Mayor Zohran Mamdani told every New Yorker to crank their AC to 78 degrees to save the power grid — but his own City Hall couldn't be bothered, with indoor temperatures plummeting to a sweater-worthy 54 degrees while the city roasted outside.
The mandate class always exempts itself. Mamdani took to X Wednesday to declare that city buildings would "lead by example," maintaining the 78-degree rule, dimming lights, and powering down non-essential equipment. The reality inside the marble halls told a different story entirely.
New York Post reporters armed with an infrared thermometer tested 20 spots inside City Hall and other municipal buildings they could access. All but five came in below the Mamdani-approved benchmark. Near the mayor's second-floor office, the Rotunda, the Governors' Room, and the City Council chambers all registered 77 degrees around noon — close enough, perhaps. But by late afternoon, the building turned into an icebox. Outside Mamdani's office, the temperature dropped to 74. The Rotunda fell to 64. Near the first-floor press office, one reading hit 62. And the air drafting from the AC unit in the press radio room tested at a bone-chilling 54 degrees — 24 degrees colder than what the mayor demands of you.
"Maybe the mayor shouldn't tell New Yorkers to sacrifice their comfort if he isn't willing to do the same," said City Council minority leader David Carr, the Staten Island Republican, in a statement that states the obvious.
Staff in several municipal buildings — including sanitation and health offices — blocked Post reporters from entering once they learned about the temperature testing. Transparency in action.
To be fair, Mamdani isn't the first New York mayor to issue the 78-degree ask. The Post notes both Eric Adams and Bill de Blasio gave the same guidance during past heat waves, and the U.S. Department of Energy recommends 75 to 78 degrees for summer cooling. The difference is that neither Adams nor de Blasio had their own municipal offices flagrantly ignoring the guidance within 24 hours of issuing it.
The episode reveals the core dynamic of green authoritarianism: the people who impose energy restrictions never expect to live under them. Mamdani's social media post framed the 78-degree rule as shared sacrifice to avert Con Edison blackouts. But when the cameras weren't rolling, his own staff cranked the AC so low that reporters needed jackets — in the middle of a heat wave that pushed Central Park past 100 degrees for the first time in over a decade.
The mandate class sweats you while they cool off. The only question is whether New Yorkers will keep accepting the arrangement.
