The Big Apple’s Big Decision

This article was initially written on October 27, 2025. The content may be slightly out of date.

As September draws to a close, the NYC mayoral election grows closer and closer. After a tumultuous round of primaries, New York residents are faced with three candidates in a decisive election that could determine the city’s future.

On June 24, the Democratic primaries ended with political newcomer Zohran Mamdani winning in a narrow victory, defeating opponent Andrew Cuomo with 56% of the votes. Mamdani, 33, previously served as a political activist and campaign manager (2015-present), supporting journalist Ross Barkan’s run for Senate and Tiffany Cabán’s run for District Attorney of Queens. He also served as a NYC assembly member for the 36th district (2020-present), which encompasses Astoria, Astoria Heights, and parts of Long Island City. He was regarded as an underdog in the Democratic primaries, where he faced experienced politicians like former mayor Andrew Cuomo. However, after his victory in the primaries it’s clear he is a top contender in the battle for mayor. Mamdani is a member of the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) political organization, and his main goals focus around making New York City more affordable for working class citizens. These include freezing the rent for all tenants in rent-stabilized apartments, building more affordable housing, creating city-owned grocery stores with low prices, eliminating fares on all city buses, and implementing free childcare for youth under 5 years old. These are ambitious changes to New York City, and he plans to fund these operations by taxing the top 1% (those who earn over $1 million annually). While criticized by some, his victories in the primaries and his massive social-media campaign, which is making him a massive success with Gen Z New Yorkers (and outsiders!), have shown that he is not to be underestimated in the race for mayor.

The Republican party, skipping primaries, have chosen Curtis Sliwa as their nominee. Sliwa served as the leader of the Guardian Angels, a civilian group dedicated to keeping the city streets safe and combating crime. They were founded in the 70s when NYC was experiencing a massive wave of crime and violence. At the time, Sliwa was criticized for faking some of the group’s rescues for publicity. In 1992, Sliwa survived an assasination attempt by the Gambino crime family. Since then, he worked as a conservative talk-show host and attempted to run for office in 2021 but lost to Eric Adams in a landslide. In 2025 he announced his plan to run for mayor, and has since been ranked the third most popular mayoral candidate (polls showing 13% support) behind Mamdani and Cuomo. His policies include restoring vacant rent-controlled apartments (in contrast to Mamdani’s plan for simply building more housing), hiring and investing in more NYPD officers, cleaning up public spaces with a Quality of Life task force, and making the subways safer by enforcing stricter loitering laws and expanding mental health and crisis relief services for homeless people.

Finally, the third mayoral candidate, running as Independent after his loss in primaries, is Andrew Cuomo. He is the son of former New York governor Mario Cuomo, and served as a lawyer and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Bill Clinton from 1997-2001. In 2010, Cuomo won the New York City mayoral election and was reelected in 2014 and 2018. While making headlines for important decisions like legalizing same-sex marriage and constructing Moynihan Train Hall and Laguardia Airport, he faced criticism for his COVID-19 policies and harrasment allegations. Cuomo’s policies for the 2026 election include improving the public school system by reducing class size and strengthening Career and Technical Education (CTE), increasing the supply of middle-class housing by partnering with construction companies and changing zoning laws, making healthcare and tax relief more affordable, funding the NYPD to make the city safer (including adding over 5,000 officers to the force), combating antisemitism, creating drug-relief and mental health programs, and making the subways safer by creating homeless outreach programs and stationing officers. Much of Cuomo’s policies and ethos come from his previous experiences as mayor, and he’s pledged to continue what he started over a decade ago. 

While it has been a long and contentious campaign , final polls are starting to roll in as the campaign draws to a close and election voting begins. The New York Times assembled 22 polls from different universities and institutes, and the results highly favored Mamdani. 20 of the 22 predicted him winning, by ranges of 3-28%. One predicted Cuomo winning, and one predicted a tie between the two. The voter registration deadline ends October 25th, with early voting beginning on that day. Election day is November 4th, and votes will be open from 6am to 9pm. 

This election’s history has shown that it could redefine New York’s position as one of the leading cities of the world. Whether you support any of the three candidates, it’s important for all New Yorkers to participate in voting. So on Election Day, talk to your parents and tell them to go vote!