Why Zohran Mamdani is bad for NYC families

Socialist Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has made a splash in the race for New York City mayor.A relentless social media campaign has helped him raise big dollars, despite his long-shot odds (at least initially) against incumbent mayor Eric Adams and former governor Andrew Cuomo.Mamdani has also adopted a platform of terrible ideas.

His campaign materials portray him as a Robin Hood candidate, staking out far-left positions on housing, public transit, and the minimum wage — in addition to his opposition to basic immigration enforcement and support for anti-Semitic rioters.Bad as all that is, though, his worst policy ideas involve the city’s most vulnerable citizens — children in troubled home environments.The Queens socialist has cosponsored legislation that would have banned routine drug screens of pregnant and postpartum mothers, as well as newborns, without written and oral consent from parents.

The law would also require written disclosures advising parents to consult with legal counsel before signing a consent form because it might expose them to a child-welfare investigation.As we covered in a Manhattan Institute policy paper last year, this sort of proposal is part of a broader push by the radical left to dismantle the child-welfare infrastructure.It is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the drivers of child abuse and neglect.Mamdani wouldn’t stop at making it easier for vulnerable newborns to remain in the custody of drug-addicted parents.

He has also cosponsored legislation that would have prohibited people from providing anonymous reports of suspected child abuse or neglect.Instead, callers would have to give their names and contact information.

In 2023, he cosponsored a bill to require child-welfare workers to apprise guardians, again both orally and in writing (in their preferred language), of the numerous ways they can refuse to cooperate with child-welfare investigators at the first point of contact, whatever the nature of ...