antisemitic graffiti found in Borough Park, Brooklyn.
The Mamdani administration will ban hidden fees and unexpected credit card holds at New York City hotels that “cheat consumers and hurt honest small businesses,” Mamdani announced at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“This new rule will ensure that New Yorkers and visitors alike are not stuck paying hidden hotel fees, and will instead save millions of dollars each year,” Mamdani said at the conference. “In just three weeks, our administration has made it clear that deceptive business practices do not have a home here, and that City Hall will always fight for New Yorkers to know exactly what they’re paying for.”
Affordability: More action on ‘junk fees’
“Junk fees” refer to when hotels advertise “a base room rate” and only later reveal “additional mandatory charges that make it harder for consumers to understand the true overall cost.” According to the city, DCWP received over 300 consumer complaints “related to hidden hotel fees or unexpected holds” on credit cards.
Mamdani announced the rule alongside Commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Sam Levine, former Manhattan Borough President and current City Council Member Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), and business, consumer, and labor leaders at the The Whitney Museum of American Art.
“DCWP will use its full enforcement authority to ensure hotels comply with the laws and rules of our city and we will be vigilant to ensure consumers have transparency in their transactions and that workers’ rights are respected,” Levine said at the conference, specifically citing the expected uptick in travel to the city for the 2026 World Cup, to be held in New Jersey.
The mayor issued two executive orders on Jan. 5 seeking to crack down on “junk fees” and “subscription tricks and traps” that make “goods and services less affordable for New Yorkers.
The executive orders and the Wednesday announcement stem from Mamdani’s ambitious affordability agenda he laid out in his campaign — he promised to freeze the rent on rent-stabilized apartments, eliminate fares on city buses, and bring universal childcare to New York City. He recently announced, alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul, a state-funded universal childcare program for the city’s two-year-olds.
Mamdani’s new rule “goes a step further” than Federal Trade Commission rules, categorizing unclear pricing as a deceptive trade practice. He said the administration is focused on making the city “cheaper to visit” while still protecting “the dignity of the workers that are keeping these hotels running.”
Condemning antisemitism
Mamdani also condemned an instance of antisemitic vandalism in Borough Park, Brooklyn in a Wednesday afternoon post to X, writing that antisemitism has “no place in our city.” The graffiti was discovered Wednesday morning amid concerns over a disproportionate rate of antisemitic incidents in New York City.
“I am sickened by this antisemitic vandalism in Borough Park,” Mamdani said. “I stand shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish New Yorkers who were targeted. My administration is working closely with the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force as well as our Parks Department, and those responsible will be investigated and held accountable.”
The graffiti included multiple painted swastikas and the words “Adolf Hitler.” Though 2025 saw a 3% downturn in antisemitic incidents compared to 2024, Jewish New Yorkers are disproportionately subject to hate crimes, according to New York City data.
Mamdani on tax differences with Hochul
Taking questions from reporters at the press conference, Mamdani addressed the city’s $2.2 billion budget shortfall for fiscal year 2026 and a projected $10.4 billion gap the following year, which Mamdani and City Comptroller Mark Levine have blamed on budgeting decisions made under former Mayor Eric Adams.
Mamdani and Hochul disagree on hiking taxes for New York’s wealthiest — a solution that Mamdani believes is a key answer to budget shortfalls but that Hochul is firmly against. The state’s 2026 executive budget, presented by Hochul on Tuesday, does not include income tax raises.
“I think the governor’s budget makes meaningful investments that move us closer to an affordable and a livable New York, and I think especially we’ve seen that in terms of early childhood education,” Mamdani said.
He continued to blame the shortfall and budget constraints on Adams’ “gross fiscal mismanagement.”
Hizzoner said he hopes to “change the relationship between our city and the state in terms of one that better reflects the city’s status as the economic engine of the state.”
Mamdani noted last week, following Hochul’s State of the State address, that the city contributes 54.5% of the state’s tax revenues and receives only 40.5% in return.
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