Zohran Mamdani: Remarks, Oct 8, 2026

Today, we add one more groundbreaking chapter to that story of speed as we celebrate a new feat of civic agility: expedited discretionary grant funding.

…nine steps from the traditional contracting process, it will treat nonprofit discretionary funding of less than $25,000 as what it actually is: a grant, not…

…It represents one critical step in the work of getting nonprofits the funding they need when they need it. And it is a step that…

…in the budget, we allocate hundreds of millions of dollars in discretionary funding to organizations like these. Our Council members know their communities inside and…

But too many not-for-profit organizations have not been receiving their funding on a reasonable timeline. This is not funding that they hoped for blindly, nor…

…been able to expand. And that, I think, is incredibly important because safety should be something that every New Yorker is afforded no matter what…

…Starr Teatro y Cultura, a WhatsApp channel, like El Chisme [Oficial de] NYC, sharing free events and classes with Hispanic families in Bushwick and Ridgewood.

…make every single day. In food pantries that feed the hungry. In after-school programs that enrich our children's lives. In the arts and culture that…

…is certainly one not-so-small step toward cutting unnecessary red tape, making City government more efficient and supporting the nonprofits that enrich our communities every day.

We also have leaders from within the administration, our deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, Dr. Helen Arteaga; our Mayor's Office of Nonprofit Services…