Cuomo found some strong support in Middle Village.
There, an auto mechanic named Larry said that “not much” drew him to Cuomo except his experience.
He wasn’t alone.
Alvaro, a Middle Village voter who went to the polls with his wife and daughter, said that the family was voting for Cuomo because of the work he did as governor.
“I think he has a lot of experience,” Alvaro said. “I agree with some of [his policies], some I don’t agree…but he did good things for the city and the state.”
And while some touted Cuomo’s experience, others said they couldn’t vote for Mamdani, who has served as an assemblymember in Queens since 2021, because of his lack of it.
Ann Collins, a 50-year-old lifelong resident of Astoria, said that she’s been concerned about a general disorder in the city over the past several years and that she believes Cuomo is best suited to address it.
“He’s the best choice of all three,” Collins said. “I don’t think that Mamdani is experienced enough to run the city, plus I’m a Democrat, and that’s too far liberal for me. And I don’t think Sliwa could do it.”
Thelma and Ramon, a Ridgewood couple, said that they voted for the Queens-born Cuomo because they felt Mamdani’s resume was too thin.
“We felt we had to vote for Cuomo,” Thelma said. “Mamdani wasn’t our type of person to vote for because I feel he has no government experience. None whatsoever.”
Like many of the Mamdani voters who spoke with the Eagle on Tuesday, the Ridgewood couple said that they too had concerns about affordability.
“It’s ridiculous, it’s really gotten out of hand,” Thelma said. “$2,000 rent for a one-bedroom apartment? It’s outrageous…We live on a budget because we’re both retired. You see the increases inch up monthly in electricity, in our water, the rent, groceries.”
“It’s hard, and we’re only two people,” she added.
Some in Queens, including Rochdale Village voter Blake Osmond, said that he cast his vote for Cuomo because of his hometown ties.
“He’s well known,” Osmond said. “I’ve never heard of Mamdani until this election. But I’ve always known of Cuomo and his family.”
Does Sliwa have a shot?
Few voters the Eagle spoke with on Tuesday said they had cast a ballot for Sliwa, who carried several districts in Northern Queens in 2021 when he ran as the Republican candidate against Mayor Eric Adams.
But some voters, like Maria in Middle Village, said that she was sticking by her candidate, even as President Donald Trump encouraged voters on Monday to vote for Cuomo to prevent a split vote and a Mamdani victory.
“He’s got the right ideas,” said Maria, who declined to give her last name.
The Middle Village voter said crime and public safety were top of mind when she went to the polls and that Sliwa’s history as the founder of the Guardian Angels makes her believe he’d make the city a safer place. She also couldn’t get behind either of the other candidates.
“I don’t like what the one guy stands for, and I don’t like what the other guy did,” she said.
Other voters also appeared to have an apathetic attitude toward the two frontrunners, despite the enthusiasm for the election throughout the city.
Elizabeth, a voter in Rochdale Village, wrote her own name as her choice for mayor.
“When I can’t find a good candidate, I’m not going to waste my vote,” she said. “But I’m going to vote.”