Search

Politics

Zohran Mamdani Hits Reset Button on Adams’ NYC, Raises Eyebrows With Day-One Reversal of 9 Orders

New Mayor Zohran Mamdani scraps nine Adams-era orders. Here’s what changed and why it matters.

By Sohini Sengupta
On his first day in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reached straight into his predecessor’s paper trail and ripped out nine executive orders! They were all signed by former Mayor Eric Adams after he faced federal corruption charges in September 2024. The move was instantly controversial, as critics called it reckless. But why are people paying attention to what Zohran Mamdani undid? Well, at an evening press conference in Brooklyn, after his inauguration, Mamdani said everything Adams signed after his indictment was when many New Yorkers “decided that politics held nothing for them.” So, revoking those orders was to draw a line between him and the scandalous Adams. Adams, on the other hand, was accused of taking bribes and illegal campaign funds from Turkish government operatives, though the Trump Justice Department later dismissed these charges. While Adams has been denying wrongdoing, Zohran Mamdani was still asked what troubled him about the post-indictment orders; he said most of them were:
“Against the interests of working-class people.”
Zohran Mamdani is NYC's first Muslim mayor and a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, so it makes sense that his most explosive reversals centered on Israel and what has been thought to be antisemitism. He's been facing intense scrutiny in these areas already. One of the revoked orders bars city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel and threatens discipline for city employees who support such efforts. Another adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.

Those triggered conservative-leaning Jewish leaders, and former Mayor Adams, as they accused Mamdani of weakening protections for Jewish New Yorkers. Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov warned “pro-Hamas antisemites” were emboldened! Yet Zohran Mamdani also kept Adams’ executive order creating the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, as a commitment to Jewish New Yorkers.

He added that more amendments are coming.

Other orders that Mamdani rescinded scrap an Adams directive that would allow ICE agents onto Rikers Island for criminal investigations to align City Hall with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. A court had invalidated it on technical grounds, yes, but Mamdani did away with it entirely. He also revoked (but plans to amend) an order restricting protests outside houses of worship, which was issued after a heated pro-Palestinian demonstration outside an Upper East Side synagogue.

Then again, not all the reversals were ideological. Zohran Mamdani axed two late-stage Adams pet project orders to create new City Hall offices for rat mitigation and cryptocurrency growth. He also scrapped Adams’ attempted ban on the city’s horse carriage industry. While Mamdani supports ending horse-drawn carriages, he said he wants to talk to the drivers’ union first.

But of course, resets come with risks. Will New Yorkers only see this as good leadership?

NEXT UP: Zohran Mamdani Pledges To Tax The Rich For Free NYC Buses

Latest from Inquisitr

Front page