Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Image: Wikimedia Commons/Karamccurdy.
New York City residents continue to vote into the evening for several local races. The national conversation has focused on the Mayoral race, with Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani leading the polls over disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo.
Up in Hamilton Heights, in Manhattan, voters spoke about what speaks to them. In a limited sample, all of them reported voting for Mamdani.
“He listens to people and sees what people want and why they voted for other people, as well,” said a German American who recently became a citizen but declined to give her name. Her husband, who voted with her, said he wanted to see “a change in politicians … I voted for a new guard.”
“The city needs that,” he added, also mentioning that he voted for Mark Levine.
Speaking through an interpreter, Maria Nuñez said that she was voting for the first time. Mamdani’s campaign motivated her to vote. She says the councilmember says things that are “different from the other [politicians].”
Another woman, who also declined to give her name, added context to why she voted for Mamdani: “I feel like change is sometimes difficult, but maybe necessary.” As for what she wants to see changed, she listed housing and educational accessibility as issues that motivated her.
“ABC: Anything But Cuomo,” the German American said.
Image: Wikimedia Commons/SWinxy.
Stopping by was City Council candidate Edafe Okporo, running in New York City’s District 7.
“I love housing that is affordable for New Yorkers. But people in the community are saying the people that are giving to do this project”—a nearby housing project—”do not have a connection to the community,” Okporo told Wikimedia New York City. “This is just a sample of what is happening all over West Harlem and Hamilton Heights.”
“I thought politics would have been a way to fight for these changes in our community, but I learned quickly that politics is not just the place for ideas, it’s a place for where the highest bidder gets to have a say,” Okporo added. “No voice should be a monopoly.”
