Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning, New York City. It has been a fierce two weeks, but New York City's first-ever municipal madness has come to a close. Now before we announce the winner, we want to welcome New York City's very own Bronx Gems to the court.
[Bronx Gems perform.]
Mayor Mamdani: Can we have another round of applause for the incredible Gems. Wow. We may have to call you guys to keep being part of these press conferences. It's going to be very hard to not have that. It is a lovely way to wrap up the competition of these past few weeks and to celebrate our first 100 days in office as we lead this city. Now, I want to announce today, the winning team of our inaugural municipal madness, DSNY. We want to congratulate you. As a part of more than 20,000 votes from New Yorkers across the five boroughs, we are here to announce that the winning fix was to clean up illegal dumping right here, in Soundview. And it is a remarkable team, not only here in the Bronx from DSNY, and we have our incredible men and women from DSNY who are here with us, but frankly, citywide. And now we know that they showed some real skill in this tournament, well-coached, well-staffed, even better cheerleaders.
And we know that though DSNY may have won this competition, frankly, the real winners are New Yorkers. Because every single task on this bracket, no matter whether it was in the first round or the semis or the final, these are tasks that will actually be fixed. And so, we want to commend all of the other teams for the effort they put in this season. They dug deep, they parked the bus, there was an impressive performance all around. And with that, I want to acknowledge some of whom we have here with us today, city workers of not just DSNY, but DOT and Parks. We can give them a round of applause. They work around the clock for fixes. There's no off-season for these workers. Once again, the cheerleaders of the Bronx Gems, who now have me. They have me as well as Scrappy, the mascot, as lifelong fans. And I also want to give a shout-out to the Thomas Jefferson Girls Varsity Basketball team, who I got to see play, and now we all get the chance to see win.
Now, before we talk about illegal dumping, I do want to recap some of the incredible run of results that got us to this point. Over the past 100 days, we have showcased a new kind of approach to governing in our city. Pothole politics. Delivering public goods coupled with public excellence. No problem too big, no task too small. Because New Yorkers cannot trust City Hall to deliver on something as transformative as universal childcare if they don't see City Hall delivering on the smallest problems in their lives. And what we're looking at in these incredible agencies are teams that have done exactly that. They fixed bridge bumps. They've upgraded catch basins. They've taken down sidewalk sheds. They've fixed water fountains, painted crosswalks and installed waste bins. And it always comes back to a team effort. Something that, frankly, whether we're talking about DOT or Parks or DSNY, has [been] practiced every single day.
So today, we want to celebrate our winner of this bracket, commissioner, or should I say Coach Anderson, and Team DSNY picking up the ball to clean up illegal dumping right here in Soundview. It's going to be a full-court press. I'm thrilled that I was chosen for the starting lineup of today's task in front of us. I'm only going to be able to stay for the first quarter. But I want to say thank you to the hardworking men and women of DSNY who are here with us, who will ensure that this whole area will be cleaned by the end of the day. Now, before we get into that, I do want to hear a little bit from our competitors themselves, just as we're analyzing the game that we had. Coach Flynn, you had the fewest opportunities for a victory with just two fixes on the bracket. Did you think the DOT could have pulled off an upset here?
Commissioner Mike Flynn, Department of Transportation: Well, Mayor, as a lifelong Mets fan, I can tell you I'm always pulling for the underdog, but I won't sugarcoat it. Two early outs for Team DOT and Municipal Madness is not the outcome we envisioned, and it's not the outcome that we've been working all year toward. Our crews maintain 200 million linear feet of roadway markings on 6,000 miles of street in all five boroughs. And at our state-of-the-art sign shop in Maspeth, Queens, our team creates and updates 100,000 street signs every year. So, today, I can say, despite our unexpected and, frankly, heartbreaking loss, New York City DOT's time spent preparing for Municipal Madness has not been a waste.
We installed freshly printed street signs for residents in Prince's Bay on Staten Island, and we repainted crosswalks over on Jamaica Avenue in Queens. We've always got our heads in the game, and big projects are getting underway in 2026. We're charging ahead to resurface more than 1,000 lane miles of roadways across the city, and we've got some incredible street redesigns on the roster this year that will enhance safety, speed up transit, and keep New Yorkers moving. Our hard hats are held high, and this season's loss won't stop us from delivering safer and better streets for New Yorkers 365 days a year.
