Mamdani credits Giuliani for Staten Island Ferry move, frames transit legacy in NYC mayoral race

Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani credited former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani with helping to make the Staten Island Ferry free during a Sunday appearance on MSNBC’s The Weekend. He told co-hosts Jonathan Capehart, Eugene Daniels and Jackie Alemany that Giuliani, despite disagreements, “brought free public transit on the Staten Island Ferry,” and that “that’s also a history that our push for free bus transit is a part of.”

Mamdani’s remarks touched on a complex chain of transit policy history in New York City. The Staten Island Ferry service was free under some administrations but not under others; the 50-cent fare was imposed by then-Mayor David Dinkins in 1990 to pare spending during a fiscal crisis, and Giuliani scrapped the fare for the ferries between Staten Island and lower Manhattan when he ran for re-election in 1997. The ferry’s fare decisions are set by the city Department of Transportation, which operates the service, and any move to eliminate fares for the broader transit network would require approval from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and, likely, the state legislature and governor. Mamdani noted that while Giuliani oversaw DOT and had sway over ferry policy, any removal of a fare would depend on multi-agency sign-offs, including state-level actions.

Beyond the ferry, Mamdani praised former three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his management style and for expanding green space, and he lauded former Mayor Bill de Blasio for instituting universal pre-k, which Mamdani said helped save working parents thousands of dollars in child care costs. He also lauded former Mayor David Dinkins for promoting the city as a “gorgeous mosaic” and noted that Dinkins was described as a democratic socialist. The remarks come as Mamdani positions himself in a crowded field to lead New York City, signaling a willingness to reference past administrations while underscoring a reform-focused vision for transit and city services.

The comparisons underscore Mamdani’s attempt to thread a nuanced narrative about transit policy into a broader progressive agenda. By citing Giuliani’s ferry-era actions alongside Dinkins, Bloomberg and de Blasio, Mamdani frames accessibility and affordability of public transit as a through-line in his campaign, even as governance and funding responsibilities for fare changes remain multi-agency matters that would require cooperation across city, state and possibly federal levels.