‘Like we won the championship’: New Yorkers celebrate Mamdani’s win with cheers, tears and DSA chants | New York

IAt the election watch party hosted by the Democratic Socialists of America at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Fort Greene, there was a sense of tense anticipation amidst the din of tame wine being cracked open. “I’m not sure if this is an accurate replica of Solomon’s Temple,” said one supporter wearing a Zohran Mamdani T-shirt. “It’s like who is everyone I’ve slept with,” another said.

The excitement didn’t last long. Just after 9:30 p.m., someone jumped on the microphone to announce what news organizations were saying: A record number of New Yorkers voted in this exciting — and often ugly — race between Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa, ultimately electing the 34-year-old democratic socialist with seemingly boundless energy who shocked the party establishment in the primary by winning with a clear budget agenda. The DJ immediately started playing I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas. And indeed, it was a beautiful night for those in the room who burst into tears, hugged and twerked.

Mamdani will be New York’s first Muslim mayor and the youngest mayor in more than a century; However, he will neither be the first immigrant mayor nor the first to advocate socialist ideals. New Yorkers celebrated his monumental election at official and unofficial parties spread across the five boroughs.

“I’ve been a DSA member for over 10 years,” Will, a 40-year-old health department worker, said at the Fort Greene party. “It just shows that our politics are not radical, that New Yorkers actually think what we believe is reasonable, and that maybe the rest of the country is ready for sensible, common-sense, Democratic socialism.”

As the dance floor was in full swing (even though the house lights were dangerously bright), Ellie, a 28-year-old bartender from Bed-Stuy, felt “absolutely ecstatic.” “For the first time in so long, we have hope. I don’t remember anything -“

He cut himself short to sing along to the chorus of Kelly Clarkson’s Since You’ve Been Gone.

These are the people who fought for Mamdani when she voted with 1%, who celebrated her socialist principles when others said they disqualified her. As his speech was played, there was not only a sense of political hope but also a sense that a project had come to fruition; a lifetime of work to build a moment that could change the city, and it was all to the soundtrack of 90s Eurodance anthem Freed from Desire.

On the other side of the county, in what pollster Michael Lange affectionately calls the “communist corridor” — so named because Mamdani pulled the numbers of autocrats in the primary — the line for a dance club on the border of Bushwick and Ridgewood was just as lively.

Hundreds of people lined the sidewalk outside for another DSA viewing party these days, cheering and holding signs, in one case a cardboard cutout of Mamdani. Those who entered wore a variety of unofficial items — Hot Girls for Zohran, Bisexuals for Zohran, at least one pair of hot pants with “Zohran” written across the butt — and lit cigarettes or sipped mixed drinks while waiting for the race to be called. Even though they were a little scarred by past election troubles, they were confident. “He’s okay. We’ve all been through the trauma of 2016,” a man in a black beret said to no one in particular.

The crowd was a real mix: blacks, whites, browns, young and old, party gays, butch lesbians, bridge and tunnel boys who couldn’t even vote in the election but still felt the repercussions. Amber Pease, 25, lives in Nassau County, Long Island. His inability to vote did not stop him from volunteering to participate in Zohran’s campaign. He wants to find a job and move to the city as soon as possible. “I was expecting to see a good, progressive candidate, and having a candidate so close to home gives me a lot of hope.”

When the election was called for Mamdani, chants were heard from inside and on the street, and someone shouted “DSA! DSA!” sing the chant (not to be confused with the chant “USA! USA!”). Shortly thereafter, a representative of DSA named Kareem appeared on stage. He referred to Mamdani’s rapid rise. “This didn’t just start last year,” he said. “This is the culmination of years of work,” he said of progressive New Yorkers who campaigned against the Iraq war, the Occupy Wall Street movement and those who support Bernie Sanders. He also noted how Cuomo’s campaign peddled a message of fear, with Mamdani noting that the “antidote” is solidarity. Victory these days was social.

In Astoria, Mamdani’s home, veiled girls wearing keffiyehs competed to watch the parties, while uncles outside the hookah bars watched the streets. (“We love this Mamdani guy. We’ll watch him,” he said.) A large crowd gathered outside Moka & Co, a Yemeni cafe, to hear the results be heard over the loudspeaker.

Nisa Ganiestry, a 41-year-old housewife from Astoria, stood next to her young son. He recently tried to secure his citizenship so he could vote for Mamdani; He has known Mamdani since she became Astoria’s councilwoman in 2021. He said Astoria has gentrified rapidly in the last five years. “We just couldn’t afford a new space, we couldn’t afford food, but I’m really optimistic that he can turn things around.”

“We’re in the belly of the beast here in New York. We’re the financial capital of the world,” said Shivana Jorawar, an organizer who lives in the North Bronx. “If we can elect a socialist mayor in New York, we can do it anywhere.”

As the night progressed, passing cars, buses and taxis honked their horns to celebrate the crowd. Slogans of free Palestine were heard from time to time. Many cheered, some cried, and all waited patiently for the new mayor to speak.

Mamdani’s turnout in 2021 for Shehab Chowdhury (34), co-chairman of the Bangladeshi-Americans Association for Political Progress hunger strike Ensuring that taxi drivers’ debts were canceled and his commitment to the Palestinian cause earned his respect. He said the Islamophobic attacks against Mamdani were felt throughout the Muslim community. “As Zohran said: We have been in the shadow for too long. Now it is time to stand in the light.”

Zayed Chowdhury (no relation), who runs a cybersecurity startup in Virginia, grew up in the projects of New York in the 1980s. He could no longer vote in New York, but the election still mattered. “We were here when there were no Muslims in New York. My grandfather has a plaque stating that he was the second Muslim to set foot on Ellis Island,” Chowdhury said. “In ’85, when I was in kindergarten, they didn’t even know what a Muslim was. 30 years later, it’s like we won the championship.”

Earlier in the night, in Jackson Heights, one of New York’s most diverse neighborhoods, Cherry Ann Chishti hung a Mamdani sign outside the window of her halal restaurant. “Finally someone younger, with new ideas, with connections to people, has come in to make real change,” said Chishti, 38, who also works as a behavioral analyst in Ozone Park. “Bus. Health care. I work with children with autism. Every dollar we invest in child care brings a return of $11-17. They grow up more social. This allows their mothers and fathers to focus better on their work. Better employees mean more taxes that benefit the city.”

As midnight approached, 62-year-old Paul Aljoon shouted “Mamdani!” from a concession stand in Bushwick. He came out shouting. He had been campaigning for the candidate since the primaries. He now looks forward to Mamdani’s inauguration and the difficult task of making the city affordable that awaits the new mayor. “Let him settle into the task,” Aljoon said. “Let him get his team together. Then move on. He needs to do something about the cleanup, then deal with the police department, and then hope the virus doesn’t come back to New York.”

For Daniel Dale, a 23-year-old actor from Bed-Stuy and a Colombian immigrant, it was time to enjoy the moment. “I never felt like I was in the right place,” Dale said. But Mamdani’s message attracted him. “It’s full of a few simple things that everyone knows they want.” It was an emotional night for Dale, like many in the city.