NYC film and TV production has returned in 2026, but Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s MOME commissioner Rafael Espinal's task to convince the biggest films to return won’t be as easy. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani oversees approximately 285,000 full-time city employees across more than 50 agencies, including the NYPD, FDNY, and the Departments of Education, Buildings, and Transportation. They are the city’s lifeblood and usually the most direct way a new mayor can steer City Hall toward his