By BigNY.com News Desk
New York, NY — June 2026
New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani used his latest Talk With The People livestream to promote a new public process around city government efficiency, calling on New Yorkers to bring their frustrations, complaints, and practical ideas directly to public hearings beginning next week.
The mayor focused much of the livestream on COGE — the Commission on Government Efficiency, a Charter Revision Commission created to examine how New York City government can work faster, more transparently, and more effectively for residents.
“Working New Yorkers deserve a city government that is budgeting just as committedly as they are,” Mamdani said during the program, arguing that City Hall must look for inefficiencies inside its own operations rather than simply asking families to make harder financial choices.
COGE Hearings Begin Next Week
According to the mayor, the first three public hearings will take place next week — Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday — in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. The administration says the commission will hold 10 public hearings across the five boroughs, giving residents the opportunity to testify about delays, waste, red tape, and service problems they experience in city government.
Mamdani urged New Yorkers to visit NYC.gov/COGE for hearing locations and details.
The mayor described the commission as a review of the city charter — the governing document that sets the rules for how New York City operates. He said the charter is nearly 800 pages long and argued that it likely contains many opportunities to modernize and simplify city government.
Mayor Contrasts COGE With Federal DOGE Efforts
During the livestream, Mamdani and guest Adam Mockler compared the city’s COGE initiative with the federal DOGE model associated with Elon Musk. Mamdani argued that government efficiency should not be used as a “smokescreen” for cuts that hurt working people, but as a tool to improve public service.
The mayor said his administration has already placed “chief savings officers” in city agencies and claimed they identified more than $94 million in potential savings through better contract rates and reviewing work that city staff could perform without outside consultants.
One example cited by Mamdani was a city contract with McKinsey, which he said involved $9 million for work that could be handled by existing city employees.
Public Questions: Bike Lanes, Buildings Department, Housing
The livestream format allowed viewers to submit questions in real time through YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms.
One viewer asked about protected bike infrastructure, citing cyclist deaths and unsafe conditions in Williamsburg. Mamdani said the city needs more political will to build safer bike lanes and suggested that COGE could examine how to speed up bike-lane construction.
Another viewer criticized the Department of Buildings as costly, opaque, and inconsistent. Mamdani responded that the administration is already reviewing construction and permitting delays through a “speed task force.” He said the city found delays between the end of construction and tenant move-ins, as well as long permitting gaps that can slow affordable housing projects.
The mayor also defended his administration’s housing agenda, saying the city’s affordability crisis is driven primarily by housing costs. He pointed to his “Block by Block” plan, which he said aims to build 200,000 new permanently rent-stabilized and affordable homes, preserve 200,000 existing affordable homes, strengthen tenant protections, and create thousands of jobs.
Other Topics: 2-K, Pride Month, Amazon Idling Fees, World Cup
Before turning to COGE, Mamdani highlighted several other city issues.
He promoted the launch of free child care for 2-year-olds, saying New York City is offering 2,000 seats this year and planning 12,000 seats next year. He directed families to MySchools.nyc to check eligibility and program locations.
Mamdani also marked the start of Pride Month and said the city will run a campaign highlighting legal protections for transgender New Yorkers across the five boroughs.
The mayor said the city collected $9 million in unpaid idling fees from Amazon, presenting the case as an example of enforcing the same rules on large corporations that apply to everyone else.
He also discussed preparations for the 2026 World Cup, saying 300,000 New Yorkers entered a raffle for discounted $50 tickets. On match days, Mamdani said traffic impacts will focus on Midtown Manhattan, including dedicated travel corridors around 42nd Street and portions of Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
Knicks Fever Reaches City Hall
The livestream opened with a lighter moment: Mamdani celebrated the New York Knicks’ playoff run and joked that City Hall had “suspended bedtimes” for children so they could watch the games.
He said the Knicks’ success has energized the city and noted that each home playoff game generates major economic activity for New York.
BigNY Takeaway
Mayor Mamdani’s latest Talk With The People showed how his administration is trying to combine livestream politics, online audience participation, and formal city government processes.
The key message was clear: City Hall wants New Yorkers to bring complaints about delays, bureaucracy, and inefficient services directly to the COGE hearings.
Whether the commission produces meaningful charter changes — and whether voters approve them if they appear on the November ballot — will determine whether COGE becomes a serious reform vehicle or simply another City Hall messaging campaign.
For now, the mayor is asking residents to show up, testify, and help identify where New York City government is failing to work efficiently.
Official source: NYC Mayor’s Office / Talk With The People
Public information: NYC.gov/COGE
Official Sources
- NYC Charter Revision Commission / COGE — Official NYC page for the Commission on Government Efficiency, public testimony, hearings, and charter revision process.
- COGE Public Meetings and Hearings — Official schedule and locations for Commission on Government Efficiency public meetings and hearings.
- Mayor’s Office: Commission on Government Efficiency Announcement — Official Mayor’s Office announcement creating COGE as a Charter Revision Commission.
- NYC Public Schools: 2-K Program — Official NYC Public Schools information about free early care and learning for two-year-olds.
- Mayor’s Office: First 2-K Providers Announced — Official announcement on 2-K program options and MySchools application information.
- Mayor’s Office: “Trans Rights Are Human Rights” Campaign — Official Pride Month announcement on citywide campaign highlighting protections for trans New Yorkers.
- NYC Commission on Human Rights: LGBT Rights in NYC — Official NYC Human Rights page on reporting discrimination and protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
- Mayor’s Office: NYC Recovers More Than $9 Million in Amazon Idling Fees — Official announcement on the city’s recovery of unpaid idling fines from Amazon.
- Mayor’s Office: Affordable World Cup Tickets for New Yorkers — Official announcement on 1,000 FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets at $50 per seat for New Yorkers.
- Mayor’s Office: Midtown Transportation Plan for World Cup Match Days — Official announcement on Midtown travel corridors, 42nd Street bus/shuttle plans, and match-day traffic impacts.
- NYC DOT: World Cup Ready Travel Information — Official Department of Transportation page with World Cup match-day travel information and Midtown bus-lane details.
- Mayor’s Office: Block by Block Housing Plan — Official housing plan announcement to build 200,000 new affordable homes and preserve 200,000 existing affordable homes.
- Mayor’s Office: SPEED Reforms for Affordable Housing — Official announcement on permitting, lease-up, and development timeline reforms connected to faster housing production.