New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other Democratic Socialists have been gaining attention during this year's extended primary season, but New York mayors are ultimately measured by a practical metric: whether garbage gets collected, snow gets cleared, and rats are kept under control.

Media coverage has frequently centered on Mamdani's anti-Israeli government stances and his proposals on childcare and taxes targeting the wealthy. Yet over time, it is municipal service delivery — the everyday functioning of the city — that defines a mayor's record. This is a pattern deeply embedded in New York's political history, where mayors from Fiorello LaGuardia through Rudy Giuliani have been judged less by ideology than by whether the streets are clean and the city feels livable.

Mamdani appears to grasp this reality, advancing a comprehensive agenda of municipal improvements focused on daily life. His proposals range from faster, more reliable bus service to a controversial plan to levy additional taxes on individuals owning more than one home valued at five million dollars. By contrast, allied Democratic Socialists in Michigan, Colorado, and other states seem to be struggling to attract supporters who initially backed other candidates.

The broader political messaging — addressing affordability, healthcare access, consulting U.S. intelligence before any military action against Iran, and opposing Donald Trump's focus on grandiose personal projects over everyday economic concerns — points to a wider populist appeal than reports on Democratic divisions during the primary season have thus far captured.

Those looking to understand successful political coalitions, such as Mamdani's, would benefit from looking beyond public personas, campaign slogans like "I am a fighter," and the most combative policy positions to examine what these candidates actually aim to deliver.

Mamdani did publicly express his controversial — though ultimately symbolic — call for the NYPD to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on war crimes charges related to Gaza actions, as voted on by the International Criminal Court. (Netanyahu stated on Sunday that he would resist disarmament proposals from Trump and his "Board of Peace" in Gaza rather than comply.)

At the same time, Mamdani has been actively addressing rat control and advancing a series of city service improvements under challenging financial constraints.

This is the essential point. Labels such as "socialists," "Communists," or accusations of "Trump derangement syndrome" — along with other partisan attempts to mock perceived ideology — sidestep the central question: What would these candidates actually do about high prices, healthcare access, or reported excessive and unaccountable conduct by ICE agents? The question is whether the divisions depicted are genuinely unresolvable or merely political noise.

That is why rat control matters.

The Rat Problem

New York City's rat population is estimated at roughly three times the number of human residents. The city manages rat control by assigning food and waste cleanup responsibilities to property owners, establishing local mitigation zones, and encouraging public reporting. Successive administrations have declared various forms of "war on rats," but most prior efforts produced only temporary relief before populations rebounded.

Pilot fertility control programs and poison baiting efforts are also in place. Residents are urged to watch for signs of infestation such as gnawed wood and plastic, as well as evidence of rat trails, while inspectors search for burrows around pipes across the boroughs. Over the past year, new trash containers have been deployed in areas with higher rat populations. Mamdani is set to expand these streetside container zones, a measure that has already eliminated thousands of street parking spaces — a politically sensitive trade-off in a city where curb space is fiercely contested.

Mamdani discarded many initiatives from his predecessor, Eric Adams, but retained rat control as a priority, converting Adams' Rat Czar position into a permanent Mayor's Office of Rodent Mitigation.

The results are measurable: rat sightings reported to the city's 311 hotline declined by 22% over 2025, continuing a substantial drop already recorded in 2024. It marks the first time since 2020 that rat sightings have fallen below 10,000. More than 70% of New York City's trash is now required to be stored in sealed, rat-proof containers rather than piled in black plastic bags on sidewalks, with full compliance targeted by 2031. Citizen groups have formed to track rat-control progress.

The Guardian reported on the progress this week, stating that "New York's long-running rat war is in a period of uneasy detente." Adams had been deeply focused on the rat issue, advertising for a czar who would bring "swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor and general aura of badassery," but Mamdani deserves credit for building out the program.

The rat population surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as trash went uncollected, takeout and delivery food increased, and outdoor dining sheds provided both food and shelter. Adams dispatched teams to address the estimated 600,000 rats inhabiting the city's street tree beds.

Mamdani has expanded the "containerization" program to six districts, delivering oversize bins with lids to 25,000 new residences. Rat sightings in West Harlem have declined, though parts of the East Village and Chinatown have seen increases.

If Mamdani's new housing initiatives move forward, each construction site will inevitably unearth rats, as has always been the case. In the subway system, rats scurrying along the tracks continue to prompt commuters to shift position on the platforms above. The city's own climate adaptation plans, including coastal resilience projects, may similarly disturb rat habitats and redistribute populations across neighborhoods.

Rat experts note that the animals are resourceful and driven to survive, adapting to diminishing food sources.

Terry H. Schwadron retired as a senior editor at The New York Times, Deputy Managing Editor at the Los Angeles Times, and held leadership positions at The Providence (RI) Journal-Bulletin. He was part of a Pulitzer Gold Medal team in Los Angeles, and his team contributed to several Pulitzers in New York.