Photo: AFP
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was seen yesterday among striking Starbucks workers in Brooklyn as the workers pushed for higher wages, better schedules, and an increase in staff size. While some appreciate Mamdani backing the working class, others are concerned that this stance may be spelling disaster for his understanding of the city’s own finances. Joe Borelli, former NYC Council minority leader, spoke with Mendte in the Morning about Mamdani having to manage a budget for the first time once he officially takes office.
“The interesting thing…for this situation is that Zohran and Bernie Sanders, they like to spend other people’s money,” Borelli told host Larry Mendte. “It’s going to be a different ball game when Mamdani has to pay his own city workers; there’s 230,000 city workers.”
Borelli doesn’t think Mamdani has had the appropriate level of success at any level: “Let’s see what he does when he has to figure out actually how to pay people with the revenues he’s given; I don’t think he’s ever balanced a checkbook; I don’t think he’s ever balanced a piggy bank; I think he probably didn’t even do well on Sim City when he was 12 years old and had to manage his city resources.”
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