It’s not just the big ticket items.
Several of Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s lesser-known proposals are also coming out of left field — with eye-popping price tags that would hit taxpayers in the pocketbooks.
Among them are a green push to outfit hundreds of city public school buildings with renewable energy infrastructure, at a whopping cost of $3.27 billion over 10 years.
The lefty lawmaker — who has promised to freeze rents for regulated apartments — also has a pie in the sky plan to force landlords citywide into keeping their buildings at 78 degrees during scorching weather.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old Queens assemblyman, has proposed a myriad of freebies, making affordability and the rent freeze plan his campaign’s hallmark, along with promises to subsidize free buses and childcare and to open city-run food stores.
The proposals — estimated to cost $10 billion, which Mamdani claims he would raise by hiking taxes on the wealthy and corporations — have been roundly criticized as a fantasy, but have nonetheless made the socialist pol a left wing darling and captured the city’s attention.
Other pipe dreams from Mamdani include spending $65 million in taxpayer funds on gender-affirming care for trans patients, including minors, and creating a new, $87 million city office dedicated to the LGBT community.
His multi-billion dollar eco plan for city schools would retool 500 school buildings over a decade. If elected, Mamdani promises in his first term to start installing HVAC systems and solar panels at a cost of $726 million per year, according to his campaign website.
He would also build 500 schoolyards that would morph asphalt into “vibrant green spaces” to the tune of $315 million over the 10-year span.
About 50 schools would be outfitted as “resilience hubs” for community members to use during weather emergencies. Open streets near Department of Education buildings would also be expanded, the Mamdani camp said.
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“Our public school system urgently needs investment as the climate crisis exposes its weakest points. Water fountains are undrinkable through heat waves,” the campaign website reads. “Teachers are conducting classes in asbestos-filled rooms through pandemics and heatwaves. Streets and schools are flooding as ever more powerful storms thrash the city.”
Mamdani — who is in a dead heat with ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary — also wants to create an office to address “unique needs” of the LGBT community that “are currently underfunded and unaddressed.
The proposed NYC Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs would include $30 million for housing programs and $20 million for mental health services, according to the campaign.
Another $10 million would be dedicated to organizations helping transgender New Yorkers, with millions more allotted for healthcare and education.
Another policy proposal on Mamdani’s campaign website would mandate that property owners ensure the maximum temperature inside their buildings is 78 degrees when it is 82 degrees or higher outdoors.
It’s unclear if that temperature would be for each apartment unit or just common spaces like hallways and lobbies.
“We will also install heat sensors in buildings with repeated heat violations,” the campaign warned.
Mamdani has claimed he would pay for the various services by hiking taxes on corporations and the wealthiest, but he needs state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul to help make that a reality.
An email to Mamdani’s campaign was not immediately returned Monday, but it appeared the candidate was ducking The Post and other outlets in the homestretch of his campaign.
His team told reporters to meet uptown in Inwood only to change the location to Fort George at the last minute and then cancel completely while reporters waited for him.
Polls are open on Primary Election Day from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. citywide.
— Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy and Hannah Fierick
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