Mayor Mamdani: We really appreciate that. Another long-suffering Mets fan with us here. Now, Coach Shimamura, on the other hand, we saw Parks had 11 fixes on the board, still came up just short. Coach, talk to me. How are you feeling right now?
Commissioner Tricia Shimamura, Department of Parks and Recreation: Look, every day is a good day when you're working for the Parks Department, and even though we came short in this round, I do have a message that summer is coming, and there's always another game ahead. It doesn't matter if it's fixing a water fountain or painting a handball wall, prepping up our pools or getting our 14 miles of beaches ready for a busy summer season. Parks is a 365-day operation, and we're really ready to step up and do it. I want to thank our Parkies who are here today, and just a very small fraction. And let me just tell you, Mr. Mayor, that we'll be 10,000 strong outside in our park system, in our gardens, in our pools, beaches, and everywhere else in the public realm, making sure that New Yorkers can enjoy their summer season. We'll see you out there this summer.
Mayor Mamdani: All right. And now, for the champions, DSNY and Coach Anderson, was this your Goldilocks moment?
Commissioner Gregory Anderson, Department of Sanitation: Absolutely. I mean, it's great to win only two weeks in, and I want to thank the team here at Sanitation for everything they do every day. As the head coach of the 10,000-member Department of Sanitation, I am thrilled to be here at this table representing the winners of Municipal Madness. Our team runs the court day and night to remove 24 million pounds of waste New Yorkers set out every single day. And as this tournament highlights, our team does much more behind the scenes to keep New York City clean, green and not so mean. In the world of March Madness, 67 teams go home disappointed every year. But in Municipal Madness, 8.6 million New Yorkers win every day because every repair is completed and every improvement is made. New York Strongest are part of a massive municipal workforce, and we work together to make the city a better place to live throughout March, into April and every month of the year.
As part of this friendly interagency tournament, we replaced missing litter baskets in Bushwick. Just last week, I joined my team to install dog waste bag dispensers in Sunset Park. And just after the buzzer today, we're going to head out - with our gloves on - to clean up illegal dumping here in Soundview with the team of sanitation workers behind us. And while this competition may have been fun for us and for everyone who voted, I want to be clear that there is nothing fun about illegal dumping. It's a theft of public space. Often by crooked contractors who don't want to pay the cost of safe legal disposal. And we have a network of more than 300 cameras across New York City. If you dump on this city, we will catch you, we will fine you $4,000 plus the cost of cleanup and we will impound your vehicle until you pay up. So, in conclusion, we know the plays, we've put in the work, we'll give it our all, and we won't rest on our laurels. So, thank you, Mayor.
Mayor Mamdani: Alright, that is the show, New York City. It is now time for us to get down to work to start to clean up Soundview. Let's get it done. Thank you all so much for being here.
Question: Given you are celebrating 100 days, picking up trash, which is interesting.
[Crosstalk.] Thinking about the next 100 days, the next six months, the next three and a half years, what do you think your biggest challenge is moving forward?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I think every single day, it's an opportunity for us to meet the needs of New Yorkers. And what we've seen over the course of this 100 days is that New York City wants to see a City government that is able to meet the biggest needs and the smallest needs. And when we're looking at all of the fixes that were put forward, these are the kinds of things that for far too long, people have felt have been overlooked by our politics. We want to make it clear that just as we're focused on speeding up the slowest buses in America, we are also focused on bringing an end to illegal dumping across the city.
And in completing the first 100 days, we now know that in less than 70 days, we're going to be welcoming the most watched sporting event in the world. The World Cup will be coming to New York City and New Jersey. We'll be hosting eight games. We'll be seeing a multibillion-dollar economic opportunity for our city, as well as memories that should last a lifetime. And what I'm so excited by is having a team here that is not just looking to ensure that this is going to be an incredible time for New Yorkers who already live here, but also for the many who will come to experience our city for the first time. And we're hard at work to ensure that they actually get to see the breadth and the beauty of this city as a whole, as opposed to just going to the places that they might have heard about from where they're from.
Question: In regard to how you determined what subject matters would be on the Municipal Madness bracket, was that based [on] 311 complaints, or how did you determine what locations and what fixes were going to be? And what was considered?
