Democratic mayoral nominee and Meeting Member Zohran Mamdani addresses a crowd of supporters throughout a rally on the United Palace in Washington Heights. Monday, Oct. 13, 2025.
Photograph by Jonathan Portee
Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani addressed a crowd of three,000 supporters at a marketing campaign rally in Washington Heights on Monday evening, encouraging New Yorkers to go away the established order behind.
The democratic socialist delivered a fiery 20-minute speech that principally seemed previous the Nov. 4 common election, suggesting a possible victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa as a foregone conclusion. Mamdani holds a double-digit lead over Cuomo within the polls, with Sliwa in a distant third, even after the present Mayor, Eric Adams, bowed out of the race late final month.
The principle crux of his tackle sought to reply his personal query of whether or not “what we aspire towards is possible.”
“On the evening of Nov. 4, when the world learns that we have won again, they will know our answer to the question, we choose the future, because for all of those who say our time is coming, my friends, I say our time is now,” Mamdani advised the cheering crowd on the United Palace theater on a hundred and seventy fifth Road and Broadway.
Comic Gianmarco Soresi served because the emcee of the marketing campaign occasion, which featured audio system together with Metropolis Council Member Chi Ossé (D-Brooklyn), U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn/Queens), and state Legal professional Common Letitia James — who additionally roused the gang along with her first public remarks since getting indicted by President Trump’s Justice Division final week.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee, delivers a speech to three,000 supporters at a rally in Washington Heights. Monday, Oct. 13, 2025.Photograph by Jonathan Portee
Mamdani advised the gang that it was time to maneuver past the present political established order, which he characterised as prioritizing the pursuits of the rich and firms over these of working New Yorkers.
“For too long, we have been told to be satisified with abstractions and strongly worded letters, to be content with a politics built atop the flimsy foundation of only that which we are against, without ever declaring what we are actually for, to accept leaders who would sell us out to the highest bidder, that is not what this movement is, nor will it ever be,” he mentioned.
His motion, Mamdani defined, was outlined by the affordability agenda for which his marketing campaign military of tens of 1000’s of volunteers is advancing. That platform contains measures equivalent to free buses, a lease freeze for stabilized tenants, and free common childcare.
“We believe in the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, that working people deserve a dignified life,” Mamdani mentioned, starting a name and response along with his supporters, ticking off every of his three marquee proposals.
“These are not just slogans; these are commitments,” he mentioned. “We say this not just to inspire, but to deliver.”
Mamdani says he’s able to tackle Trump
Hundreds of supporters for Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani light-up their telephones at a rally in Washington Heights. Monday, Oct. 13, 2025.Photograph by Jonathan Portee
Mamdani additionally spent a great chunk of his tackle excoriating President Trump, whom he described as an “authoritarian” presiding over a interval of “political darkness.”
He made clear that he’ll struggle Trump tooth and nail to withstand the president’s agenda, together with Trump’s aggressive marketing campaign to spherical up undocumented immigrants and push to actual retribution on his political foes.
“The desolation left in his wake has been staggering,” Mamdani mentioned of Trump. “Tens of millions of Americans, including millions right here in New York, will lose their Medicaid, their Medicare, their SNAP benefits because of Trump’s corruption, children will go to sleep hungry, and the sick will die. Anyway you measure it, our lives have gotten worse.”
The Democratic nominee additionally took the chance to tie Trump to Cuomo, charging that they’re beholden to the identical “billionaires and oligarchs.” Cuomo, who shares a number of donors with Trump, rejected that criticism in a current interview on MSNBC, contending that there’s “no similarity” between himself and the president, and that they merely know the identical donors as a result of they’re each New Yorkers.
State Legal professional Common Letitia James speaks at rally for Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. Monday, Oct. 3, 2025.Photograph by Jonathan Portee
James, who has not too long ago discovered herself in Trump’s crosshairs after efficiently profitable a civil swimsuit towards him final yr, painted Mamdani as the perfect candidate to face up for New York within the face of the president’s insurance policies.
“Let us stand together to defend our rights, to protect every safeguard, every institution, every immigrant, every norm, and every rule of law,” James mentioned. “I see the courage that is embodied in Zohran, and that’s why I am supporting him. He is a leader fighting for a better future for the city.”
