Since the start of the mayoral campaign, the focus for all of the candidates has been affordability. 

But even with New York City being home to the most inexpensive colleges in the state, CUNY, none of the candidates have mentioned what they will do for CUNY students. 

CUNY is reported to be the best school in the country in helping low-income families, with over 240,000 students enrolled, 60% of whom are first-generation college students. 

But from 2011 to 2021, CUNY saw a stark decline in state aid, which included Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s time in office, who is currently running for mayor as an independent. 

In 2016, he slashed $500 million in state funding to university systems. In 2020, a withholding of funds caused adjuncts to be laid off and many classes in the fall semester to be canceled. Cuomo’s administration asked CUNY to spend the already insufficient funds more “efficiently.” 

“Andrew Cuomo threatened to cut $500 million from CUNY in 2016 because his entire record as governor is one which was marked by consistently protecting the pockets of billionaires at the expense of working people,” Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee, said in a statement to Politico. 

“As Mayor, I will continue to make our CUNY schools affordable and fully funded.”

The New Deal for CUNY, which Mamdani said he would “fight to pass” if elected, is a bill that would allow CUNY to waive tuition and create a better staff-to-student ratio, thus creating a better learning environment for students. 

Mamdani said the “investments would fund academic advisors, create adjunct pay parity, adequately fund mental health services and would decrease and ultimately eliminate tuition.”

Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa has not publicly voiced his opinion on The New Deal for CUNY. 

The mayoral election is on Nov. 4, and only after it will CUNY see what funding it will be able to receive from the state.