MAMDANI’S FIRST 100 DAYS: Mayor orders city agencies to map every fee facing small businesses

Wednesday, Jan. 14, marks the 14th day of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city’s finances. Here’s a summary of what the mayor did today.

Seven city agencies now have 45 days to catalog every fee and penalty facing small businesses, launching a plan that industry groups hope will finally ease the regulatory burden for mom-and-pop shops across the five boroughs.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed Executive Order 11 on Wednesday, directing agencies to inventory fines ranging from those for frozen dessert permits to those for forgotten inspections, and identify which could be reduced or eliminated.

The order sets a 90-day deadline to flag fees that can be cut via rule-making, 180 days for penalties requiring legislative action, and a one-year timeline for a report on potential amnesty programs.

“You cannot tell the story of New York without our small businesses. Yet, our City has long made it too hard for these same businesses to open their doors, and to keep them open,” said Mamdani. “With today’s executive order, we will bring that chapter to an end, instead delivering relief to businesses from the fines and fees that drive up their costs.”

“We’re looking at more than 6,000 regulations that small businesses have to jump through, speaking of refrigerator fees and frozen dessert fees, and then directs them to start to reduce them. And I think what will make this different is that this is not an additional concern of ours. Rather, it is a central concern of our city hall,” he added, during a press conference in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, on Jan. 14.

A network of the city’s leading chambers and industry groups, the Five Borough Jobs Campaign, praised the move on Wednesday, citing sustained engagement with Mamdani on the issue before and after his election.

In December, the FBJC — a coalition that includes the city’s five chambers of commerce, the Real Estate Board of New York, and other industry groups — urged the then-mayor-elect to freeze non-safety-related fines and fees during his first months in office and move quickly to slash penalties facing small businesses.

Tom Grech, president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce and a co-chair of the FBJC, told amNewYork that the mayor met with all five borough chamber leaders as mayor-elect, spending nearly an hour discussing regulatory relief and taking detailed feedback. He said Wednesday’s executive order “dovetails very well” with those conversations.

“This was one of the things we suggested,” Grech said, calling the move “a great first step.”

Grech said small businesses across the five boroughs are facing mounting pressures beyond city regulation, including soaring insurance costs, supply-chain disruptions, and rising utility bills. He described the executive order as a “shot in the arm,” particularly for small businesses that lack the staff or legal resources to navigate thousands of city rules.

Beyond the executive order, Grech also urged the administration to rethink what he described as a “fine first, ask questions later” enforcement culture, warning that duplicative or unclear penalties can cost businesses thousands of dollars a month. Grech said he hopes the city moves away from relying on fines as a revenue source and toward a more educational, corrective approach, with chambers of commerce serving as compliance partners rather than enforcement targets.

Looking ahead, the FBJC hopes the mayor will also consider their call for a small business director or “czar” who reports directly to the mayor, as a way to provide small businesses with a stronger advocate inside City Hall.

The move by Mamdani follows efforts under former mayor Eric Adams, whose administration announced steps in May 2025 to cut red tape, including reducing some fines and updating inspection procedures. Grech described those initiatives as an important starting point, calling Mamdani’s order part of a broader “continuum,” but said the new administration’s citywide inventory and formal timelines could make the effort more consequential.

When asked about Adams’ effort by reporters, Mamdani said: The plight of small businesses is not new, neither is the recognition of that plight. What has been missing, however, is action on that issue.”

Universal childcare pledge: Open enrollment begins for 3-K and Pre-K

Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Fresh from Albany, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is riding the momentum of Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2026 State of the State address, which aligned closely with his campaign promise of universal child care and included a renewed pledge to fully fund the first two years of a new free program for 2-year-olds in New York City, known as 2-Care.

At a child care center in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, on Wednesday, the mayor launched the application period for the city’s 3-K and pre-K programs, which is open through Feb. 27 for children turning 3 or 4 this year.

“For many parents eager to return to the workforce, this could be what makes all the difference,” Mamdani said, noting that private child care can cost families more than $20,000 a year.

Mamdani acknowledged that thousands of 3-K seats have gone unfilled in recent years — a problem he attributed not to lack of demand, but to cuts in outreach and advertising under the previous Adams administration.

“That is no accident,” Mamdani said. “The past administration sought to not only cut funding for the program, but also to cut outreach and advertising about early childhood education as well. The consequences were stark: thousands of empty seats, especially in parts of the city with higher numbers of immigrant and low-income families who stood to benefit the most.”

He said his administration will take a “full-court press” approach over the next six weeks, utilizing TaxiTV, LinkNYC kiosks, digital ads, and neighborhood-based outreach to ensure families are aware of the programs.

City officials said that applications are not processed on a first-come, first-served basis and that any family who applies by the Feb. 27 deadline is guaranteed a seat.

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, who joined Mamdani at the event, framed the enrollment push as a matter of equity and continuity of care, saying families should not be forced to choose between employment and their children’s education.

“When we prioritize our youngest,” Samuels said, “we’re investing in parents and guardians who can pursue their careers and in neighborhoods as they grow stronger, more equitable, and more affordable.”

New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar SamuelsPhoto by Lloyd Mitchell

Responding to a reporter’s question about whether families will be able to find seats close to home, Mamdani said the city secured more than $100 million in state funding specifically to “fix 3-K,” ensuring not only that every applicant receives a seat, but that placements are closer to where families live and work.

“We are guaranteeing every single parent a seat when they apply,” Mamdani said. “And we are doing the work to make sure those seats will be far closer than they have been in the past.”

Emmy Liss, director of the city’s Child Care Office, said the city’s enrollment estimates are preliminary. When asked about the conflicting figures touted by Gov. Hochul and childcare advocates on the 2-Care program, she said the current number of 30,000 is based on past participation in early childhood programs and data from other cities and countries with more accessible childcare.

“We recognize that the estimate that the governor put out, the estimates from advocates, they are all just estimates, until we actually talk to families and ask them what they want and need, which is what we are planning to do next, and then we will scale the program to meet the need as we see it,” Liss said.

Mamdani took another jab at his predecessors, saying that having to work off these estimates “is based on the absence of any kind of sustained outreach from City Hall in prior years, and we are making that outreach a focal point of our city government’s focus for the next six weeks.”

Emmy Liss, director of the city’s child care office.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Mamdani also addressed concerns from reporters about whether immigrant families might be hesitant to enroll amid heightened federal immigration enforcement rhetoric. He said the city would pair enrollment outreach with reminders about New York City’s sanctuary city protections.

“We’re going to remind New Yorkers not just that they have until Feb. 27 to sign up,” Mamdani said, “but also of the rights that they have as New Yorkers.” He noted that ICE agents are barred from entering schools or city properties without a judicial warrant.