New Yorkers waited hours in line for Mamdani’s affordable World Cup jerseys
New York City’s cool (democratic) socialist renaissance has arrived.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani introduced an affordable Big Apple-themed product World Cup jersey — it’s going for around $50 this week, while FIFA’s is over $150, and thousands of people have lined up for it. Available exclusively at the city government-run NYC City Store location in Manhattan on June 12, residents woke up at dawn, escaped from work to play games, and spent hours outside for a chance to purchase products. Many were also fans of the mayor.
Lucky New Yorkers got their hands on Mamdani’s football jerseys after waiting in line for hours.Sydney Bradley/B.I.
“Our computers are overheating,” Colleen Litchfield, a 30-year-old actor who works in the theater industry, told Business Insider while waiting in line Friday morning. Litchfield and co-worker Cameron Wycoff, 23, had been in line since 7:45 a.m. The duo held their laptops and took customer service calls in nearly 90-degree weather, using the fans City Hall provided to cool their computers and themselves.
Colleen Litchfield and Cameron Wycoff were working the line.Sydney Bradley/B.I.
Peter Bowman, 26, arrived at the queue relatively “late”, just after 10am. He carries his work computer in his bag, ready to start his software marketing business at any moment. He described himself as a “senior” accustomed to waiting in long lines around the city, and later showed off the new Oura Ring he bought at a recent pop-up.
Bowman said it’s “tough” to make a living in New York City, but there are opportunities. Maybe, just maybeIf you line up at the right time, you can get something you wouldn’t normally be able to afford.
The jerseys nod to New York with a dove on the chest and a Big Apple-themed football logo.Mazzi x Town Hall
The long, damp wait for a piece of the NYC World Cup
Inside true New Yorker spiritLizaBanks Campagna, content creator and tour guide for the city’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, is unimpressed by this line. He lined up around 7 a.m. on Friday and it took three hours to get his jersey. He posed for a photo in his new jersey with the teammates he met that morning, adding that “the feeling was perfect.”
The line wrapped around the block hours after the store opened at 9 a.m. A security guard manning the line estimated there could be thousands of people in total. Around 11 a.m., we saw at least four people with open laptops trying to work remotely. While many people tried to cool off with football-themed paper fans, others pulled out their parasols and reapplied sunscreen. Municipal workers distributed water.
One person was seen working in the queue via a tablet.Sydney Bradley/B.I.
Designed by local artist Arsh Raziuddin and produced by Mazzi Sports at a factory in Brooklyn, the jerseys were produced in limited editions, only 1,500 units in total. There are 500 of each colourway; There are red-blue, black-white and black-yellow versions; all feature the signature NYC World Cup logo on the chest and “26” on the back. The primary color palette and font style are strikingly similar to the branding on Mamdani’s videos, social media, and posters.
Many of the jerseys have since been posted on resale websites for $900 or more. The two-pack is listed for $1,400.
Artist Arsh Raziuddin designed the city’s jerseys, produced by Mazzi Sports.Mazzi x Town Hall
“Jerseys represent more than the team you support,” the mayor said in a press release. “It’s about being proud of where you come from and who you are.” He added that “no one is priced out.”
Robin Blosvern-Ruddy, a New York native, was further back in line when Business Insider spoke to her: “I could have gotten here sooner, but I had to leave my kids.”
People made new friends in the queue; Among them was Robin Blosvern-Ruddy (right), who came from Queens to buy a jersey.Sydney Bradley/B.I.
The two women lucky enough to get the jerseys arrived shortly after 7 a.m. Jessica Nguyen, who chose the black-yellow jersey, said that she could wait in line for so long because she did not have a job interview until the afternoon. He said his friends who joined him in line had to rearrange their work schedules.
“We are all really privileged to be able to work from home,” said Nguyen, 34, who works in biotechnology. “Maybe he’ll do another sale that feels a little more fair,” he added, hoping Mamdani would offer New Yorkers another chance to buy a jersey, perhaps on a weekend.
Another lucky line waiter, Saku Gopinath, 28, left ecstatic with two red and blue jerseys for himself and a friend. “It feels really good to just grab something and walk away,” he said, adding that he had waited in line before but was told there was nothing left.
Saku Gopinath (left) and a friend show off their $50 New York City World Cup jerseys.Sydney Bradley/B.I.
After throwing away the jersey, Gopinath said he went to work shift.
Beyond products, City Hall has made efforts to make the World Cup more accessible to residents and visitors. Last month, Mamdani announced that 1,000 $50 game tickets would be distributed through the lottery system. Bowman, who said he voted for Mamdani and is a passionate fan of football, said he could not buy World Cup tickets but was “glad” that City Hall did so.
Peter Bowman said he was a “veteran” and was used to waiting in long lines.Sydney Bradley/B.I.
Mamdani has been all-in on adapting NYC’s summer of sports to his broader affordability agenda and messages. It worked with local businesses to host free programs, host games and monitor parties throughout the five boroughs. This comes alongside ongoing efforts by the mayor’s team to host free NBA Finals viewing parties for Knicks fans in parks and on downtown streets.
The 24-year-old New Yorker, who didn’t share his full name because he didn’t know he was in the red, told Business Insider, “Can you afford New York? It’s an oxymoron.”
He was far from the front, but he held on to hope.
“If the Knicks can come back from 30 points, anything is possible,” he said, referring to the historic 29-point comeback in Game 4 of the Finals on Wednesday.
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