The election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor set off — for his fan base, anyway — great expectations of a more “affordable” city. But the Democratic Socialist hasn’t even been sworn in, and some of his marquee promises are already history.

Start with free buses. For a city dependent on public transportation, free buses are a nice idea but also a bad idea. Fares pay for the buses, and even if you plug that hole with another revenue source, free buses would siphon riders from the subways, in effect defunding them.

Mamdani spun visions of the state raising taxes to cover the $700 million in lost fares or find the dough elsewhere. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she’s not interested in either notion. The governor’s support is essential: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, whi

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