Photo courtesy of the Zohran for NYC campaign
NYC Board of Elections (BOE) officials announced on Tuesday, July 1, that Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36), a Democratic socialist who attended the Bronx High School of Science, has extended his lead (56% to 44%) in the Democratic mayoral primary after Round 3 of ranked choice voting reallocations over Democratic top contender, Andrew Cuomo.
The former governor of New York, who was endorsed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton among others, had already conceded the race to Mamdani on Election Night, as reported, but is reportedly still expected to run in the general election as an independent.
Meanwhile, the assemblyman, who had campaigned last month in Norwood, had been backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), State. Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), City Comptroller Brad Lander, Rev. Michael Blake, the latter two mayoral candidates having each cross-endorsed Mamdani, former NY-16 Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Assemblyman George Alvarez (A.D. 78), and others.
On Tuesday, July 1, City Council Speaker and fellow Democratic mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams said, “I congratulate Assembly Member Mamdani on his victory in the Democratic Primary for mayor. As a lifelong Democrat, I support our nominee. I look forward to continuing our discussions regarding affordability, expanded opportunity, and strong leadership that New Yorkers deserve.”
Reacting to the latest results, Mamdani said, “I am humbled by the support of more than 545,000 New Yorkers in last week’s primary. This is just the beginning of our expanding coalition to make New York City affordable. And we will do it together.” Earlier on Tuesday, in reference to a new campaign ad, he said, “One week ago today, we shocked the establishment and redrew the political map of New York City with a campaign relentlessly focused on the needs of working people.”
Later on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be watching the mayoral general election very carefully, adding in reference to Mamdani, “A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally. He’s, you know.. we’re going to look at everything.” In relation to the other candidates, Trump added, “We have a good independent running, Mayor Adams, who’s a very good person. I helped him out a little bit. He had a problem and he was unfairly hurt over this question.”
Source: Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36)
The president went on to defend Adams who he said had said that “New York City couldn’t have all these immigrants come in.” Trump added, “And like he was indicted the following day.” Mamdani responded with the attached statement (above).
Former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio shared Mamdani’s response and added, “Donald Trump will have to go through a lot of us first if he wants to arrest @ZohranKMamdani. We, New Yorkers, will put a human shield around him if we need to. No one gets to intimidate us.”
Meanwhile, reacting to the latest results, the New York Working Families Party (NYWFP) said their strategy to #RanktheSlate and not rank Cuomo “leveraging cross-endorsements and collaborative messaging to encourage voters to consolidate their ballot rankings behind a slate of NYWFP-endorsed candidates led by Zohran Mamdani” had been a successful one.
They said key takeaways were that voters overwhelmingly included Mamdani on their ballots, with Mamdani ultimately securing 545,334 votes in the final tally. They said nearly 100,000 votes were transferred to Mamdani, almost twice as many compared to votes transferred to Cuomo and added that Mamdani received more of the vote transfer this year (48.13%) compared to Kathryn Garcia in 2021 (45.46%).
They said fewer votes were exhausted this year (5.09%) compared to 2021 (14.88%), meaning more voters engaged in the RCV system and ranked multiple candidates. They said turnout also increased significantly this year (30.71%) from 2021 (25.05%), suggesting increased engagement of irregular voters.
NYWFP co-directors Ana Maria Archila and Jasmine Gripper said, “The Working Families Party developed and executed a strategy to keep our side united to defeat the candidate of the billionaires. We studied the data from 2021 and found that by collaborating with like-minded candidates instead of competing with them, a progressive candidate could emerge as the Democratic nominee for mayor.”
Photo by Miriam Quinones
They added, “We were clear with candidates seeking our endorsement that this was a winning strategy. We spent a lot of time in coalition with candidates, maintaining a united front, and growing momentum in the sprint to election day, ultimately coalescing behind our top-ranked candidate, Zohran Mamdani. We did the research, we did the work, and the Working Families Party strategy paid off.”
They concluded in part, “Our mantra throughout the primary was: now’s not the time to crawl into our corners, it’s time to come together. As we head into the general election we will continue to mobilize support for the Democratic nominee for Mayor, Zohran Mamdani.”
