In 2025, New York City witnessed a remarkable event that drew attention not only in the United States but around the world – little-known State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani defeated the veteran establishment Democrat leader, former three-term New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, to become the next Mayor of New York City. Alongside this, from ICE raids in the city arresting illegal immigrants to consecutive trials of Chinese Communist agents, from the high rental market to the dust settling at the casino near Flushing… the year 2025 was a year of intrigue and unpredictability for New York City. Let’s now take a look at the top ten news stories of New York City in 2025.
The most shocking news in the political arena of New York City in 2025 was the victory of Democratic Socialist and Queens State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani on November 4th in the mayoral election. He defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa to become the first Muslim mayor in New York City’s history, setting a record for the highest voter turnout in mayoral elections in half a century with over 2 million voters participating, marking the first time in 56 years. The early voting turnout reached 735,000, about four times that of the previous mayoral election. Election data showed that voters under 55 accounted for over half of the early votes, with the 25-34 age group being the crucial mobilizing force for Mamdani.
Mamdani, who was elected as a State Assemblyman in 2020, was not initially considered a frontrunner by outsiders. Earlier this year, he gradually became the biggest obstacle in Cuomo’s bid for the nomination in the Democratic primary, quickly rising to prominence with sharp attacks on the former governor and a campaign focus on “affordability”. His promises to freeze and regulate rent in public housing apartments, promote a free bus plan, and open city-run grocery stores to lower food prices and other policies successfully narrowed the gap with Cuomo.
Mamdani’s ambitious social welfare policies have sparked debate about their funding sources. Critics point out that fulfilling his promises could result in a budget deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars each year, relying on state government and tax reform support, with the feasibility of funding still to be tested.
Mamdani’s victory also stirred political tensions at the federal level. Trump had warned that if Mamdani were elected mayor, the federal government would take over New York City, causing an uproar. However, following the election, Trump’s attitude became more pragmatic, and he has since extended a handshake of goodwill to the elected mayor.
As Mamdani is set to take office, the homelessness crisis in New York City faces even greater challenges. Mamdani pledged to halt the clearing actions of homeless camps. City data shows that such clearances have not effectively matched permanent housing, with advocacy groups long criticizing them as traumatic, merely moving people from one street to another. Last year, the city received over 82,000 calls related to homelessness through 311, highlighting the urgency of the problem.
In the nation’s largest city, Mamdani’s rise has upended the power structure of the establishment within the Democratic Party. Supporters see him as a hope to “make the city affordable again,” while opponents warn of financial and governance risks. What can be certain is that this victory has written one of the most iconic chapters for New York in 2025.
Since the Trump administration returned to power on January 20, 2025, immigration policy has been tightened across the board, resulting in mass arrests of illegal immigrants. One agency that has continually made headlines since then is the “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement” or ICE. In 2025, ICE launched large-scale immigration enforcement operations in several cities, with in New York City openly waiting outside the immigration court in downtown Manhattan to arrest asylum seekers appearing in court, sparking strong protests from Democratic elected officials and immigrant organizations.
At the beginning of the year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) emphasized that those arrested by ICE were all criminal offenders. However, within just over two weeks of the new government taking office, ICE arrested nearly 9,000 people nationwide, many of whom were gang members and criminal offenders. But in May, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem explicitly instructed ICE agents to arrest 3,000 people per day.
Subsequently, the “Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse” (TRAC) from Syracuse University released statistics: among the illegal immigrants detained by ICE, over 70% have not been criminally convicted.
At the same time, policies in various immigration areas have been affected: international students had their visas canceled; visa holders could not guarantee entry; those holding green cards faced risks when returning to the U.S.; even green card or citizenship holders found to have issues could have their status revoked; birthright citizenship was threatened; H-1B work visas were also tightly controlled… The changes in immigration policy were numerous.
In New York City, ICE continuously arrested people outside the federal Immigration Court in Lower Manhattan, where there were constant reports of Chinese individuals being arrested and deported. In one case at the end of the year, a Chinese individual and her 6-year-old son were swiftly deported to China after being arrested.
According to an ICE memorandum in July of this year, if undocumented immigrants were arrested, there was no possibility of bail. However, on December 27, there was good news for immigrants: a judge in California announced a nationwide ruling that illegal immigrants apprehended when reporting to immigration agencies like ICE have the right to a bail hearing in immigration court.
In 2025, the peak of U.S. counteractions against Chinese Communist infiltration was reached, with numerous cases entering the judicial process: from the “Operation Fox Hunt” convictions, infiltration of dissident circles and communities, to illegal agents and financial crimes involving political aspects, the U.S. is making efforts to block the cross-border influence channels of the Chinese Communist Party.
In January, the first convictions for “Operation Fox Hunt” in the U.S. were made, with 69-year-old Zhu Yong and 28-year-old Zheng Congying sentenced to two years and sixteen months in prison, respectively, for assisting in capturing fugitives for the Chinese Communist Party’s “Operation Fox Hunt”. Zhu Yong admitted that he got involved due to the perks of free food and accommodation, regretting his decision now.
