New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced 17 transition committees, staffed by more than 400 New Yorkers, during a news conference at Untermyer Fountain on Monday, November 24, 2025, in New York, N.Y. James Keivom

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s trademark smile carried him a long way toward victory this month, and last week his affability helped turn his meeting with President Donald Trump into an Oval Office lovefest .

Now he can employ his smiley superpower to make daily life better for New Yorkers: He can call on the city’s 300,000 employees to turn on the charm when they interact with the public.

Walk into any city agency or court building seeking help, and odds are you’ll get barked at and herded like a dumb animal.

Ask an MTA employee why the train isn’t running, and you

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