Zoran Mamdani greets bodega workers before a press conference in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, on October 29, 2025.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Zoran Mamdani’s shock victory for the establishment on election night rattled Wall Street and the billionaire class, but it could also send a shockwave through the small business world.
Supporters of Zoran Mamdani say the next mayor of America’s largest city has laid out a detailed policy plan for small businesses. Mamdani’s small business policy proposals include halving fines and fees for small businesses, including the $1,000 new business registration fee. Faster permits and easier online applications. Additionally, we increased funding by 500% to $25 million for city programs that provide individualized support to business owners. Business Express Service Teams (BEST) in New York City directly assist small businesses with permit applications and regulatory compliance.
Mariano Truss, professor and dean of finance at Adelphi University’s Robert B. Willumstad School of Business on Long Island, said Mamdani is trying to stem the tide of small businesses leaving the city, even as the wealthy and corporate class threaten to abandon the city in the face of tax hikes.
“We have recently seen an exodus of small businesses from New York City, and business owners find themselves priced out by policies that consistently favor large corporations, especially real estate developers,” Truss said.
Mr. Mamdani’s proposal to convert vacant office buildings into mixed-use and retail space could also be a boon for small businesses trying to navigate New York City’s complex and expensive real estate market.
Truss said the decline of small businesses can be reversed through these and other policies that make it easier and cheaper to start and maintain a business in New York City, pointing in particular to Mamdani’s plan to reduce fines and fees for small businesses under the auspices of the Small Business Czar.
Michelle Bufano, a New York City-based small business consultant, said some of Mr. Mamdani’s well-known and controversial policies could indirectly boost small businesses.
“His proposals to reduce fines, expand affordable transportation, and freeze some rents can help residents and workers by promoting economic stability, which often benefits small businesses that rely on strong local communities,” Bufano said.
Andrew Stern, CEO of New York-based Quilt Software, which helps small businesses compete with large corporations, said small retailers should take note of Mamdani’s rent freeze proposal.
“While he’s clearly stated this is a residential area for now, he has previously shared the importance of overall tenant stability,” Stern said, noting that this could give local retailers more leeway to remain in their original neighborhoods.
“There are risks even after this election,” Stern added. For example, a proposed municipal grocery store has good intentions in mind, but could create stiff competition for local independent grocers.
$30 minimum wage issue
Bufano says the biggest concern he hears from small business owners is the proposed minimum wage of $30 an hour by 2030, which could be a real headache for some. Bufano points out that most small businesses have a tiered pay structure, with more experienced workers receiving higher wages.
“If wages for entry-level workers jump to $30 an hour, small businesses will have to raise wages across the board to maintain the hierarchy, and that will add up quickly for small businesses,” Bufano said, noting that many small businesses are unable to absorb the costs and operate on thin margins.
The proposal could create new pressures for small business owners who are already navigating high overhead costs and a post-pandemic recovery.
“I work directly with small businesses and entrepreneurs in the New York metropolitan area and across the country, and as a small business owner myself, I see every day that even small policy changes can have large ripple effects,” Bufano said. “This is especially true for small and medium-sized businesses, which have low profit margins, limited budgets, and lack the financial cushion and capital reserves that larger companies can rely on.”
A Columbia Business School analysis shared via email Wednesday morning pointed to research that struggles to conclusively answer this question. There is a risk that increases in employee productivity due to higher wages will be offset by lower profits, but managers often cite real estate costs and red tape rather than wages as bigger challenges. Certain sectors are likely to be hit harder than others by minimum wage increases.
“A $30 minimum wage in New York City would hit the restaurant and food industry like a tsunami, increasing workers’ incomes while potentially reshaping the entire food and beverage industry,” wrote Steven Zagor, an adjunct assistant professor in the Columbia Business School Department of Management and a longtime food industry consultant.
Progressive politics and cities as laboratories for small business
Bhaskar Chakravorty, dean of global business at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, said the biggest experiment for small businesses in New York, and ultimately across the country, will pit cost reductions and barriers to entry against rising wages. Mamdani must prove that by reducing the bureaucracy, licensing, regulatory compliance, and all the red tape associated with starting and running a small business, he can balance potentially high labor costs and deliver a net benefit to small businesses, communities, and the city as a whole.
“Given the complexity and diversity of New York City, this suggests that many other progressive and Democratic-leaning cities are looking to New York City as a laboratory,” Chakravorty said.
Other cities will also consider whether small business capitalism can be combined with progressive policies, and whether there is a consistent progressive message that can counter the dominant Republican narrative that claims to protect small businesses while critics say it actually benefits large corporations the most.
“I think it will be interesting to see how many of Mamdani’s original promises he has to backtrack on when reality hits, and how many of them are politically viable and keep his basic platform and credibility intact,” Chakravorty said, noting there may not be much political honeymoon to get things done.
“This is New York, so Mamdani will need to show some wins early on. There will be a lot of people waiting to pounce on his failures,” Chakravorty said.
While the business community is waiting to see actual policies implemented by the new mayor, “to be honest, most small business owners are nervous,” Bufano said.
Mamdani’s initiative comes with a lot of uncertainty, which she says makes small business owners nervous.
“We value consistency and predictability, so we can plan ahead, budget, and grow responsibly. At this point, Mamdani’s efforts feel like a wild card. No one knows how or if his ideas will actually come to fruition. Most small business owners will take a wait-and-see attitude,” Bufano said.
But she agrees that what’s happening in New York City won’t stop there, because what’s happening there will be a living experiment in balancing social progress with economic reality.
“Cities across the country are monitoring and learning from their policy choices, and if Mamdani’s approach works, it could put small businesses at the center of proving their sustainability and redefine what progressive capitalism looks like in the United States,” Bufano said.
Taurus said New York City could serve as a testing ground for progressive policies that could spread to other cities.
“Mamdani’s efforts are likely to be emulated by other county and state municipalities, as it becomes increasingly clear that steps must be taken to stem the exodus of small businesses everywhere,” Truss said. “Although the costs of Mr Mamdani’s proposals are likely to be challenged by established businesses and wealthy individuals, he counts among his allies many potential beneficiaries, direct or indirect, linked to local businesses,” Truss added.
