That is 0 articles you have read today.
The Aporia is free and carries no advertising, so readers are the only
thing paying for it. If you are getting this much out of it, a small
donation is what keeps it independent.
Daily limit reached
You have read 0 articles today.
That is more than the 15 a day The Aporia gives away,
and well past what it can carry on nothing. Your allowance resets at
midnight.
There is no advertising here and nothing about you is sold, so readers
are the only thing paying for it. If the site is worth this much of
your day, it is worth a few dollars.
Everything else stays open: the
maps, the
directory and
search do
not count against this, and neither does re-opening something you have
already read today.
New York Post
· collected 2026-09-17 · by Craig McCarthy, Matt Troutman
Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated fixing the 200,000th pothole this year on Troutman Street in Bushwick, claiming it represents his "pothole politics" philosophy of delivering tangible results for city residents. However, critics argue that his efforts pale in comparison to former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s record, who filled over one million potholes during his first two years in office at a rate of 1,268 per day. Mamdani’s public relations stunts have drawn skepticism from political rivals like Scott Stringer and Senator Alfonse D’Amato, who dismiss them as performative rather than substantive.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Zohran Mamdani, New York City's mayor, celebrated on Thursday the repair of 200,000 potholes in 2023. He used this achievement to promote his "pothole politics" philosophy, emphasizing tangible results for city residents. However, critics argue that Bill de Blasio, Mamdani’s hero and former mayor, filled over 1 million potholes within his first two years, equating to a daily rate of 1,268 potholes repaired. Despite the high number, some officials like Republican politician Alfonse D'Amato dismiss these efforts as mere publicity stunts rather than substantive improvements. Former city comptroller Scott Stringer also criticized Mamdani's recent announcements as insincere gestures.
Written for “Pothole Repair Controversy” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.35 for article 17368 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-18
Claims extracted
13
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 13 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject
Correction & hedging signals
59.2
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Smiley socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani proudly bragged Thursday about fixing the 200,000th pothole this year on the city’s streets — but his self-congratulatory victory lap didn’t even stack up to his hero Bill de Blasio’s record.
asserted
lap → brag → record
Mamdani used filling in the pothole on Bushwick’s Troutman Street with city Department of Transportation workers to tout his “pothole politics” philosophy, his way of showing his lefty government can deliver everyday results.
asserted
government → use → results
“Fixing the broken water fountain at the playground our kids love, upgrading the catch basin on the corner that always floods and, of course, making a bumpy road smooth again,” he said in a statement.
“
asserted
he → fix → statement
That is what public service should look like.”
asserted
service → look → what
The doing-the-bare-minimum backslappery came after Mamdani pulled a similar publicity stunt in April, this time to fill in the city’s 100,000th pothole.
asserted
Mamdani → do → pothole
Both photo ops failed to impress longtime public servants — with Alfonse D’Amato, the Republican politician dubbed “Senator Pothole,” telling The Post during the spring that “it’s all BS.”
asserted
it → fail → spring
Former city comptroller Scott Stringer, one of Mamdani’s mayoral rivals during last year’s Democratic primary, scoffed at Hizzoner’s latest dog-and-pony show.
asserted
Stringer → scoff → show
“Mamdani wouldn’t know how to fill a pothole if he fell in one,” he said.
asserted
he → know → one
“Everywhere I go in this city people are bemoaning the dirty streets, the tragedy of homelessness.
asserted
people → go → homelessness
He’s got to figure out to do the work and not do this performative stuff.
asserted
He → get → stuff
They didn’t believe under de Blasio, they won’t under Mamdani
asserted
they → believe → Mamdani
The groundhog-killing de Blasio — who Mamdani called his favorite living Big Apple mayor — celebrated 1 million potholes filled during his first two years, the New York Daily News reported in March 2016 — a rate of 1,268 per day in office.
asserted
News → kill → office
Mamdani’s current pothole-filling pace stands at 769 a day.
asserted
pace → fill → 769
The Aporia
