"As I waited at Thursday's mayoral inauguration for Zohran Mamdani to step forward and take his oath office with New York's stately City Hall as a backdrop, I thought for a moment of the Coney Island Boardwalk. Exactly one year earlier, on New Year's Day 2025, I ran into Mamdani and his Comms Director Andrew Epstein on the boardwalk after joining the annual Polar Bear Plunge into the Atlantic Ocean's frigid waters."
"I thought he was there to shake hands and introduce himself to potential voters. Later that night, I saw people sharing an online video of him vowing "I'm freezing your rent" before plunging into the icy waters to emphasize his point. He had a popular message, and he was working harder than all the other Democratic primary candidates combined to deliver it."
At a mayoral inauguration, Zohran Mamdani's presence evoked a prior encounter at Coney Island's Polar Bear Plunge, where he joked and vowed "I'm freezing your rent" in a widely shared video. Mamdani campaigned vigorously with tenant-focused messaging and extensive grassroots outreach. In Assembly District 56, DSA challenger Eon Huntley lost to incumbent Stefanie Zinerman by about 500 votes after a closely watched primary. Huntley had mobilized thousands of canvassers and emphasized opposition to U.S.-backed actions in Gaza and to landlords' exploitation and abuse of tenants. At his concession he unfurled a giant Palestinian flag to roaring supporters, signaling solidarity with Palestinian rights.
Read at Indypendent
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