New York City in 2025 is a paradox. On one hand, the city is seeing murders and shootings fall to near-historic lows. On the other, major felonies are still well above pre-pandemic levels, and for many New Yorkers, the city just doesn't feel as safe.

This is the complex reality facing Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who won a surprise victory on a democratic-socialist platform focused on affordability and a new approach to public safety. And his response is one of the most ambitious public safety experiments in American history.

At the heart of his platform is a complete philosophical shift. For over a century, public safety has been defined by policing and punishment—a reactive model that addresses crime after it happens. Mamdani's incoming administration is asking a different question: What if we treated violence not as a moral failing, but as a public health crisis? Like a disease, it spreads through exposure, clusters in specific areas, and can be contained by treating the underlying conditions: poverty, housing instability, and a lack of mental health care.

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