In the City Council races, NYWFP officials said they “swept seats,” not only defending four incumbent progressive champions, but also adding to the growing progressive cohort in the New York City Council. They congratulated non-incumbents, Harvey Epstein (C.D. 2), Elsie Encarnacion (C.D. 8) Bronx/Manhattan, Shirley Aldebol (C.D. 13) Bronx, Justin Sanchez (C.D. 17) Bronx, Shanel Thomas-Henry (C.D. 21), Ty Hankerson (C.D. 28), and Kayla Santosuosso (C.D. 47).
City Council District 8 covers Mott Haven-Port Morris, Melrose, Concourse-Concourse Village, Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, Upper East Side-Yorkville, East Harlem (South), East Harlem (North), and Randall’s Island.
City Council District 17 covers Mott Haven-Port Morris, Melrose, Hunts Point, Longwood, North & South Brother Islands, Morrisania, Crotona Park East, Concourse-Concourse Village, West Farms, and Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River.
City Council District 13 covers Bruckner-Bronx River, Throggs Neck-Schuylerville, Pelham Bay-Country Club-City Island, Hart Island, Ferry Point Park-St. Raymond Cemetery, Pelham Parkway-Van Nest, Morris Park, and Pelham Bay Park.
In terms of Bronx support, as reported, Cuomo had enjoyed the backing of Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15) even before the former governor announced he was running, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Assemblywoman Yudelka Tapia (A.D. 86), the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and his father, former Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. The latter was one of the speakers at last summer’s Trump rally in The Bronx.
Source: NYC Board of Elections
Cuomo won The Bronx as a whole in the mayoral primary, as reported, while Mamdani’s support in the borough was concentrated around some or all of the neighborhoods of Norwood, Woodlawn, Bedford Park, North Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Marble Hill, University Heights, Fordham, Allerton, Pelham Gardens, Pelham Parkway, Morris Park, Pelham Bay, Van Nest, Little Yemen, Westchester Square, Parkchester, Throggs Neck, Castle Hill, Unionport, Soundview, Concourse, Mott Haven, and Port Morris.
Mamdani took Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, while in addition to The Bronx, Cuomo also claimed Staten Island. A good visual representation of the results can be found in The City’s reporting.
Given his endorsement of Cuomo in the Primary, and given some senior Democrats who had not previously endorsed Mamdani have now backed the assemblyman, when asked on CNN on June 30 if Torres would now endorse Mamdani in the general election, the congressman said the following.
“My endorsement of the governor only applies to the Democratic primary which is over. The voters of the Democratic primary have spoken and my focus is on [inaudible],” he said. Asked again by the anchor as he didn’t hear his full reply if he would endorse Mamdani, Torres said, “I have not endorsed the assemblyman. We spoke on Sunday. We had a mutually respectful conversation. We have profound differences of opinion. There was no discussion of an endorsement but there was a discussion of a commitment to continuing the dialogue.”
A few days prior, as reported, Torres had defended Mamdani against attacks on his candidacy by Republicans. Meanwhile, on Mamdani’s candidacy, local assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), who is Jewish, had said prior to Election Day, “The mayoral primary has come down to a two-person race between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani must not be elected Mayor of the world’s greatest city. He lacks the bare minimum of necessary experience. His platform, which may sound great, is nothing more than pie-in-the-sky promises that could never be enacted.”
Dinowitz continued, “His proposals lack basic understanding of budgeting and even what the mayor can and cannot control. In addition, his continuing fanatical hatred of Israel and his support for BDS, and a ‘global intifada’ is absolutely disqualifying for a person who wants to lead the city with the largest Jewish population in the world outside Israel. Do not rank Mamdani.”
It was reported on X that during a podcast interview with The Bulwark on June 17, Mamdani argued that the phrase “Globalize the Intifada” was an expression of Palestinian rights and refused to outright condemn it. He has since said he understands the phrase is interpreted differently by the Jewish population and is discouraging its use.
