Latest news with #Mamdani
Politico
41 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Politico
New York mayoral candidate takes plunge, dropping $2M into catchy roller coaster ad
NEW YORK — Brad Lander rides Coney Island's famed Cyclone roller coaster while calmly taking notes on a legal pad in the second television ad of his mayoral campaign, pitching himself as a steady choice and hoping to improve his third-place standing three weeks before the election. The campaign is dropping $2 million on the 30-second ad, which will air on broadcast and cable channels and streaming services from Tuesday through the June 24 primary, Lander campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said. It opens by taking a shot at the front-runner in the Democratic primary, Andrew Cuomo, as well as the sitting mayor. 'New York City feels like a lot lately. It's been a wild ride,' a narrator says over footage of people riding the iconic wooden coaster. 'But it won't change if we just swap Eric Adams for corrupt Andrew Cuomo.' The ad touts Lander's record as New York City comptroller, saying he's fought corruption, built affordable housing and taken on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk for clawing back $80 million in migrant funding from the city. The ad also shows Lander's goofy side, as the 'dad-joke'-loving Democrat bounces back and forth in the coaster while calmly munching on a hot dog. Lander's new ride may draw derision from rivals. His first ad showed him riding in a construction truck, leading Cuomo's team to call him 'Junkyard Brad' and compare him to children's character 'Bob the Builder.' Coney Island is a popular location for candidates this year — comptroller hopeful Justin Brannan, who represents the neighborhood in the City Council, also recorded an ad with the Cyclone. And in 2021, mayoral candidate Andrew Yang made a splash with his own Cyclone ad. With three weeks until the primary, Lander is seeking to climb in the polls and find the momentum he needs to turn around his chances. The Working Families Party gave Zohran Mamdani its number-one ranked endorsement on Friday, despite its long and close relationship with Lander. Its leaders instead encouraged supporters to pick Lander second. Mamdani, a democratic socialist lawmaker, consistently outperforms Lander in polls. Lander's new advertisement doesn't mention Mamdani, but the message emphasizing his experience and steadiness appear designed to present a contrast with the 33-year old legislator, whose limited experience has become a vulnerability on the campaign trail. The $2 million ad spend will eat up most of the $2.8 million balance Lander's campaign reported late last month. His team has already reported spending $4.7 million — more than any of his opponents in the race. As a result, he's entering the final month with significantly less to spend than Cuomo and Mamdani.
New York Post
19 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
How Zohran Mamdani's promises would destroy working-class New York
Zohran Mamdani, the Queens assemblyman and mayoral candidate, has a plan for winning this month's Democratic primary: He's promising to give away lots of stuff. Unfortunately for New Yorkers, his success would be extremely costly. Officially, Mamdani claims he's running 'to lower the cost of living for working-class New Yorkers' — but his platform does nothing to make goods and services in the city less expensive. Advertisement Instead, he wants government to collect more taxes and pay for things itself, and to limit what others can charge for them. Among many other pledges, Mamdani aims to 'permanently eliminate the fare' on city buses and to make CUNY 'tuition-free.' These are the cheaper of his giveaways, each with sticker prices just shy of $1 billion. Advertisement Of course, nuking fares or tuition doesn't mean decent service: Many cities that made buses free soon found that they became mobile homeless shelters — and more riders would push up the cost of services, too. A Mayor Mamdani would have to spend more money than planned, provide less service than promised, or both. 3 Michael Mulgrew and Vanecia Wilson speak with NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani at the UFT Annual Meeting in NYC Hilton. Robert Miller This is basic economics — and Mamdani correctly recognizes that winning elections today hinges more than ever on convincing the electorate to ignore such constraints. Advertisement The cost of that ignorance will be massive, and not just because Mamdani's proposed $9 billion tax hike — a steep jump that would inevitably fuel outmigration — isn't nearly enough to cover his spending plans. Worse yet is the extent to which Mamdani risks harming working-class New Yorkers as he attempts to reconfigure the city economy. His bigger-ticket items — a freeze on rents and 'free childcare for every New Yorker' up to age 5, provided at wages 'at parity with public school teachers' — are so enormously extravagant that his campaign hasn't even ballparked their totals or economic impacts. Advertisement Both would be guaranteed to cause major market distortions, with working New Yorkers as collateral damage. 3 Zohran Mamdani speaking at a Tenants' Rights Rally at Riverside Church in New York City on May 15, 2025. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post Freezing rents on the city's regulated units would do nothing to address the city's fundamental housing problem: its supply shortage. In fact, by discouraging existing tenants from leaving their sweetheart deals, it would make it harder for others to find a place to live. Thousands of rent-stabilized units are currently sitting vacant because the law doesn't let their owners raise rents enough to recoup the costs of improvements. Freeze rents, and even more will follow — idled apartments that aren't available to anyone, at any price. And Mamdani's freeze would bring poorer living conditions for rent-stabilized tenants. Advertisement Owners are already struggling to cover operating costs that rise far faster than allowable rents, so a freeze would immediately limit what they can spend on maintenance or improvements. More buildings would fall into disrepair sooner. New York has seen this play out before. But by Mamdani's analysis, the inevitable apartment bankruptcies and foreclosures aren't a problem but a silver lining. His platform calls for city government, already NYC's biggest landlord, to take an even more active role in the housing market, spending $70 billion of taxpayer money on public housing over the next 10 years. 