How Mamdani connects climate policy to his affordability agenda as he runs for New York mayor

Many of the democratic socialist's policies aim to slash carbon emissions and boost environmental justice

As she canvassed for Zohran Mamdani in New York City on Tuesday last week, Batul Hassan should have been elated. The mayoral candidate - a 33-year-old state assemblymember - was surging in the polls and would within hours soundly defeat Andrew Cuomo on first preference votes in the Democratic primary election.

But Hassan's spirits were hampered by record-breaking temperatures. In Crown Heights, where she was the Mamdani campaign's field captain, the heat index soared into the triple digits.