New York City has been reeling from the surprising Democratic primary mayoral victory of Zohran Kwame Mamdani. As I watch the shock and surprise, the skepticism and the hostility, a memory comes to my mind: On a hot and muggy day last September, just a couple weeks after Eric Adams’s indictment for corruption charges, a group of Bangali and Chinese working-class immigrants gathered. They were part of an organization for which I serve as executive director, CAAAV Voice, the political offshoot of CAAAV, which fights gentrification in New York City. The real estate–backed mayor had raised rents three years in a row and green-lit real estate luxury developers who preyed on their neighborhood, and everyone in the room was furious and ready to decide their next campaign.
For once, there was very little debate. The main issue facing every working-class tenant was housing. For years, the cost of living in New York City has been skyrocketing. Even before Trump’s election, working-class New Yorkers had long felt the pinch and contradictions of a gentrifying and expensive city. Many in the room were rent-stabilized tenants who, for years, had fought the mayor-appointed Rent Guidelines Board to freeze the rent. They landed on a four-year citywide rent freeze on rent-stabilized units as CAAAV Voice’s main campaign.
In this year’s New York Democratic primary, one of the pillars of Mamdani’s campaign was the demand for a rent freeze. Many of the same immigrant members who met that September day then went on to knock thousands of doors for Mamdani, part of the massive movement that led to Mamdani’s primary triumph over Andrew Cuomo and his enormous trove of corporate cash.
In a striking difference from the last mayoral election, Asian voters organized each other into Mamdani’s coalition and were a key part of delivering the primary victory. And they were a strong part of this coalition because Mamdani spoke directly to them.
For years,…
Auteur: Sasha Wijeyeratne