3 Zohran Mamdani, New York State Assemblyman and mayoral candidate for New York City, speaks at an emergency rally held by the Working Families Party to criticize the Trump administration, after ICE agents arrested Ras Baraka, mayor of Newark and New Jersey Democratic candidate for governor, at Foley Square in New York, New York, May 10, 2025. REUTERS Advertisement That's a terrible idea — even leftist Public Advocate Jumaane Williams admits City Hall is 'the worst overall landlord for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.' Yet Mamdani's rhetoric regarding child care deserves the most scrutiny. Not only would it put the biggest dent on the city's operating budget of all his proposals, it would cause tremendous distortion in other parts of the economy — even if his program fails. Advertisement Making child care 'free,' and bumping up provider pay to the starting rate of a New York City schoolteacher (about $1,500 per week), would pit employers big and small against their city government. Workers across the economy would expect unrealistic pay parity, with hospitals and other health-care firms taking the worst of it. Regardless of how many families actually get free care — and it won't be all of them — Mamdani's plan is guaranteed to cause disruptions in the private child-care market along the way. Then again, as in housing, reducing the role of private providers might be his socialist point. Advertisement His separate push for a $30-per-hour minimum wage wouldn't help New Yorkers, either: Besides encouraging the underground economy, it would pressure employers to automate and outsource. Those who want to put their foot on the economic ladder would find themselves out of luck — and on the public-assistance rolls. Mamdani is brushing aside centuries of economic truth, asking voters to ignore mismatches between the city's abilities and means and the havoc he would cause along the way. His strategy — for the next four weeks, if not the next four years — was summarized neatly by New York's own George Costanza. 'Jerry, just remember,' George assures Jerry Seinfeld in a memorable 1995 episode: 'It's not a lie if you believe it.' Ken Girardin is a fellow of the Manhattan Institute.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Socialist Zohran Mamdani boasts WFP endorsement in NYC mayor's race: ‘We are right where we want to be'
Socialist Zohran Mamdani boasted Saturday he's the lefty candidate who'll beat ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in next month's Democratic mayoral primary — while taking a victory lap for scoring a key endorsement from the Working Families Party. 'We are right where we want to be,' crowed the Queens assemblyman during a Brooklyn rally surrounded by WFP supporters. 'We are clipping at his heels, and we are going to beat him on June 24,' added Mamdani in a reference to the upcoming Democratic primary. Mamdani is polling second, behind only Cuomo, in the highly contested race. 'We're going to do so because we've built the most competent campaign in this cycle.' The Working Families Party, which will have its own line in November's general election, announced Friday Mamdani is their top choice heading into the Democratic primary. Socialist Zohran Mamdani boasted Saturday he's the lefty candidate who'll beat ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in next month's Democratic mayoral primary — while taking a victory lap for scoring a key endorsement from the Working Families Party. Michael Nigro for NY Post The far-left party — which is pushing a slate of candidates in the Democratic primary in hopes of defeating Cuomo through the city's rank-choice voting system — tapped City Comptroller Brad Lander as its second choice, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams third and state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos fourth and fifth, respectively. Primary voters can pick up to five candidates in ranked order for the race. Mamdani is the huge favorite to get the WFP line in November, assuming he or Cuomo wins the Democratic primary. Mamdani told supporters to follow the WFP's guidance and rank the other preferred candidates in the order selected by party honchos, urging them: 'Remember not to rank Andrew Cuomo.' Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is still the favorite to win next month's NYC Democrat mayoral primary. Andrew Schwartz / 'Over the next 24 days, we will make it clear to New Yorkers that we are going to win the city that they deserve and that we are finally going to send Andrew Cuomo back to the suburbs,' he added. A PIX 11/ Emerson College poll released Wednesday had Mamdani holding his own with Cuomo for 10 rounds of ranked-choice voting before being eliminated with a nine-point spread, 54.4% to 45.6%. With less than a month to the primary, only a small fraction of voters appear to be up for grabs, with 3.5% of voters still undecided, according to the survey conducted May 23 to May 26. 'These are serious times and [New Yorkers] know Andrew Cuomo is the only candidate in this race with the management experience and record of results to fix what's broken and put the city back on the right track,' said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Zohran Mamdani: NYC mayoral candidate's family and education
