Majority of voters say NYC on wrong track under Mamdani: Poll

A majority of voters say New York City is on the wrong track during Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days in office — fueled by discontent among Hispanic, black and Asian voters, a poll released Thursday found.

The new Emerson College/Pix 11 survey of registered voters found that 59% of New Yorkers overall believe the city is on the wrong track, while only 41% believe it’s headed in the right direction.

Of that total, 68% of Hispanics, 64% of Asians and 58% of blacks said the Big Apple was on the wrong track.

By comparison, white voters were more split: 51% said the city was headed in the right direction and 49% said it was on the wrong track.

A higher percentage of minority voters were sour on the city’s economy: 82% of Hispanics rated the economy as only fair or poor as did 79% of blacks.

Another striking finding in the poll: a large number of voters remained undecided about Mamdani’s mayoralty.

Forty-three percent of those surveyed approved of Mamdani’s job performance, while 27% disapproved.

But another 30% — nearly one-third of voters — were neutral or unsure about the new mayor.

The high percentage of voters on the fence mirrored findings of a Marist College survey released on Wednesday.

One question Emerson asked: “Although Zohran Mamdani has been in office for a short time, which of the 3 positions sums up your thoughts today?”

• 22.9% said the city made a mistake and wish he hadn’t been elected.
• 31.7% said it’s too early to tell, the jury is still out on the Mamdani administration.
• 37.3% said they like what they see and are confident the Mamdani administration will move the city in the right direction.
• 8% didn’t know or were unsure.

That means about 40% of voters combined said the jury was still out or did not answer regarding Mamdani.

There’s a silver lining and other encouraging finds for Mamdani in the poll, as well.

A majority of respondents who actually voted in last fall’s mayoral race approved of his job performance. His approval ratings were lower among voters who did not vote in the November election.

“Among those registered voters who voted in the November mayoral election, Mamdani’s support is stronger, with a net 26-point positive approval rating (55% approve, 29% disapprove), compared to a more modest nine-point net positive rating among those who did not vote (35% approve, 26% disapprove),” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

About 3 in 5 voters — 59% –said Mamdani has focused on the issues that are important to them, while 41% said he has not.

Looking back at his handling of the winter storms, 62% graded him an “A” or “B” combined, while 38% rated him a “C,” “D” or “F”.

Voters were asked if they approve or disapprove of Mamdani’s handling of housing affordability, childcare, public safety/policing and the city budget.

Mamdani is rated highest on child care, with 54% approval and 21% disapproval and the rest undecided, followed by housing affordability (49% approve/25% disapprove) and public safety (45% approve/32% disapprove).

Voters are most split on his handling of the city budget: 40% approve and 37% disapprove.

Asked how to close the city’s $5.4 billion budget gap, 55% of respondents think the state should raise taxes on the wealthy, while 41% think New York City should better manage its spending.

Only 4% of voters think a property tax increase should be implemented, something Mamdani proposed as a last resort if Albany doesn’t raise other taxes on the rich or corporations.

Two-thirds of voters support a millionaire’s tax, while 20% oppose and 15% are not sure.

A lesser plurality of voters — 44% — do not think a corporate tax increase would cause companies to flee the city, while 30% think it would and 27% are unsure.

The Emerson College/Pix 11 Polling survey of 850 registered voters was conducted April 5-6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Voters were surveyed via phone text and panel interviews.