Mayor Mamdani signals aggressive consumer protection enforcement

DLA Piper | New York City inaugurated its new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, on January 1, 2026. As part of his new administration, Mayor Mamdani appointed former head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Samuel Levine, to serve as the Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), a move which followed on Mayor Mamdani’s prior appointment of former FTC Chair Lina Khan to lead his mayoral transition.

Commissioner Levine’s appointment and the new Mayor’s close alignment with former Chair Khan – both of whom are veteran antitrust and consumer protection enforcers with well-documented histories of aggressively interpreting consumer protection laws – underscore the degree to which Mayor Mamdani has made "personnel the policy" and, by these appointments, has signaled the new administration’s intentions to test the outer bounds of New York City’s investigatory and enforcement authorities.

As DCWP’s authority reaches any company that markets to or engages consumers in the city – even without a storefront – Mayor Mamdani’s appointments and policy priorities may impact consumer-facing businesses well beyond the five boroughs of New York City. Therefore, national brands and e commerce platforms may be subject to investigations and enforcement actions even if they have no physical presence in the city.

Personnel as policy: Khan and Levine signal an enforcement‑first posture

Mayor Mamdani’s close working relationship with former Chair Khan and Commissioner Levine portends an early playbook of executive and regulatory actions that prioritize enforcement against consumer-facing businesses in New York City. Indeed, on January 5, 2026 – only days into his administration – Mayor Mamdani signed executive orders directing the DCWP to prioritize investigations of, and initiate enforcement actions against, "junk fee pricing" and "subscription tricks and traps." At the press conference announcing these new directives, Commissioner Levine warned businesses: "Do not wait for a subpoena."

The focus on immediate levers reflects former Chair Khan’s hallmark, i.e., using existing authorities – without regard to whether those authorities have long been dormant or fallen out of favor – to aggressively challenge business practices. Commissioner Levine’s appointment to lead New York City’s DCWP operationalizes that strategy. Former Chair Khan’s track record of taking on junk fees, dark‑pattern subscriptions, data abuses, and telemarketing likely foreshadows a strong stance toward what the Mamdani Administration identifies as deceptive and unconscionable practices harming consumers in New York City.