Photo by Miriam Quinones
Formed in efforts to force a change of policy by the Israeli government in its treatment of Palestinians, the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement is, according to various sources, “a coalition of more than 400 organizations working to end all U.S. institutional complicity with Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies.”
As reported, following the release of a report by Attorney General Tish James into sexual harassment allegations by 11 women against Cuomo in 2021, Dinowitz and Espaillat had been among those who had called for Cuomo’s resignation, which ultimately followed.
For his part, as reported, speaking on Late Night with Stephen Colbert on June 23, when asked if he believes in Israel’s right to exist, Mamdani said, “Yes, like all nations, I believe it has a right to exist, and a responsibility also to uphold international law.” Asked about Jewish New Yorkers fears about increased antisemitism if he is elected mayor, Mamdani said, “I know where that fear is coming from. It’s a fear that is based upon the horrific attacks we’ve seen in Washington D.C., in Boulder, Colorado, and it’s a fear that I hear also from New Yorkers, themselves.”
He added, “Just a few days after the horrific war crime of Oct. 7th, a friend of mine told me how he went to his synagogue for Shabaat services and he heard the door open behind him and tremors went up his spine as he turned around not knowing who was there and what they meant for him.”
He continued, “I spoke to a Jewish man in Williamsburg, just months ago who told me that the door he left unlocked for decades is now one that he locks, and ultimately, this is because we’re seeing a crisis of antisemitism, and that’s why at the heart of my proposal for the department of community safety is a commitment to increase funding for anti-hate crime programming by 800%.” Click here to read more of Mamdani’s comments on this issue.
Neither Cuomo nor NYC Mayor Eric Adams had shared their reaction to the latest mayoral primary results as of early Tuesday afternoon. In his concession speech on June 24, Cuomo had said, “Tonight was not our night. Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night, and he put together a great campaign and he touched young people. and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote and he really ran a highly impactful campaign. I called him, I congratulated him, I applaud him sincerely for his effort and let’s give him a round of applause and thank him for his campaign.”
Photo by Síle Moloney
Meanwhile, the mayor, who launched his reelection campaign last week at City Hall, joined the NYPD on Tuesday to announce “record-low [citywide] shooting victims in the first half of 2025.” Adams said, “We had an ocean liner of crime that we had to turn around, and it doesn’t turn around instantly. You have to put in place programs and initiatives that they, both, were proactive and reactive. And you’re seeing the results of proper planning, proper execution, and not allowing one who thinks an experiment can get in a place of experience. Experience matters, and you’re seeing the results of that.”
He continued, in part, “And I said over and over again throughout my time in public life that public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity. That’s the number one thing I’ve heard throughout my time in office, and now as the mayor of the City of New York. If you are not safe, you cannot send your children to school, you cannot go to work, you’re afraid to be on our public transportation system, you’re just afraid to enjoy the parks every day. Safety matters. Safety matters.”
In other election-related news, after early voting had started, Norwood News witnessed a campaign poster for Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson affixed to a pole outside Mosholu Montefiore Community Center poll site on Dekalb Avenue in Norwood, which was located less than the required 100 feet from the poll site.
Acknowledging it is not typically the candidates, themselves, who put up campaign posters but their volunteers, nonetheless, we contacted the BOE and Gibson’s campaign for comment. A BOE official said the board would contact onsite poll site workers. We did not receive an immediate response from Gibson’s campaign.
Around two weeks before Election Day, Norwood News shared a short, anonymous survey to pose some questions about representation in local Council District 11, currently represented by Councilman Eric Dinowitz who, as reported, won his race against challenger, Danielle Guggenheim.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we only managed to share the survey once on social media, though it was also shared in the Bronx District 11 Voters Forum Facebook group. For context, we believe, based on community input, this Facebook group possibly has more residents from Bronx Community District 8 than from either Bronx Community District 7 or from Bronx Community District 12. We have no visibility on this, however.
Photo by Miriam Quinones
In total, there were just 13 respondents, which we acknowledge is insufficient to be representative of the district as a whole but as people took the time to respond, we wanted to share the results anyway. We first asked in which neighborhood of District 11 each respondent lived. The results were: 30.8% Riverdale, 23.1% Spuyten Duyvil, 15.4% Van Cortlandt Village, 15.4% Kingsbridge, and approximately 7.65% Bedford Park and 7.65% Woodlawn.
