With the New York City mayoral election just days away, the city finds itself at a crossroads, facing a contest that has stirred passions, anxieties, and hope across its five boroughs. The race pits Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist and the surprise victor of the June Democratic primary, against former Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose political comeback has been marked by controversy and a hard pivot to the right, and Curtis Sliwa, the perennial Republican candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels. This three-way battle has become a referendum not just on policies, but on the soul of the city itself.
In the final stretch, Mamdani’s campaign has been buoyed by a surge of progressive energy and a coalition that includes some of the city’s most vocal left-wing voices. Among them is Rabbi Abby Stein, a transgender rabbi who has become the face of a new “Jews for Zohran” ad campaign. Sponsored by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), a group described by The New York Post and other outlets as being outside mainstream Judaism, the campaign features Stein alongside three other progressive rabbis: Emily Cohen, Miriam Grossman, and Rachel Goldenberg.
“We know Zohran will fight to make our city affordable and safe for our families,” Stein declares in the campaign video, as reported by The New York Post. “As Jews, as rabbis, as New Yorkers, we believe that all people deserve to thrive. Zohran agrees.” The message is clear: Mamdani’s supporters see him as the candidate who will champion marginalized communities and push for transformative change.
Stein’s own journey has been marked by both activism and controversy. Raised in a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, she made headlines in 2024 when she was removed from the Biden White House Pride celebration after interrupting First Lady Jill Biden’s speech to demand a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Reflecting on the incident in an essay for Autostraddle, Stein wrote, “We addressed Dr. Biden and our fellow attendees respectfully, introduced ourselves as queer Jews, and chanted our support for a permanent ceasefire, an end to arming Israel, and asserted that there can be no pride in genocide.”
But Stein’s activism hasn’t stopped at U.S. borders. In October 2024, she participated in an interfaith dialogue with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian during the United Nations General Assembly—an event that took place less than a week before Iran launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel. The meeting drew sharp criticism from U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a staunch supporter of Israel, who told The New York Post, “Anyone who associates with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism is a useful idiot of the highest order.”
The “Jews for Zohran” ad also features other rabbis whose activism mirrors the city’s shifting political landscape. Rabbi Emily Cohen, a scholar of Reconstructionist Judaism, is known for weaving together themes of social justice and Jewish tradition. Her sermons, such as “From Narrowness to Expansiveness: Pesach & Pronouns 2021,” highlight her commitment to progressive causes, including abortion access, which she frames as being “pro-life” in a broader sense. Cohen’s activism extends to her participation in the Black Lives Matter movement, where she worked as a “cop watcher” during the 2020 protests.
Rabbi Miriam Grossman, another Reconstructionist leader, has been vocal in her opposition to Zionism, organizing a “Seder in the Streets” event in April 2024 dedicated to praying for Palestinians. Attendees at the event held signs accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and denouncing Zionism as a “golden calf.” Grossman’s educational work, focusing on the intersections of structural racism and economic injustice, earned her recognition from the Jewish Educators Assembly in 2011.
Rounding out the group is Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg of Queens, who leads a community centered on experimental and contemplative Jewish spiritual practices. Goldenberg has advocated for Jewish acceptance of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and has worked alongside figures like Senator Chuck Schumer. As co-chair of the JFREJ Rabbinic Council, her activism underscores the leftward shift among some segments of New York’s Jewish community.
The ad campaign, promoted on social media by JFREJ with messages like “canvassing is a mitzvah,” has become a flashpoint in a race already defined by sharp ideological divides. Mamdani’s platform—built on promises of rent freezes, universal childcare, and free buses funded by increased taxes on corporations and the wealthy—has energized progressives but alarmed moderates and conservatives. According to Al Jazeera, polls show Mamdani leading Cuomo by as much as 24 percentage points, though Cuomo’s team hopes for a late surge from Republicans and independents wary of socialism.
Cuomo, 67, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid sexual misconduct allegations, has sought to reposition himself as a centrist bulwark against what he calls “radical experiments.” His campaign has courted right-leaning voters, promising to increase the NYPD force by 5,000 officers and proposing more modest affordability measures, such as making buses free only for the poorest New Yorkers. “A city this size is not up for experimental plans,” said Yiatin Chu, leader of the Asian Wave alliance and a Cuomo supporter, in an interview with Al Jazeera. “You can say all these great things, but to actually manage a city with a $116bn budget with 300,000 city employees – I’m sorry it’s not something you can just step into and wing it.”
Cuomo’s campaign has not shied away from negative tactics, accusing Mamdani of being a “terrorist sympathizer” for his pro-Palestine views and, at times, engaging in rhetoric that many have described as Islamophobic. In a radio interview, Cuomo appeared to agree with a host’s suggestion that Mamdani would be “cheering” if the September 11 attacks happened again—comments that drew a sharp rebuke from Governor Kathy Hochul, who said, “Fear-mongering, hate speech and Islamophobia are beneath New York – and everything we stand for as a state.”
For his part, Mamdani has tried to transcend the attacks, focusing on a message of inclusion and historic change. If elected, he would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, as well as the first person born in Africa and the first of South Asian descent to hold the office. His campaign, powered by a vast volunteer network and the Democratic Socialists of America, has leaned heavily on grassroots mobilization and social media outreach, in contrast to Cuomo’s reliance on major donors and traditional advertising.
As the city heads toward election day, the stakes could hardly be higher. For supporters of Mamdani, the campaign represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine what’s possible in city government. For Cuomo’s backers, it’s a last stand for experience and moderation in the face of what they see as risky experimentation. And for many voters, like Chris Berwick in Bay Ridge, it’s a moment of difficult choices and reluctant compromises.
Whichever way the vote goes, New York’s mayoral race has already revealed the deep currents of change—and resistance—shaping the city’s future.
