Good morning. It’s Wednesday. Today we’ll answer some reader questions about Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and the New York City mayor’s race. We’ll also explain why the subway floods so often during rainstorms.
Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani stunned New York City, the country and many in his own party when he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary last month. As voters and political observers digest the primary results and look toward the general election, questions have also arisen: about the candidates, how journalists are covering the race and what it all means. We asked readers for their questions, and more than 100 poured in from all over the world. Our reporters and editors have answered 21 so far, a few of which are below. Read the full article here. We’ll keep at it until the November election, sharing selections in this newsletter. Submit your questions here. How does Mamdani’s race and subsequent win reflect the overall picture of politics — especially the identity of the Democratic Party — going into November and beyond?— Samantha Kaplan, Annapolis, Md. Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent, explains: There’s a long and storied history of over-interpreting New York elections as barometers of the national mood. Just ask Mayor Eric Adams, who once heralded himself as the “Biden of Brooklyn,” or ask former Mayor Bill de Blasio about his very brief presidential campaign. As one prominent Democrat put it to me recently, the party should spend more time thinking about the Upper Peninsula of Michigan than the Upper West Side. Most of the most competitive midterm races will take place in more moderate areas of the country. So I would not expect many Democratic candidates to embrace democratic socialist positions. More likely is that candidates will try to emulate Mamdani’s effective use of social media, and perhaps his intense focus on affordability, an issue that resonates everywhere. As I wrote last month, there are some early signs that Mamdani’s win could inspire some younger Democrats to challenge older incumbents in primaries. It comes as many voters are desperate for generational change, after watching their leaders dismiss their concerns about former President Joe Biden’s age. How is it that the N.Y.T. missed the popularity of Zohran Mamdani? It is surprising given that he won such a large victory.— Elizabeth Myers, Scottsville, N.Y. From Dean Chang, the editor running New York political coverage: May I suggest a different takeaway? We started paying attention to him well before his campaign launch in October, meeting with him months earlier to discuss his candidacy. In December, we detailed his plan to open city-owned grocery stores. In January, we wrote how left-leaning political groups were looking to identify the candidate to coalesce behind, and noted that Mamdani had the most momentum. In March, we called him the “standard-bearer for progressive Democrats,” and explained his ascension in the polls and in fund-raising. We also revealed his crime plan, shared his first television ad, examined his legislative record in Albany and chronicled how his faith was playing a role in his campaign, sometimes in complicated ways. That’s just a small sampling. You can browse it all on our dedicated page for the mayor’s race, where you’ll find comprehensive coverage of other candidates. The outcomes of mayoral primaries are often fluid, especially toward the end, so we try to capture that dynamic and cover numerous candidates. Primaries can also produce unexpected results. So if you haven’t seen it, please read our in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how Mamdani rose from obscurity to become the Democratic nominee. Eric Adams is trying to run on two different ballot lines, EndAntisemitism and Safe&Affordable. What is the history of independent candidates running on multiple lines? What about the history of candidates making up their own parties?— Elijah Hurewitz-Ravitch, Brooklyn From Nicholas Fandos, our Metro political correspondent: New York City has a long, colorful history of candidates running on bespoke ballot lines meant to amuse, confuse or at least communicate something about their candidacies. All someone needs to do is gather several thousand signatures and they can temporarily launch a new party with a name of their choice. Back in the 1940s, Fiorello La Guardia created the “No Deal” party to undermine the Republicans. In the 1950s, Vincent Impellitteri won the mayoralty running on “Experience.” More recently, Bo Dietl ran in 2017 on the “Dump the Mayor” party line. Adams is not the only candidate in this year’s race with his own line. Cuomo will be on the ballot in November despite his loss in the Democratic primary because he petitioned to create the “Fight and Deliver” party. As you point out, Adams gathered petitions for two different independent lines. The city Board of Elections doesn’t allow a candidate to create two new parties in one election. The mayor is challenging this, but his campaign says he’ll run on the Safe&Affordable line if forced to choose. Questions about the New York City mayor’s race continue below. WEATHER Expect a mostly sunny day with a high near 89 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low near 77. There is a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and overnight. ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING In effect until Aug. 3 (Tisha B’Av). The latest Metro news
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It is said that Mamdani won the “youth vote.” Were these first-time voters?— Carol Sadewasser, Strongsville, Ohio From Wilson Andrews, who runs our election results coverage: Two things were true of the primary: More young people voted than in 2021, and the Mamdani campaign turned out voters who hadn’t voted recently.
Around 120,000 more ballots have been tallied in this year’s primary compared with 2021’s, and young voters accounted for most of the increase. The number of voters under 30 jumped from 105,000 four years ago to nearly 190,000 this year. This story goes into more detail about what we do and don’t know about who voted in the primary. I found it interesting that Cuomo won the majority of the Black vote, since Mamdani ran on a platform of making New York more affordable and many of the people who are leaving the city due to the affordability crisis are Black.— Christy Wielosinski From Jeffery C. Mays, who covers City Hall: It’s true that on the first ballot, Cuomo beat Mr. Mamdani in precincts where at least 70 percent of the residents are Black. It wasn’t even close: 59 percent to 26 percent. But a closer look revealed a generational divide among Black voters. Your point about some Black people leaving the city because of its high cost of living may help explain why. Census data shows that while the overall Black population in New York City has stayed steady at about 23 percent over the past 20 years, it has aged: 36 percent of Black residents were over 50 in 2023, up from 23 percent in 2000. Many of those older Black residents are homeowners, professionals and city workers — and the backbone of New York’s Democratic Party. They are reliable voters who helped Adams win in 2021. When Mamdani talked about freezing rent, they heard it as landlords, not tenants. When I spoke to Anthonine Pierre, executive director of the Brooklyn Movement Center, she said that democratic socialists have done a good job of recruiting younger Black voters with their focus on class, but have not done as well in viewing Black people who have capital as worthy of being organized. Read the full article with more questions and answers here. METROPOLITAN DIARY Handy Hose
Dear Diary: It was a hot, sticky July morning. I had just ridden a Citi Bike across Central Park to the East Side for an appointment with my chiropractor. I docked the bike and began walking up Second Avenue thinking about how dirty my hands were and where I might wash them before getting my usual egg sandwich. Just ahead, I noticed a building handyman washing down the sidewalk. I decided to approach him. “Good morning,” I said in a cheery voice. “Would you mind washing off my hands with your power hose?” His expression widened into a huge grin. “Why, of course,” he said. He motioned me over to a nearby hedge so that he could rinse my hands off out of the way of the sidewalk. I held my hands out over the hedge, palms up, and he sprayed them both with a cool blast of water. I thanked him profusely, and he smiled again. I think we made each other’s day. — Carol Mills Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. James Barron returns tomorrow. P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Luke Caramanico and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
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