Black New Yorkers Are Embracing Mamdani – and the Numbers Are Hard to Ignore
There is new data that shows that the opinion of Black New Yorkers who were once unsure of what the city run by Mayor Zohran Mamdani would look like is changing, and fast.
A new Siena College poll shows that 78% of Black New Yorkers now have a favorable view of the mayor, up 16 points since June. The shift suggests Mamdani’s policies around housing, education and affordability may be resonating with a voting bloc that was once skeptical of him.
During his 2025 mayoral campaign, Black New Yorkers were slower to embrace Mamdani than some of the other candidates. But now, as mayor, he appears to be making significant gains among Black voters, and the issues he has chosen to prioritize may help explain why.
“Black New Yorkers have been pushed to the front lines of our city’s affordability crisis,” Mayor Mamdani told The Root in a statement. “This is unacceptable, and it was not inevitable.”
For Black New Yorkers, the city’s affordability crisis has had particularly stark consequences. Mamdani has repeatedly highlighted the loss of Black residents from New York, pointing to the roughly 200,000 Black New Yorkers who have been pushed out over the past decade, as well as a 19% decline in the number of Black teenagers between 2010 and 2019, according to the mayor’s office.
We previously told you that his administration framed keeping Black families in the city as a central part of its affordability agenda. That includes expanding 2-K in neighborhoods like Canarsie and Brownsville, creating New York City’s first Office of Deed Theft Prevention and putting the city on a path to build 200,000 new affordable homes.
It’s those efforts that have led to steady growth in support for the mayor. Back in April, 67% viewed him favorably and 55% approved of his job performance, according to Marist. Now, Mamdani has seen an 11-point increase in support among Black New Yorkers since April and a 16-point increase since the start of summer.
Now, Mamdani says he’s proud of what his administration has accomplished in less than a year. “We are reversing the policy choices that have made it harder for Black New Yorkers to stay and build a life in this city,” he continued.
That message may be landing.
The new Siena numbers suggest Mamdani is making inroads with Black folks, potentially because his governing agenda speaks directly to some of the economic pressures facing all New Yorkers, but particularly Black communities across the five boroughs.
“Our administration is reversing the policy choices that have made it harder for Black New Yorkers to stay and build a life in this city,” the mayor told us. “That means investing in communities that have been overlooked and under-resourced for far too long.”
Housing is a particularly important piece of that equation. Rising rents, displacement and the loss of generational wealth have made affordability an existential issue for many Black families. Mamdani’s focus on expanding affordable housing and protecting homeowners gives his administration a tangible policy pitch.
Education is another. Investments in early childhood education, including the expansion of 2-K in Black neighborhoods, signal a focus on the long-term stability of families– not just short-term cost-of-living relief.
It’s still early in Mamdani’s tenure, and one poll is only a snapshot. But the 16-point jump is difficult to ignore.
Black voters may have been slow to embrace Mamdani as a candidate, but they are warming up to Mamdani, the mayor. It’s no secret that Black Americans tend to be loyal voters, and in a city built on rich Black communities and culture, it’s about time residents had politicians who recognize their contributions to one of the greatest cities in the world.
