For some, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to uphold human rights and facilitate the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon his arrival to New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly was merely symbolic rhetoric at best and reflected a general naivete at worst. Obviously, the mayor’s point was not about literal arrest but to make New Yorkers aware of Israel’s crimes against humanity and their greater exercise in meting out disproportionate State violence, especially in the past three years. But to be clear, Mamdani’s first year as mayor of New York City provides ways to look at how he engages in the politics of international human rights and social development. As Politico reported, “in the shadow of the UN General Assembly, the mayor is taking advantage of the gathering to bolster the international left, even as the move poses political risks at home.”

It was noted during the UNGA week that Mamdani’s meeting with Trump regarding housing and Sunnyside Yard requires federal support for a proposed 12,000 new homes. This was their third meeting. This time, at Gracie Mansion, thousands of jobs were also discussed and again Mamdani exercised his soft power while inviting the idea of affordable housing. This is not a mistake on Mamdani’s part. The meetings reflect the ways in which the two define development differently; Mamdani through a rights-based approach, and Trump through the economic lens of profit. Mamdani addressed housing as a primary issue on day one.

Most important for Mamdani during the General Assembly week, however, was the opportunity to host the Urban 20Mayors Summit that coincided with Trump’s visit to the United Nations. Here, Mamdani sat down with co-chair Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles and urban mayors on September 19–21, while touring the Bronx, Brownsville, and the Upper East Side.

As the world discussed the New Urban Agenda inside the halls of the United Nations, the U20 joined forces with the C40 cities, United Cities and Local Governments, and the Mayors Migration Council. Some of the mayors joining Bass and Mamdani for these........

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