N Train, Queens, NY. © Ainsley Joseph-James / Shutterstock

When people think of New York City, a select set of images come to mind: Times Square, Broadway, the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and maybe even the storied subway system for those with an affinity for urban planning. Rarely would someone not local to the area jump to mention Queens in that array. Yet, over the past few years, the city’s most diverse borough (and the most ethnically diverse urban area on the planet, according to the Guinness Book of World Records), has arguably been responsible for some of New York’s largest cultural and political exports.

In under a decade, the borough has been responsible for breakout congressmembers (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and, infamously, George Santos, who was recently commuted for charges involving identity theft and fraud), a disgraced mayor (Eric Adams, whose gluttony for the nightlife was only overshadowed by the international kickbacks he gleefully courted), and a disgraced governor (Andrew Cuomo, whose penchant for megalomania briefly made him the hero of COVID-19 before his authoritarian flair bled into his harassment of women and abandonment of the elderly). Most significantly, it is the very locale that berthed the destructive bluster and spectacle of President Donald Trump, a corrosive quality that the head of state has used as a cudgel both at the peak of his previous relevance as a celebrity and in his current role as one of the most powerful men in the Global North.

Among all of these public figures (and endless more once we veer into entertainment—Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent, and Russell Simmons all come to mind) lies a universal understanding of showmanship: how to command a narrative, build a rapt audience, and reinforce their story via performance and pageantry. Trump has never met a debate stage that he couldn’t turn into his personal bully pulpit and AOC has revolutionized how young politicians engage in social media communication.

Queens, by nature of circumstance, is a milieu where your adaptability is an asset, but your ability to stand out from the byzantine fray of communities and niche enclaves is an indicator of an indescribable “it-factor.” Given all of these prerequisites, it should really come as no surprise that the borough that has been at the helm of numerous political headwinds would elect a State Assemblyman by the name of Zohran Mamdani, who would go on to be the first Muslim Socialist Mayor-Elect of the most populous city in America after an unprecedented year-long campaign.

Mayor-Elect Mamdani, at first blush, seems to be the ideal amalgamation for the emergence of a bonafide populist moment for New York’s working class. An immigrant child of both the Indian subcontinent and the legacy of East African colonialism; the child of a critically beloved film director and famed colonial scholar; a millennial Muslim who grew up in the afterlife of 9/11; a millennial New Yorker who naturally tried his hand at an international rap career; a polyglot with a seeming working knowledge of Luganda, Urdu/Hindi, and Arabic; an African Studies major who has even previously contributed to Africa Is a Country. In his conversation, you see the nascent form of a politics that would come to anchor his disruptive mayoral campaign. As Mamdani makes clear:

It is that very oppositional spirit, coupled with a rigorously executed grassroots and digital campaign, that fueled a coalition of support that ultimately toppled the corporate candidates and capitalist Democratic Party interests that sought to discourage his surge to victory.

Despite the renewed vigor spurred from Mamdani’s win, however, clearheadedness demands caution. To go from being a physical embodiment of empire’s headwinds to sitting at its seat is a dramatic shift for even the most principled leader, and many will never come close to the kind of power that Mamdani stands to inherit. In less than two months, he will be in command of one of the biggest police forces in the country, breaking bread with the most influential figures in finance. He will go from a public proponent of BDS to having direct influence over approximately $315 million in pension funds that directly invest in Israeli assets. We have already seen early harbingers of compromise, with Mamdani actively seeking to minimize tensions with the NYPD by retaining their controversial commissioner, while attempting to smooth over hostility from Zionists by embracing a more conciliatory framing of his pro-Palestinian political framework. Only time will tell how steadfast the young politician will be in keeping his avowed commitments to affordability in the face of ossified institutional neglect of the working class. As David I. Backer wrote for The Baffler magazine, “This is what awaits the Democratic nominee if he wins: a cabal of capitalists holding out the municipal finance straitjacket.”

Open questions notwithstanding, however, for a brief moment, the fantasy of a third culture kid being able to upset the levers of power felt genuinely revelatory. For all of the cantankerous stigma that New Yorkers hold, its residents genuinely love the city, and having a figurehead that shares that same love invites an optimism that perhaps, as New Yorkers, they can share in this struggle and manage to transform some lives in the process, both domestically and abroad.

As Zohran’s father, Mahmood Mamdani, wrote in When Victims Become Killers, “The prerequisite to life is not power. The prerequisite to cohabitation, reconciliation, and a common political future is to give up the monopoly of power.” In just a few weeks, Zohran will move from his home base of Queens to the esteemed halls of Gracie Mansion, and will hopefully forego the intoxicating pull of exchanging power for a compromise with capital that will leave New Yorkers and everyone affected by the city’s choices left in the lurch yet again. Whether or not socialism can thrive in one of the financial capitals of the world is a challenge that remains to be seen, but Mamdani’s tenure will be an important litmus test.

– Shamira Ibrahim, Francophone regional editor

The title of this newsletter is a reference to another Queens representative’s rap lyric.