In March, another Operation Fox Hunt conviction occurred. Fang Zheng, the owner of the Falun Hotel in Flushing, a former president of the Shandong Association, pressured and threatened a family to return to China for a long time on behalf of the Chinese authorities. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison and ordered to pay around $5 million in fines and compensation. Fang Zheng may face deportation after serving his sentence, once again highlighting the coercive tactics of the Chinese Communist Party.
In April, a case of infiltrating dissident circles was exposed. Wang Shujun, former Secretary-General of the Hu Yaobang-Zhao Ziyang Foundation, was convicted of taking orders from the Chinese National Security Department, monitoring dissidents for a long time, and collecting intelligence, receiving funding and technical support. This case shook the Chinese political community, with prosecutors emphasizing the threat of the Chinese Communist Party to freedom of speech in the U.S. was no longer abstract.
At the end of July, financial crimes and political infiltration intersected. The main suspect in the “Chinatown Investment” case, Li Xuerui, pleaded guilty to defrauding over 170 Chinese investors of over $30 million and attempting to influence U.S. elections through donations and political activities, endangering the operation of the democratic system. She is scheduled to be sentenced in February 2026, with prosecutors criticizing her for trying to “commodify the U.S. electoral system”.
In August, political scandals resurfaced. Adam Adam’s chief aide Zheng Qirong, was caught attempting to “arrange” the media with cash in potato chip bags, leading to his suspension and a federal investigation.
In September, another political agent in the dissident community confessed. New York activist Tang Yuanjun admitted to receiving instructions from the Chinese National Security Department since 2018 to gather information in American communities, assist in monitoring dissidents, and receive funding and technical support. The sentencing for this case will be announced in January 2026.
In December, there continued to be controversy over political corruption and agent accusations. Former senior New York state government officials Sun Wen and her husband Hu Xiao were accused of foreign agency, united front infiltration, and financial crimes. Although the trial ended in a hung jury due to differing opinions, a juror subsequently revealed that the majority of the jury found the evidence to be compelling: with most of the 18 charges being a 10-2 split and the 19th charge on tax evasion being an 11-1 guilty verdict. Prosecutors have requested the case be retried as soon as possible.
The owner of the New York Mets baseball team, Steve Cohen, partnered with Hard Rock International to transform the parking lot west of Citi Field in Queens into a large mixed-use complex named “Metropolitan Park” incorporating a casino, hotel, entertainment, dining, and public spaces, with an estimated investment of around $8 billion.
As the parking lot lands were designated for park use, they needed to go through a public land conversion process. State Senator Liu Chuniyi proposed a land conversion bill in the State Senate in April, resolving obstacles brought by local State Senator Jessica Ramos’ refusal to introduce the land conversion proposal. On May 28, the proposal was overwhelming passed by the New York State Senate, having previously been approved by the State Assembly. Governor Hochu then signed it into effect.
Before June 27, the developers formally submitted a casino license application to the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board, marking the official entry of the project into the state-level bidding stage. Subsequently, the project held multiple community hearings. During two public meetings in September, advocates and opponents engaged in heated debates on the project. The proposal was unanimously passed by the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) in a vote, becoming one of the three final proposals for the three downstate casino licenses to be reviewed by the state regulators.
On December 1, the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board announced that Metropolitan Park, along with Resorts World New York City in South Ozone Park and Bally’s in the Bronx, were selected as the three new commercial casino license candidates in downstate New York.
On December 15, the New York State Gaming Commission formally voted to approve the issuance of casino licenses to the aforementioned three casino projects. The construction of the Metropolitan Park project is expected to span several years, with the casino and integrated facilities gradually opening before 2030.
Despite efforts by New York City authorities to increase housing units in hopes of lowering rental levels, by the end of 2025, residential apartment rents remained high, even setting new records; the city’s residential vacancy rate was only 1.4%. At the end of the year, the City Council voted on a series of housing reform laws.
In mid-2025, the Fair Apartment Rental Fee Act came into effect, prohibiting real estate agents from charging high fees to tenants. While this was intended to alleviate the burden on tenants, real estate agents said the new law would force landlords to raise rents.
Indeed, the housing market in 2025 in New York City saw prices continue to rise. By June, the median rent for an overall apartment in NYC reached historic levels, hitting $4,700.
Even after the election victory of socialist mayoral candidate Mamdani, amid predictions that many would move out of New York, the median monthly rent in Manhattan in November rose again by $50 to reach a new high of $4,750.
On December 18, the New York City Council approved a series of laws aimed at increasing the affordability of housing development projects subsidized by the city government, ensuring they meet the needs of families, provide homeownership opportunities, while protecting existing affordable housing units.
The Law 958-A will double the purchasing opportunities for government-subsidized affordable housing, requiring that at least 4% of all newly built affordable housing be owner-occupied; law 1433-A mandates that starting from July 1, 2027, at least 25% of government-subsidized rental affordable housing be two-bedroom units and 15% be three-bedroom units; law 1443-A states that starting from July 1, 2027, 50% of newly government-subsidized rental housing must be affordable to low-income families, with at least 30% affordable to very low-income families; the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act allows eligible nonprofit organizations, or eligible nonprofit organizations in joint ventures with other entities, priority to submit quotes and purchase certain residential properties before owners plan to sell.
The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act limits the freedom of homeowners to sell, sparking strong opposition from Chinese homeowners who vowed to launch a collective lawsuit.