Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani drew a sold-out crowd of 10,000 to Forest Hills Stadium in Queens for a get-out-the-vote rally Sunday with progressive stars Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/The Bronx) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).
The 34-year-old Democratic socialist, who shocked the political establishment in the June primary, made one of his last pitches to voters on an expansive affordability agenda that includes free buses and child care for every New Yorker.
“When we launched this campaign one year and three days ago, we were dismissed as a punch line in the halls of power,” he said. “The idea of fundamentally changing who government serves in the city was unimaginable.”
A trio of key state Democratic officials — Gov. Kathy Hochul, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie — also spoke at the rally, held on the second day of early voting. It is Mamdani’s first major campaign event since enduring a string of Islamophobic attacks last week from his closest rival, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as well as from Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the race last month and endorsed Cuomo Thursday.
One rally attendee, Ibrahim Ahmed, 45, told THE CITY that he’s been canvassing for Mamdani regularly since the Assembly member from Queens launched his campaign last year, focusing especially on turning out supporters in the South Bronx where he lives.
“Zohran has spoken the language that New Yorkers want to hear at this moment, and it’s the reason we believe we need to support him,” Ahmed said. “He speaks about building affordable housing, universal child care — and he does it with evidence for how he can get it done.”
Across the city, more than 164,000 New Yorkers flocked to the polls this weekend for the first two days of early voting, according to the Board of Election, a staggering turnout that nearly matches the entire early voting count in 2021.
Interest in early voting was high across all five boroughs. In Brooklyn, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 10-to-1 margin, nearly 49,500 people voted in the first two days. In Staten Island, where registered Republicans nearly match registered Democrats, more than 12,500 cast a ballot this weekend.
The surge in early voting bodes well for frontrunner Mamdani, who has built his campaign on mobilizing new voters.
In Greenpoint, outside of Brooklyn’s McCarren Park, Henry, a 25-year old Ph.D. student, told THE CITY that it’s his first time voting in any local election. On Saturday, he cast his ballot for Mamdani.
“I probably wouldn’t have even voted. But I voted because I liked him so much,” Henry said. “Mamdani is actually the only person I’m excited for, mostly. I think a lot of his stances reflect things that I agree with.”
But Mamdani’s rise has also alarmed and galvanized moderate-to-conservative voters and those who disagree passionately with his stance on Israel-Palestine or his socialist agenda.
At Eleanor Roosevelt High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, attorney Igal Katz, 49, cast his ballot Sunday for Cuomo, animated by strong opposition to Mamdani over both. A father of two who has lived in New York City for 25 years, Katz too voted in a mayoral election for the first time.
“As a Jewish person with a Jewish background, Israeli background, I’m just extremely worried about his [Mamdani’s] agenda on that topic,” Katz told THE CITY. “But overall, his socialist agenda, the statements that he’s made, I think he’s definitely not the direction where we want the city to go. So I think he’s an extremely dangerous candidate.”
Asked about his vote for Cuomo, Katz said, “He probably did not do enough when he was the governor, but among the choices that are available, I mean, I certainly don’t dislike the guy.”
The early voters included Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who cast his ballot for himself on Saturday at the American Museum of Natural History.
“Today it should be the last time we hear that Curtis Sliwa should drop out,” Sliwa said, flanked by dozens of supporters and his wife Nancy, who wore a silk scarf patterned with colorful cats (Sliwa has 6 cats). “Today is a clear example that the billionaires, the insiders and the influencers are not determining who will be the next mayor of New York City.”
Cuomo, who launched a third-party bid after his primary defeat and is polling second to Mamdani, also rallied with supporters in Flushing, Queens on Sunday. He invoked his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, and trashed Mamdani as a “divisive force” who offended the Jewish community.
“He is not a Democrat, he is a socialist. He is a divider. He is a zealot. He is an extremist. He is a radical,” said Cuomo, who as the campaign entered its final weeks escalated his appeal to Republicans and urged Sliwa to drop out of the race. “This is a vote to save New York City.”
Among those casting early votes for Cuomo were retired city workers Joe and Rosie Maldonado (no relation to THE CITY reporter) on Sunday at Resorts World Casino in Queens.
“Cuomo was the governor. He did more for this state than anybody else,” Joe said. “Sliwa is a clown.”
“Not that he’s a clown,” Rosie said, “but I didn’t want to cast my vote where, to my opinion, it wasn’t going to count.”
But the Cuomo campaign’s message that “a vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani” didn’t resonate with everyone.
Theresa Ianelli, a 65-year-old retired nurse, voted for Sliwa, who she described as “very genuine and honest” and “the right one to vote for no matter if Mamdani goes in or not.”
“There’s no baloney,” Ianelli said, after she voted in Belle Harbor, Queens. “I wasn’t listening to people who told me to vote for Cuomo, although I think he did a wonderful job during the pandemic. I just don’t like what he did later on.”
Steve and Debra Brennan, also Belle Harbor residents, voted for Sliwa and never considered Cuomo, of whom Steve said they were “not fans.”
“We’re just voting for who we believe in,” Debra added. “We’ve got to vote with our conscience and with our hearts.”
Other New Yorkers who voted early also said they’re sticking to party lines. “I voted straight Democratic on my ticket,” said Diane, 35, a product manager in Greenpoint. “Hopefully Mamdani takes it. We’ll see. I think he’s really focused on helping the average New Yorker, which is very important,” she said.
Hours before Mamdani’s rally was scheduled to begin, his supporters lined up to access the stadium grounds, reflecting the range of his base: healthcare and building workers in union gear, young people in Democratic Socialists of America shirts, South Asian families and people wearing custom merch from affinity groups like “Hot Girls for Zohran.”
Tickets for the free event sold out in 48 hours, according to Mamdani’s campaign. Outside the venue, a small group of protesters bearing Israeli flags booed supporters as they checked in.
Speaking at the Queens rally, Hochul was drowned out repeatedly by chants of “Tax the rich!” — and was escorted off the stage by Mamdani himself, ahead of when he was scheduled to speak.
“New York runs on hope, and compassion and an optimism that never leaves us,” said Hochul. “We are the state that does not back down and I’m going to be working closely with Mayor Zohran Mamdani.”
Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders’ remarks hit on the rally’s theme, “New York is not for sale.”
“It is not a coincidence that the very forces that Zohran is up against in this race mirrors what we are up against nationally. Both in an authoritarian, criminal presidency, fueled by corruption and bigotry, and an ascendant right wing extremist movement,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “And an insufficient, eroded, bygone political establishment, this time in the form of Andrew Cuomo.”
“New York must have a mayor who represents the working families of this city, not the billionaires,” said Sanders. “This country belongs to us, not them.”
The event at Forest Hills Stadium marked the first time that Ron Barba, 55, ever participated in a political rally — and he came ready in a custom “MAGA for Mamdani” t-shirt and red cap.
“This guy excites me: he’s intelligent, thoughtful, young, and he has good energy,” Barba said of Mamdani. “Getting more money from the rich and kind of funneling down – I think it’s a good thing. It’s going to be very hard, but why wouldn’t we try it?”
Related
First Appeared on
Source link