We then asked if residents felt adequately heard/represented at the City Council level. The results were: 38.5% yes, 38.5% no, and 23.1% for the most part, no. We also asked residents what their main concerns were. In no particular order, these were: crime, lack of community investment, safety, the closing of the Rite Aid at 21B Knolls Crescent, quality of life (“noise, panhandling, lack of patrols”), increased street crime (especially personal assaults), a request for more responsiveness to response to constituent calls, emails and visits to express concern about various matters, overdevelopment, increasing poverty, crime and drug activity. [Norwood News thanks those who participated in the survey.]
In the District 13 race, Aldebol declared victory on July 2. After the completion of the ranked choice vote reallocation, she received 4,383 votes or 55.6% in the multi-candidate race. Aldebol will compete against the incumbent Republican Kristy Marmorato in the November general election.
“I am thrilled to win the Democratic Party nomination, and I’m ready to hit the ground running to win in November,” said Aldebol. “I want to thank my family and campaign team, our dedicated volunteers, my labor family, the Bronx Democrats and, most importantly, the voters who made their voices heard in this important election.”
Photo courtesy of Chippewa Democratic Club
She added, “It’s clear that our community needs more from our City Council Member. We deserve someone who will fight for our values, deliver for working people, tackle the affordability crisis, and ensure our families can not only survive, but thrive here. I will work to bring our community together and create real positive change. This primary demonstrated the power of our coalition. Together we can create better future for Bronxites and all New Yorkers.”
Members of Chippewa Democratic Club, one of New York City’s oldest, active Democratic organizations, who had endorsed Aldebol congratulated her on her victory, saying, “Now it is time for everyone to come together behind Shirley so we can win in November!”
Democratic District Leaders John Doyle, Rebecca Nieves, and Tremaine O’Garro commended Aldebol on running “a strong campaign that attracted the support of many of our members and the community at large.” They added, “With her decades of service to the labor community, Shirley intimately knows the challenges middle-class and working people face. We look forward to working with her to win this primary and to unite our party behind her for a general election victory.”
Aldebol said she was grateful to have received the club’s endorsement, adding in part, “This endorsement shows that Democrats in CD13 understand the importance of winning this seat, and know that I am the best candidate to make that happen.”
Source: The Council on Foreign Relations
On Election Day, we spoke to some people outside P.S. 86 Kingsbridge Heights School poll site, located at 2756 Reservoir Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights. There were not too many voters there, possibly due to the extremely hot weather. Some had told us they were waiting for the sun to go down before heading out to vote. While there was scaffolding outside to shade from the sun, there were no lines, only poll workers letting voters know where to go.
Speaking in Spanish, Julio Ventura said he was campaigning on behalf of former Councilman Fernando Cabrera for reelection to District 14. “He has 12 years’ experience and if we want a pilot with experience, we know that he’s the best one,” he said. “We also know that elections are very important because District 14 has deteriorated a lot in the last four years, and our candidate will turn things around.”
We also spoke to Gregorio Vazquez who was campaigning on behalf of his son, Bryan Hodge Vasquez, who was also running for council in District 14. “The election is going great,” he said. “People are coming out and supporting every candidate.” He said the reason he was campaigning was because his son wanted to change the status quo, which he said was not working and change was needed.
A Spanish-speaking female voter at the same site told us with a smile, “I hope the candidate who wins has the control of everything and well, we’re hoping for a change for the city, for the youth, with more opportunities for them and……..we’ll see what happens.”
Photo by Miriam Quinones
Of the candidates who were leading in their respective races based on Election Night results, as reported, each one is still leading after Round 3 of ranked choice voting reallocations.
Click here for more coverage of the initial results and updated reaction to the citywide and Bronx primary races.
Editor’s Note: In an earlier version of this story, we inadvertently misquoted the last section of Congressman Ritchie Torres’s comments to CNN. This has since been corrected. We apologize for the error.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.