He was raised by intellectuals in Manhattan; she grew up working-class in Buffalo, N.Y. He is a democratic socialist; she is a die-hard centrist. He has promised to lead audaciously; she prefers an incremental approach.
As Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York prepares for what could be the most consequential stretch of her career, much will hinge on her relationship with New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a man of a different generation and outlook.
Ms. Hochul, 67, watched Mr. Mamdani, 34, come out of relative political obscurity last year and inspire a mass movement of energized New Yorkers.
Now, the moderate governor has entered into a pragmatic alliance with the progressive mayor, with both deciding that it represents the best chance of delivering their signature priorities.
On Thursday, the two stood beside one another at a Y.M.C.A. in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to announce Ms. Hochul’s support for a plan to expand child care access for children ages 2 and up within four years in New York City, and set the state on a path to universal child care statewide.
Flanked by fleets of Democratic officials from across the ideological spectrum, Ms. Hochul beamed. “This is the day that everything changes,” she said, calling Mr. Mamdani an “extraordinary partner.”
“The era of empty promises ends with the two of us right here, right now,” she added, to thunderous applause.
The moment — and the $1.7 billion state investment it heralded — was the latest and most significant example of the millennial mayor and “mom-from-Buffalo” governor’s growing rapport, which has blossomed since Mr. Mamdani, a former state assemblyman from Astoria, Queens, won the Democratic mayoral primary last June.
“I enjoy him immensely,” Ms. Hochul said of Mr. Mamdani, singling out the mayor’s positivity. She noted that her own children are close to the mayor’s age, and that she enjoys working with younger people, because, she said, “it’s just more fun.”
The start of New York’s legislative session this week begins the true test of the high-pressure collaboration. If the newly minted partnership were to wither, the voters that swept Mr. Mamdani into office could turn against Ms. Hochul, imperiling her support among progressive New Yorkers as she runs for re-election this year.
At the same time, the mayor needs the governor, who holds enormous power over the state budget, making her both a valuable friend and a potential fearsome enemy.
Over the next few months, she will be working to craft a budget that both expands the state’s programs and balances its finances amid an onslaught of funding cuts from Washington.
Typically, governors like to avoid raising taxes in an election year. But Ms. Hochul may not have that luxury.
It remains to be seen how she will pay for her child care expansion without raising taxes on the wealthy — a line she has said she will not cross. Mr. Mamdani’s allies plan to make the issue a centerpiece of their legislative agenda.
“We’re also not standing down,” said Divya Sundaram, deputy director of Our Time — an advocacy group that controls the contact information for Mr. Mamdani’s volunteer army and plans to pressure Ms. Hochul to pass his agenda. “The devil is in the details, and we know we need to tax the rich to fund child care long-term, especially given Trump’s federal cuts.”
Just this week, the Trump administration announced that it would cut more than $3 billion from social services funds to the state. Ms. Hochul has said that she is exploring legal options.
Carl E. Heastie, the Assembly speaker, who has worked with both Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani back when he was a rabble-rousing backbench assemblyman, was sanguine about the partnership. “People always disagree, but I think that there is a willingness on the governor and the mayor’s part to get it figured out,” he said, adding, “I think that the governor, and the mayor, probably agree on 80 percent of things.”
However positive it appears right now, the relationship between a mayor and a governor can sour fast.
“I remember when Bill de Blasio was first elected, and all the chatter was around how great he got along with Andrew Cuomo,” said Mike Gianaris, the deputy majority leader of the State Senate. “That evaporated very quickly.”
The acrimonious relationship between Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo, whose enmity undermined the state’s pandemic response, is seared into the memories of politicians in both the city and Albany. Mr. Heastie quipped that he “felt like the child of two divorced parents” during that era.
Both Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Hochul said they were determined to avoid replicating that dynamic.
Ms. Hochul said in an interview that voters trust government more when the leaders they elect are not “fighting each other.” And Mr. Mamdani said on Thursday that the relationship between Albany and City Hall has for too long “been defined by dysfunction and discord, by feuds and by factionalism.”
Still Mr. Gianaris said that some amount of conflict might be unavoidable.
“At the end of the day, the relationship is not as important as the policies,” he said. “If the governor is supportive of the policies, which are very popular, I’m sure they will get along great. If she stands in the way, I’m sure there will be conflict.”
Next week, Ms. Hochul will reveal her priorities for the budget and broader legislative session in her State of the State address, which Mr. Mamdani is expected to attend.
The presentation, which will include a long list of the governor’s goals — including some Mr. Mamdani is likely to disagree with — will be an occasion for the mayor to demonstrate just how far his loyalty extends.
Ms. Hochul and Mr. Mamdani were basically strangers when he won the Democratic primary in June. But Mr. Mamdani impressed Ms. Hochul when he showed up and apologized for his past criticism of her while also expressing a willingness to retain Jessica Tisch as police commissioner.
Despite their lingering disagreements, Ms. Hochul endorsed Mr. Mamdani in September, saying they shared a vision on how to make New York more affordable. The next month he made sure to stand by her side at a large rally in which his supporters heckled her.
The moment underscored the political leverage he has.
In their discussions before and after the endorsement, Ms. Hochul offered Mr. Mamdani some advice: He must show citizens that government is working for them, she said in an interview last month. If crime goes up or people feel unsafe, “it could undermine his agenda, because people will focus on it.”
The governor gave the mayor-to-be some personal advice, telling Mr. Mamdani, who is newly married, that he must make a concerted effort to block off time to spend with his wife, Rama Duwaji. Since then, Mr. Mamdani has taken to texting Ms. Hochul whenever he and Ms. Duwaji go out on a date, two people familiar with the matter said.
She also offered some advice on how to handle President Trump.
In advance of his meeting with the president in the Oval Office in November, Mr. Mamdani called Ms. Hochul, who has found ways to work with Mr. Trump despite clashes, unlike some other Democratic governors.
Mr. Hochul told Mr. Mamdani that it would only harm New Yorkers if he could not have a constructive relationship with Mr. Trump — advice he has seemed to have taken to heart.
In the end, despite months of personal attacks, Mr. Trump appeared, at that moment, to be so charmed by Mr. Mamdani that he announced he would make a “really great mayor.”
As she tangles with Mr. Trump and triangulates with Mr. Mamdani, Ms. Hochul faces a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, and a likely general election matchup against the conservative Nassau County executive, Bruce Blakeman, a Republican.
Ms. Hochul has told people around her that she expects Mr. Mamdani to endorse her. The mayor spoke in glowing terms about the governor in an interview this week, saying it’s been “lovely” to get to know her better.
“I really appreciate the relationship that we’re building and showing New Yorkers that the past need not be the present,” he said.
Still he ducked talk of an endorsement, saying, “The governor hasn’t yet broached that topic with me.”
Benjamin Oreskes is a reporter covering New York State politics and government for The Times.
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