The high rococo-style ceiling of the Brooklyn Paramount theater was lit in the shade of blue that has become synonymous in New York with the Mamdani campaign. All eyes, of course, were on the three giant screens spread across the front of the theater.
At 9:37 pm, as the news suddenly flashed before them, ‘Winner: Zohran Mamdani.’ Hundreds of volunteers and supporters who were there, erupted in rapturous celebrations.
Zohran Mamdani would be New York City’s first Muslim mayor, the first mayor of South Asian descent, the first foreign-born mayor in nearly 50 years, and the youngest mayor elected in NYC in over a century.
On Nov. 4, Zohran Kwame Mamdani was elected as the 111th mayor of New York City, defeating former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo once again, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. A self-described Democratic Socialist, Mamdani campaigned on affordability, a message that resonated with younger and first time voters and incentivized historic voter turnout, which surpassed 2 million votes — levels not seen since 1969.
His win comes amid sharp criticism over his youth and lack of experience, and threats from President Donald Trump who vowed to withhold federal funding from New York City if Mamdani won. But for voters and organizers who spoke with Documented, Mamdani’s victory signifies a new wave of politics that focuses on representation, accountability and addressing the needs of the people rather than maintaining the status quo and kowtowing to the establishment of the past.
Mamdani supporters chanted “Na na na na, goodbye” as Cuomo appeared on screen to concede the election.
“This is such a beautiful moment for the whole city,” said Aber Kawas, among the legions of supporters at the Paramount. Kawas, a Palestinian American and volunteer for the Mamdani campaign added that the win was also personal for her. “It means so much for Muslims, who have been so marginalized in the city. It’s not that [now] we belong, we’ve always been here.”
During his victory speech, Mamdani drew on his immigrant experience to reassure and empower immigrant New Yorkers. “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants. And as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” Mamdani roared. “So hear me, President Trump, when I say this. To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”
Eliana Jaramillo, 75, who attended a watch party hosted by Make the Road NY in Queens, said the moment brought a sense of relief.
Six months earlier, she began knocking on doors to encourage voters citywide to participate in this year’s elections. She had spoken on behalf of the Mamdani campaign, sharing her story of being a street vendor for 38 years. On Tuesday morning, she rose at 5 a.m. to resume a 15 hour-canvassing-shift in Queens.
“As they say, this country is full of opportunities,” Jaramillo said, fighting back tears. “And here he has shown that he has the opportunity to become mayor of a city like New York. A great sanctuary city where he will not allow any immigrant to be touched by the police.”
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to New York City at the age of 7. He is the son of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. A graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, he later attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine. In 2018, he became a naturalized American citizen, and in 2021, he was elected to the New York State Assembly, representing District 36, which includes parts of Astoria, Ditmars–Steinway, and Astoria Heights in Queens.
“I feel very happy because [Mamdani] is an immigrant who has come from so far to govern a city like New York. It is very difficult, but he will pull it off,” Jaramillo, who migrated from Bolivia in 1980, said in Spanish. She told Documented that she had only been inspired to be politically active in two other mayoral elections in the past: one with Mayor Bill DeBlasio and another with Rudy Giuliani.
“I’m shedding [these tears] because I feel it in my heart, I feel that he will triumph, and I will see it.”
At Dusk Til Dawn, a bar in Ozone Park, Queens, celebrations began with the beat of a drum and the rhythm of a tambourine, as one organizer chanted: “We got the power, people power!” DRUM Beats, a sibling organization of DRUM — Desis Rising Up and Moving — was one of the earliest and strongest supporters of Mamdani’s campaign. For months, their volunteers canvassed neighborhoods, phone-banked and knocked on doors across Queens, mobilizing their community for change.
The crowd erupted when Mamdani won — and then erupted again when, in his victory speech, Mamdani immediately acknowledged the very first organization that had endorsed the campaign: DRUM Beats.
“This race was a battle between people and money,” said Sherry Padilla, a DRUM Beats organizer. “The billionaires had their candidates, but people came out because they’re tired and want change. Electing Zohran is only the beginning. We still have to hold him accountable.”
“For the first time, I feel seen in New York City politics,” said Mohamed Q. Amin, a community leader and political organizer. “Not only as a Muslim and a South Asian Indo-Caribbean person, but knowing we’ll have a mayor who will fight for immigrants, asylum seekers, and LGBTQ people.”
Under the neon glow at the 9 Bob Note bar in Bushwick, hundreds of other New Yorkers packed together to join the DSA’s watch party and to celebrate Mamdani’s win. For 27-year-old Ozair Patel, who lives in the East Village, celebrating Mamdani’s win tonight was a “must.”
