# Mamdani links climate to everyday New York struggles

> NYC's mayor connects the climate crisis to housing, worker pay, and corporate accountability.
- Title: Mamdani links climate to everyday New York struggles
- Summary: NYC's mayor connects the climate crisis to housing, worker pay, and corporate accountability. Climate change isn't a luxury concern, it hits working people…
- Keywords: zohran mamdani, new york city mayor, climate crisis, climate desk live, affordable housing, corporate accountability, doordash, worker pay, data centers, donald trump, haitian new yorkers, tps status
- Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/mamdani-climate-crisis-donald-trump
- Author: Sophie Hurwitz
- Published: 2026-09-24T10:38:30+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: zohran mamdani, new york city mayor, climate crisis, climate desk live, affordable housing, corporate accountability, doordash, worker pay, data centers, donald trump, haitian new yorkers, tps status
## Climate hits working people hardest
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani told Climate Desk Live that climate change drives up the price of life for everyone, but Black, Latino, and working-class people bear the costs disproportionately.

> The way that climate is treated in public discourse, it's almost as if it's a concern that some can afford to have, while others have to deal with more immediate ones.
## Corporations dodge accountability
Mamdani said corporations responsible for the most pollution face little to no real accountability, and the same corporate-accountability approach used against DoorDash could apply to climate harm.

> Corporations of this scale believe that they can get away with not paying or underpaying workers and never having to be called to account for it.
## Data centers as climate coalition
Mamdani urged climate-concerned people to connect the crisis to localized issues like the growing movement against data centers, framing it as part of a broader climate coalition.

> That, too, could be the coalition against the climate crisis.
## Trump meeting on housing and TPS
Mamdani met with President Trump to pitch federal funding for affordable housing and raised concerns about Haitian New Yorkers who recently lost their TPS status.

> As long as someone can help the city, I'll talk to them.
## DoorDash forced to pay workers
Mamdani announced that DoorDash will pay 131.5 million dollars to 260,000 workers it had underpaid, after the city held the company accountable.

> We announced that we were holding DoorDash to account for having not paid 260,000 workers 131.5 million dollars.
## Key takeaway

Climate change isn't a luxury concern, it hits working people hardest, and holding corporations accountable for pollution works the same way it worked against DoorDash.