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Mayor Zohran Mamdani should be investigated for using $1.6 million in taxpayer funds to push New Yorkers to back ballot proposals with messaging that plastered his face on buses and kiosks, a city lawmaker said.
Councilman Phil Wong (D-Queens) is calling on state leaders to open a probe into Hizzoner after the city’s own ethics watchdog said it wouldn’t get involved in claims that Mamdani improperly used the dough.
“No one appears willing to investigate these serious allegations,” Councilman Phil Wong wrote in a letter to fellow Democrats Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James Tuesday, demanding they investigate.
Wong said “immediate intervention” was required to investigate whether the social media-happy Mamdani had illegally spent the cash, which was spent on a series of ads urging voters to back a series of ballot proposals that could give the administration more power.
Mamdani’s was recently seen grinning in videos on LinkNYC wifi Kiosks, while signs pushing his policies even appeared on the side of city trash trucks.
City Hall has insisted the ads were merely public voter education even though the series of ads appeared to urge New Yorkers to support the ballot measures.
“How fast does government run? That’s up to you,” the mayor said in an ad. “This November, there will be five questions on your ballot aimed at making government work more efficiently for New Yorkers.”
The mayor’s spots were jaunty as ever, but Wong’s fears were no small matter — if true, he said Mamdani’s video spending could “constitute misdemeanors.”
“Section 1136.1 of the New York City Charter expressly prohibits the use of government resources for electioneering, including communications designed to influence support for or opposition to ballot referendums. Knowing or intentional violations can constitute misdemeanors,” he wrote.
“While City Hall claims this is voter education, the campaign emphasizes the supposed benefits of these proposals while failing to adequately explain the consequences for community input and oversight,” he added.
Wong said all his calls to alarm had been ignored so far, with a watchdog group notably saying the matter was out of their hands.
“I have repeatedly raised concerns about the use of taxpayer-funded personnel, facilities, and government communications for political purposes,” Wong said. “My office has filed complaints with the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB), only to encounter little meaningful action or assertions that certain matters fall outside its jurisdiction.”
Calls to Hochul and James — both Mamdani allies — were not returned.
COIB previously told The Post that investigating these ads was outside of its jurisdiction.
City Hall has defended its campaign, saying it had “consulted with city lawyers.”
Buried on the landing page for City Hall’s campaign is a small disclaimer: “The NYC Mayor’s Office is encouraging New Yorkers to participate in elections across the city. We are not suggesting or recommending voting in any particular way.”
The ads are not the first time Mamdani and his administration have entered a gray area when it comes to using his office to benefit a campaign.
Earlier this year, he used a non-public area of Gracie Mansion to film a TV spot for DSA House candidate Claire Valdez.
He was also spotted using extra NYPD security cars to shepherd another democratic socialist, Darializa Avila Chevalier, around Harlem during the final days of the primary.
In both those cases, COIB has brushed off inquiries into potential misuse of taxpayer resources.
“When an agency like COIB cannot or will not investigate serious allegations of conflicts of interest and misuse of taxpayer dollars, then someone else has to step in and do the job,” Wong told The Post Wednesday.
“Mayor Mamdani campaigned on transparency and ethical government, but if his administration can do whatever it wants without anyone enforcing the rules, then we don’t have accountability, we have a mayor who gets to act like a king.”
Wong wasn’t the only one raising concerns about Mamdani’s $1.6 million ad-spend — with the Citizen’s Union watchdog group saying it had been fielding a lot of questions “fielding a lot of questions” about the situation.
“The truth is it’s hard to tell. The more honest truth is that no one in New York City is responsible for telling you that,” a representative said.
“There is no regulator, ethics watchdog, or agency charged with setting clear rules on what does and does not violate the ban on government-funded electioneering or conduct enforcement when a government body does cross the line – as we saw happen last year and the year before. But there is an easy fix for this problem.”
“The Council needs to pass a simple bill clarifying that the Conflicts of Interests Board is indeed tasked with regulating the ban on government-funded electioneering.”