“The last primary win, I was at home. And so I celebrated alone in my apartment, and it was such a monumental event,” he said. “I was in my room alone and I was like, ‘Damn, I really need to be around people right now. Like I need to celebrate with people that I won this alongside.’”
Patel, a first-generation Indian American, said he canvassed for Mamdani’s campaign over the last few months. “So that’s why I told myself during the general election win, I’m going to come out to some kind of watch party and celebrate with people. Because we all made this happen together.”
Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University, told Documented that a big factor of Mamdani’s victory was the campaign’s herculean efforts to mobilize and motivate people to come out to vote, as well as the clear, and unchanging message at the center of his campaign.
“This wasn’t a runoff, it wasn’t a squeaker, it wasn’t a recount. The voters clearly said: ‘We like this messaging,’” Greer said, referring to the Democratic primary results where Mamdani won by 12%.
With 98% votes counted, the Board of Elections reported a historic 2,055,921 total voter turnout, surpassing the 1.15 million votes cast in the 2021 by 78%. A little more than half of the votes — 50.39% — went to Mamdani.
Greer added that while it is still unclear if the state’s democratic establishment — including heavyweights like Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand — will pivot to a more progressive platform, she said that a decisive margin of victory for Mamdani might make them reconsider their approach.
“Some Democrats across the country will at least say, ‘Okay, if we have a very clear message, we stick to said message, we ask the voters what the message should be, not our DC consultants.’ ”
During his campaign, Mamdani emphasized that his promises reflected some of Trump’s promises aimed at making the city more affordable. Greer said that while both messages are populist on their face, they differ in approach: “Trump motivates people because he says, ‘You don’t have, because the immigrants took it from you. Whereas Mamdani is saying, ‘You don’t have these things, but like, what if we envision something together?’” she said. “It’s an additive type of populism.”
Mamdani’s campaign posted on Instagram that more than 100,000 volunteers had knocked on more than 3 millions doors by Election Day. During the campaign cycle it mobilized a plethora of groups like Street Vendors for Zohran, Hindus for Zohran, Africans for Zohran, labor unions and more.
Salim Drammeh, co-lead organizer with Africans for Zohran, said Mamdani’s campaign actively reached out and was earnest about hearing their concerns from the start. “They included us in the conversation. Put us at the table and asked us: What are your needs? What do you think of these needs in the community?,” Drammeh, 30, said. “The campaign tried to reach every single community, and I think that’s making the difference.”
He explained that affordability and housing was one of the key issues for his community in the Bronx, and also why he was drawn to the Mamdani campaign. “He relates to us when he speaks about affordability. Like right now I’m 30 years old. I’m still living with my parents in a two-bedroom household and it is because New York City is too expensive,” he said.
He emphasized that his father — whom he describes as someone who had never been involved in politics in the past — had also been motivated by Mamdani’s positive messaging and offered to hand out flyers.
While Drammeh understands that Mamdani will face obstacles on both the state and federal level, he believes that a Mamdani administration would at least try to accomplish his promises. “I can give you an example of the free bus program. Our neighborhood was impacted by it because the BX18 was a part of the free bus pilot program that they had in 2023,” he said. “It was free for a whole year. We’ve seen the difference. Nobody was arguing with the bus conductor.”
Drammeh, who also works with asylum seekers from West African countries, said asylum seekers have expressed support for Mamdani, even though they cannot vote. “They want someone who’s going to fight for them, especially with Trump doing all his crazy things right now.”
President Trump’s intensified immigration enforcement also made immigration one of the key issues of this mayoral election. According to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), more than 3 million immigrants live in New York City, a third of the city’s population. Half a million were estimated to be undocumented in 2023.
“Mamdani’s win is such an important and meaningful win, right now more than ever, because our folks are being attacked, our communities are being attacked,” said Julissa Bisono, co-director of organizing at Make The Road NY. “We know we need someone like him who is not afraid to stand up against those multimillionaires, and the billionaires. We need that. We need people that are gonna fight collectively with the people.”
Bisono said that canvassers with Make The Road Action knocked on 16,000 doors and spoke with more than 30,000 people. Last week they knocked on 2,000 addresses in Staten Island.
She emphasized that volunteers went out into the streets to talk to voters amid heightened fears of deportations. “What has been happening in our neighborhood has been very scary too, because it doesn’t matter at this point whether you’re documented or undocumented. They’re picking up people in the streets,” she said. “So even with our communities being terrorized, people were out there every day.”
Jaramillo said politicians are starting to see the influence of the Hispanic community during the elections and are often sought to support them. “So I tell my people, don’t be afraid, go out when there are things happening, elections, go out and vote,” she said.
“Let’s vote so we can change this country.”
Additional reporting provided by Ralph Thomassaint Joseph, Meghnad Bose and Kennedy Sessions.
