NYC parents look to move children from public to private schools after Mamdani win

Following socialist Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral election, some parents are already taking steps to remove their children from city schools.

School placement consultant Christopher Rim explained to the New York Post that at least 23 clients have contacted him seeking to relocate their children to private middle and high schools in other states. 

“Within the first 30 minutes of AP announcing Mamdani’s victory, I got three messages from families looking to move,” Rim said.

He noted that some families had been preparing for months, with half a dozen clients relocating to Connecticut in anticipation of a Mamdani win. 

“Over the summer, I started hearing families say, ‘I don’t know what we are going to do if this guy wins,'” he explained. “They were like, ‘He’s going to win, and there’s no reason [to wait].’”

Many of the families reaching out are Jewish and have expressed concerns about Mamdani’s views on Israel. Rim said, “They’re saying they’re worried about safety in their everyday life. I don’t even think it’s a financial thing. I don’t think it’s the taxes or how much more money they would have to pay to live here.”

Polling before the election reflected similar sentiments. A survey by JL Partners found that 9 percent of New Yorkers said they would “definitely” leave the city if Mamdani won, while another 25 percent were considering it.

After the election, Rim spoke with a family who decided to remove New York University and Columbia University from their college application lists because they no longer wanted their child to live in New York City under Mamdani’s administration.

“These are families who have been thinking of leaving, been wanting to leave,” Rim said. “This is just the final thing that pushed them to New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, or even further.”