Village Straw Poll

The Race for Mayor of New York City

By Anthony Paradiso

The election for New York City mayor will take place on November 4, 2025, and Village View has a primer with what you need to know about the four remaining candidates as well as some quotes from Greenwich Villagers and mom-and-pop business owners on who they are supporting.

As of this article’s printing the incumbent and current mayor Eric Adams has dropped out of the race. One reason for this was that Adams “trailed Mamdani and Cuomo significantly in campaign fundraising and spending,” according to Fox News.

Zohran Mamdani
The youngest candidate in the field was first elected to public office in 2020 when he won a NY State Assembly seat. He has been re-elected in the last two election cycles without opposition. He defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor in June. The 33-year-old stands out for his democratic socialist policies such as “fare-free city buses, public child-care, city-owned grocery stores and rent freezes on rent-stabilized units.” According to a Quinnipiac University poll taken on September 10, Mamdani leads the race for New York City mayor with 45 percent of the vote.

Curtis Sliwa
In 1977, Sliwa founded The Magnificent 13, a civilian crime prevention group. Over the next two years, the group grew and was renamed the Guardian Angels. Sliwa began hosting radio talk shows on WABC-AM in 1996. He co-hosted the long-running daily radio show Curtis and Kuby in the Morning from 2000-2008 and Curtis Sliwa LIVE from 2009 to 2025. This is the 71-year-old’s second political campaign, having run in 2021 as a Republican only to lose in a landslide to Eric Adams. Sliwa’s platform in 2021 included opposing the defund the police movement, supporting a property tax overhaul, and fiscal restraint. Sliwa is running as a Republican again despite calls for him to drop out. According to the Quinnipiac poll, Sliwa places third with 15 percent of the vote.

Andrew Cuomo
The 68-year-old former governor of New York began his political career as the campaign manager for his father in 1982. Cuomo chaired the NYC Homeless Commission from 1990-93 and was assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1993-97 and later secretary from 1997-2001. Amid claims of sexual harassment, Cuomo resigned from his post as governor in 2021 and was succeeded by then Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. In June, he was running as a Democrat but had to concede the nomination to Zohran Mamdani because he lost the Democratic primary. Cuomo is running as an independent and his platform includes emphasizing public safety and affordable housing, advocating for a $20 minimum wage, increasing the size of the police force, and tax relief. According to the Quinnipiac poll, Cuomo is coming in second with 23 percent of the vote.

Straw Poll
We did a little straw poll in this race, contacting Villagers by email and by phone. Fifteen people said who they would vote for, and some offered why. We stressed anonymity. Here are some of those responses.

One Villager expressed ardent support for Mamdani and said, “Mamdani hands down! Clearly, he alone is committed to the majority of the people of NYC. I will work for him!”

Another Villager said, “I’m most likely voting for Zohran. Things can still change, but unless he’s keeping an illegal factory in his basement, I’m going to vote for him. This guy is young, energetic, and seems genuine.”

A Village mom-and-pop business owner said, “I’m so not interested in politics right now. The tariffs are killing us… tourism traffic is down big time, and shoplifting is a regular occurrence. We’re not having a good year. I’m not in the mood to say anything diplomatic about any politician right now.”

Another Village mom-and-pop business owner was undecided as well and said, “Unfortunately, I don’t trust any of them, so I did not make up my mind yet.”

A Village mom-and-pop business owner offered detailed perspective on how they came about their decision. “I’m supporting Mamdani by default. I couldn’t vote for him during the primary and I also couldn’t vote for Adams or Cuomo. I felt that Cuomo and Adams were compromised, and I was concerned that Mamdani was over-popularizing his message to the point of unfairness. I agree with his social reforms, I agree with his intentions which is why now that he is the only Democratic candidate, I support him. However, I’m concerned about the fairness of some of his policies. I agree with social reform, I agree with leveling the playing field and equalizing things. I just don’t feel you can do so on the backs of the mom-and-pop landlords.

“When it comes to his stance on freezing rent-stabilized properties and rent-stabilized rents, there is a fundamental inequity. You freeze the rents when you have a rent-control board that assesses whether rent-stabilized apartment increases year over year are called for, although by the same token I believe in affordability for NYC tenants. It’s just how you go about it and that was my concern.

“Now, I’m curious to see what Mamdani can do. I’m hoping that he will be fair and listen. What it boils down to is, we’ve given everyone else a chance and it hasn’t really worked out. I’d prefer to see the democratic socialists rebrand as enlightened capitalists—by the same token, I’m curious to see what a little bit of counterbalancing force will do to the overall picture.”

Another Villager said, “I did not vote for him in the primary because I thought there were better candidates, but I plan to vote for him now because I think he’s the best candidate.”

Of the 15 people in this straw poll, 13 said they would vote for Mamdani. That’s further evidence that the 33-year-old from Queens is the front runner in this race. Things can change between now and November 4, but for now the race has a clear frontrunner and based on the way Sliwa and Cuomo are polling it could be a landslide victory for Mamdani. Either way, this year’s race will send shockwaves through the city.

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Early Voting

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When to Request your Mail Ballot
Make sure to request an early mail ballot or absentee ballot, by mail or online by the deadline which is ten days before the election. You can apply in-person up to the day before an election.

Deadlines to Request Mail Ballots for November 4 General Election 2025

• Deadline to apply online or by mail is October 25, 2025
• Deadline to apply in person at your
  local board of elections office is
  November 3, 2025

Early Voting begins OCTOBER 23rd and ends on Sunday November 2