In a soaring speech on a Queens rooftop in the early minutes of Wednesday morning, Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive winner of the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, promised to lift up New York City’s working class and serve as a model for the future of his party.
“A life of dignity should not be reserved for a fortunate few,” Mr. Mamdani said. “It should be one that city government guarantees for each and every New Yorker.”
He promised to use his power to “stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors,” vowed to make buses “fast and free” and pledged to freeze the rent on regulated units.
The crowd of hundreds of his supporters, many of them young, clutched cocktails and beers in cups that dripped with condensation as they roared their approval in the midnight heat.
Mr. Mamdani’s apparent victory late Tuesday night represented a sharp rebuke of the Democratic Party establishment and business interests, which largely lined up behind Andrew M. Cuomo, the former governor who resigned in scandal four years ago.
By his account, Mr. Mamdani’s apparent triumph was no mere rebuke of a Cuomo campaign that many had described as joyless and lackluster.
It represented, he said, the ascendance of a new Democratic coalition, one that prioritized the needs of the working class over those of the elite.
“We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford,” he said. “A city where they can do more than just struggle. One where those who toil in the night can enjoy the fruits of their labor in the day.”
Mr. Mamdani also alluded to concerns among some Jewish New Yorkers who find his anti-Israel rhetoric alienating.
“There are millions of New Yorkers who have strong feelings about what happens overseas; I am one of them,” he said, to cheers from the crowd. “While I will not abandon my beliefs or my commitments, grounded in a demand for equality, for humanity, for all those who walk this earth, you have my word to reach further, to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree, and to wrestle deeply with those disagreements.”
His supporters also warned that the fight was not over.
Mr. Mamdani must first compete in the November general election against Eric Adams, the sitting Democratic mayor who opted out of the primary to run in November as an independent, and who has cultivated close ties to business leaders. And Mr. Cuomo has not ruled out running in the general election as an independent.
“The billionaires are watching this moment,” said Representative Nydia Velázquez. “And they are going to spend everything they’ve got to stop Zohran. Why? Because they know that this campaign threatens business as usual, and they are scared.”
“So tonight, we celebrate,” she continued. “But tomorrow we get back to work.”
Should he win in November, the challenges that will confront Mr. Mamdani’s promises are also steep. Some of his proposals are predicated on tax increases that would require the support of a reluctant Gov. Kathy Hochul. And they would come as the federal government is poised to cut funding streams that the city relies on.
“The economic stability of the city is very much at risk as employers and taxpayers digest the possibility of a mayor who says he wants to further increase taxes and move us toward policies of socialism,” said Kathryn Wylde, the chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, a business group. “This election is a true test of the resilience of our city.”
But the enthusiasm of Mr. Mamdani’s army of young supporters knew few bounds.
The Long Island City venue where the victory party was held had a capacity of 400, and was so oversubscribed that there was a wait list, according to Andrew Epstein, the campaign’s communications director.
Throughout the campaign, Mr. Mamdani leveraged social media and his own substantial charisma to mobilize a large cohort of volunteers to hand out brightly colored campaign literature on street corners and at farmers’ markets.
Some of those volunteers were celebrating the success of their efforts on Tuesday.
Kathy Cutler, 27, said she started canvassing for Mr. Mamdani in January after a friend encouraged her to check out his campaign. She had never volunteered for a candidate before.
“Before this campaign, I was politically aware, but now I’m politically active,” Ms. Cutler said.
Ms. Cutler said Mr. Mamdani’s youth and vitality appealed to her, along with his proposal for free buses and his support for L.G.B.T.Q. New Yorkers. She had been up since dawn for one last day of canvassing — 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. — before taking an Uber to the watch party.
“I’ve never really been spurred to believe in something this hard,” she said.
Dana Rubinstein covers New York City politics and government for The Times.
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