Image credits: Getty Images Z ohran Mamdani is a New York State Assembly member from Queens and a democratic socialist who is currently one of the 12 candidates running to become the next mayor of New York City. Recently, Mamdani has been all over the news due to Trump ally and far-right political activist Laura Loomer, targeting him with a post warning, "Get ready for another 9/11." — LauraLoomer (@LauraLoomer) Loomer, who is known for her incendiary voice on social media posted on the social media platform X that "A pro HAMAS Muslim socialist is about to be the next Mayor of NYC" referring to Mamdani and his alignment towards Palestine. Ever since Mamdani and everything about him has been trending on the internet. While much is known about his political endeavours, here's all you need to know about his family life and education. Zohran Mamdani: Family life Image credits: Getty Images, X/@emmagf Zohran Kwame Mamdani was born on October 18, 1991 in Kampala, Uganda to parents Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani. Zohran's mom Mira Nair, is a popular Indian-American filmmaker known for her works such as 'Salaam Bombay!' and 'Monsoon Wedding'. His father is an Indian-born Ugandan academic who currently serves as a professor at Columbia University and also as a chancellor of Kampala International University in Uganda. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Mamdani was provided his middle name 'Kwame' in honour of the Ghanaian politician Kwame Nkrumah. The 33-year-old recently got hitched to his wife, Rama Duwaji, a Syrian artist based in Brooklyn whose illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post and more. Zohran Mamdani: Education Image credits: Getty Images At five, Mamdani and his family moved to Cape Town, South Africa where he attended the St. George's Grammar School. At seven, the Mamdanis moved to New York where he graduated from the Bank Street School of Children and Bronx High School of Science. He completed his bachelor's in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College in 2014. Zohran Mamdani: Next mayor of New York? Image credits: Getty Images Mamdani has been involved in organizations and politics ever since he was in college. During his time at Bowdoin, he co-founded the Students for Justice in Palestine. In 2017, he volunteered for the campaign of New York City Council candidate Khader El-Yateem, was the campaign manager for Ross Barkan's bid for New York State Senate and worked as a field organizer for democratic socialist Tiffany Caban's campaign for Queens District Attorney. He has been a member of the New York State Assembly since 2019 when he first announced a campaign in the 36th district which encompasses Astoria and Long Island City, in Queens. He is a practising Muslim, who follows the Shia branch of Islam. For his campaign as the candidate for the mayoral election in New York, Mamdani has been quite successful. His first fundraising cycle brought in more money than any other candidate. Additionally, he is aiming to freeze the rent, make buses and child care free, launch a Department of Community Safety and create city-owned grocery stores among other things. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Mira Nair' son Zohran Mamdani: Inside the love story of NYC Mayor candidate and his wife Rama Dawuji
As the New York mayoral election heats up, tensions are running high—and so is the spotlight on unexpected candidates. Among them is Zohran Mamdani, the son of acclaimed filmmaker , who has gone from underdog to serious contender in the race for City Hall. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now His rapid rise has stirred the political pot, drawing both admiration and ire—including from far-right activist and Donald Trump loyalist Laura Loomer. Loomer, known for her inflammatory posts and failed congressional bid, recently lashed out at Mamdani on social media with a chilling warning: 'Get ready for another 9/11.' In her post, she labeled Mamdani a 'pro-HAMAS Muslim socialist' and raised alarm over his growing popularity, tapping into anti-Muslim fear-mongering that critics say is both dangerous and unfounded. As Mamdani's name continues to dominate headlines, curiosity about his personal life has surged—especially his relationship with his wife, Rama Dawoudji, a Syrian artist living in Brooklyn. With fame comes a deeper look into the people behind the politics, and here we will look at the love story between Mamdani and his partner Rama Dawuji The love story between Mamdani and Rama Dawuji Though Zohran Mamdani has kept his personal life largely out of the public eye, the rare glimpses he's shared speak volumes about the quiet, intentional bond he shares with his wife, Rama Duwaji. Until recently, Mamdani had only briefly acknowledged his relationship—mentioning in Interview Magazine that he had 'recently got married in a civil ceremony at the clerk's office.' However he recently shared photos from their New York City civil ceremony on Instagram, writing: 'Three months ago, I married the love of my life, Rama, at the City Clerk's office.' He continued, 'Rama isn't just my wife, she's an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In the same post he also criticized the trolls for targeting her on social media for her views and art. He said, "Now, right-wing trolls are trying to make this race-which should be about you-about her." Rama Duwaji, 27, is a Syrian illustrator and ceramicist based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and VICE, often exploring themes of identity, displacement, and belonging. The couple got engaged and held their Nikkah—the Islamic marriage contract ceremony—on December 22, 2024, on a rooftop in Dubai, where Duwaji's family resides. The ceremony was described as intimate, with soft lighting, traditional attire, and a minimalist, modern aesthetic that reflected the couple's personalities. Wedding packages at the venue reportedly start at around $72 per guest, with a minimum spend of $2,700—though the celebration itself was far more about sentiment than spectacle. They later made their marriage official with a civil ceremony in New York City. In a GQ interview published in April 2025, Mamdani offered a personal detail about their connection, revealing that Duwaji has influenced his style—encouraging him to ditch skinny jeans and gifting him two pieces he wears daily: a Casio watch and a handmade ring.