Mayor Mamdani: So, agencies had put forward the fixes that they'd seen the highest demand for and that are also indicative of the engagement of New Yorkers across a wide variety of platforms.
Question: You kind of alluded to it in your speech earlier, but I just wanted to clarify. In regard to some of your core promises, you know, universal child care, freezing the rent [and] the buses, as you look ahead, sir, just what's your message to the people who are anxiously waiting for those things to happen?
Mayor Mamdani: That we are committed to fulfilling the promise we made to New Yorkers, to transforming the most expensive city in the United States of America into one that working-class New Yorkers can afford. And we're committed to doing that all across New York City. I'm frankly so excited to be here in the Bronx because I know that for too many Bronxites, they feel as if the further they are away from City Hall, the less that they're thought about in City Hall.
And we're here to show that whether our focus is on quality of life or it's on transformative new social programs like universal child care for two-year-olds, we're going to be delivering that for the people of the Bronx. And the people of every single borough.
Question: I'm wondering, yesterday the Rent Guidelines Board met. The data that they put out showed increasing costs across the board, specifically insurance costs raising for landlords who are owning buildings built before 1974. I'm wondering if you had a chance to look at any of the data, what your thoughts are specifically on the rising cost for small landlords. I know there was some back and forth about whether the data should be relied on because of the tenant price index. I just wanted to get your reaction to that.
Mayor Mamdani: So, what I'll say is that the Rent Guidelines Board is an independent entity. I know they're putting forward their studies. They're also an entity that encourages public participation from tenants and landlords. And they'll be putting up those dates. We encourage New Yorkers to be a part of that because we want every perspective to be considered. And I'll tell you from our perspective, when we think about rising costs, we think about them for every New Yorker. That includes tenants. That includes landlords. And looking at what the different ways [are] in which [the] City government can deliver that, [and] we also trust the Rent Guidelines Board to consider that in all of their decisions
Question: The state budget is a couple weeks late. And I'm wondering for you, is that helpful? Because it gives you more time to advocate for your tax the rich proposals and other priorities? Or is it difficult because it gives you less time to put together your executive budget by the beginning of May?
And then secondly, Julie Menin responded to [the] City and State story about changes to the racial equity plan. She said, "Let me be clear. Diminishing or erasing equity-centered frameworks is not the path forward. The council stands firm in our responsibility to confront and correct systemic injustices created by longstanding racial and economic." Just curious if you have a response to Julie Menin's response?
Mayor Mamdani: I would just say that I'm proud of the work that our team did in inheriting a report that had been significantly diluted by the prior administration, strengthening it, and following through on our promise to release it before the end of the first hundred days. We are very much looking forward to the public comment period that we're in right now to hear from New Yorkers about the report. When it comes to the state budget, we are encouraged by the nature of those conversations. And we're hopeful that we'll see those conversations come to a place of a finalized agreement in the next few weeks before we head into our executive budget.
Question: We had a story at Politico early today on a Department of Probation staffer suing the commissioner of probations for allegedly being wrongfully fired after alerting DOI that the commissioner was having a romantic relationship with the top support. Do you still have confidence in your probation commissioner in light of these accusations? And when did you first find out about these allegations against the commissioner?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I take any allegations of misconduct incredibly seriously. I'm not going to be weighing in on any ongoing investigation. However, New Yorkers should rest assured that there is an investigation.
Question: Four EMT members were assaulted here in the Bronx responding to a call of a mentally ill person. And we know that these calls are urgent [and] they're tense sometimes. Anything you guys are doing to ensure the safety of EMTs when they respond to these calls. I know there's been talk in the previous administration [about] NYPD officers not responding to mentally ill calls. But any concerns, and what are you going to do?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I've always said, first and foremost, deep recognition for the incredible work of EMTs across the city. I had the privilege just a few nights ago around midnight to meet a number of those EMTs. And they were working shifts from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. These are New Yorkers who are out there at all hours of the day saving people's lives. They told me that over the course of this year they'd saved hundreds of New Yorkers' lives that otherwise we would have lost. And we can never overstate the importance of that work.
And we also want to make sure that they're safe when they do this work. I've said time and again that whenever there is a call that comes into emergency services with the threat of violence, a police officer should and would be present for that. And we'll always look at all of the policies and procedures to ensure that EMT workers don't have to worry about their safety. Thank you all.
