Mamdani marks first 100 days with $108 million flood infrastructure plan and UN visit

NEW YORK, United States (MNTV) – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked his first 100 days in office by unveiling a $108 million plan to replace more than 6,700 catch basins over the next decade and making his first visit to UN headquarters, where he met with Secretary-General António Guterres.

Speaking at a news conference in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Mamdani said the catch basin replacement program — part of an effort to improve street drainage as extreme rainfall events become more frequent — will begin in Queens in July before moving to Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx.

It builds on $20 million already spent on 40 new basin-cleaning trucks and complements existing DEP programs using flood sensors, data-driven inspections and upgraded drainage infrastructure.

DEP Commissioner Lisa Garcia said the city’s most intense rainstorms have all occurred in the past four years.

“That means our infrastructure has to work harder and smarter,” she said, adding that the replacements will “modernize underground structures to increase capacity and take in more water.”

Mamdani framed the investment as evidence that city government can deliver tangible results. “When the city government can show that when it rains in the city, it doesn’t have to flood, it also shows New Yorkers that we can dream of a tomorrow that is better than today,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, Mamdani’s administration reversed the city’s ban on TikTok, reopening the app to city agencies with new security restrictions requiring authorized users to operate it only on dedicated city devices containing no other applications. Mamdani argued the rationale for the ban had changed following TikTok’s corporate restructuring into a new U.S.-majority joint venture.

“Our goal is to communicate with as many New Yorkers as possible. This is one way that many New Yorkers are engaging with the world around,” he said.

At the UN, Guterres welcomed Mamdani and thanked the city for its “outstanding relationship and support” as the organization’s host. The two discussed deepening cooperation, with Guterres noting the “critical role” cities play globally. “This is a city where more than 3 million New Yorkers were born outside of this country, myself included,” Mamdani said. “The United Nations is something that we are proud to welcome each and every day.”