It is no secret to many of the 1.4 million people who call the Bronx home that they have felt as if the rest of the city had seen the Bronx much as Mayor Mamdani said, a "forgotten borough," over the last six decades. Being forgotten often leads to ignorance of needs critical to a community. "Undersourced" is a term often used by Bronx residents, community advocates, elected officials, and others to describe critical issues such as police protection, air pollution, education, healthcare, and business opportunities.
Though he was better known before running for his charitable leadership as founder of the poverty-fighting nonprofit Tipping Point, Lurie immediately after getting elected began focusing on crime, homelessness, housing bottlenecks and quality-of-life issues like cleaning the streets. Lurie streamlined housing approvals, re-organized and sped up city safety responses, launched an anti-homelessness campaign and won a 73% approval rating at Thanksgiving among local voters.
