Zohran Mamdani may have won the Democratic primary in the race to become New York City\u2019s next mayor, but many local Democrats still oppose him. In fact, he didn\u2019t get a majority of votes in the first round against Andrew Cuomo, Brad Landers, and others.<\/p>\n
The Post spoke to several \u201cnever Mamdani\u201d Democrats from across the city about what worries them about the frontrunner,<\/a> from his anti-business policies to his lack of understanding of working class struggles:<\/p>\n \u2018He wants to turn this metropolis into a college town\u2019<\/p>\n Tillard worries that Mamdani\u2019s anti-capitalist views will hurt the job market his community needs to thrive. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n \u201cIf you know anything about Black history since the great migration, it was only by purchasing private property that we were able to gain economic empowerment in New York City \u2026 So, anybody against private property, in my view, is against most of black wealth,\u201d Pastor Conrad Tillard of the Congregational Church of South Hempstead<\/a> told The Post.<\/p>\n Tillard, 61, who retired last year from teaching Black Studies at City College of New York and lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, originally supported Eric Adams. He says black people \u201cdo not know,\u201d Mamdani and will \u201cstick with Cuomo,\u201d who he will also vote for.<\/p>\n \u201cYou embrace New York for what it is. You don\u2019t try to make New York into Cambridge, Massachusetts. That\u2019s what these gentrifiers are doing,\u201d he said of Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bike lanes, the pedestrian plazas, congestion pricing. They\u2019re trying to make this great metropolis into a college town.\u201d<\/p>\n Conrad Tillard says young gentrifiers often don\u2019t understand the history of the city they live in. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n Tillard believes politicians should embrace and tweak New York, not radically change it. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m moving out if he wins\u2019<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s promises to bring prices down rings hollow with East Village resident Andrew Bernstein, who also believes his plan to freeze rent in stabilized apartments won\u2019t work.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city\u2019s already unaffordable \u2026 The whole housing situation in New York is so fundamentally broken and ridiculous, and Mamdani\u2019s approach to it is the opposite of what is needed,\u201d Bernstein explained. \u201cIt just brings the rent up for everyone else [not stabilized].\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Bernstein plans to leave New York City if Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor. Courtesy of Andrew Bernstein<\/p>\n Bernstein says Mamdani\u2019s lack of experience and former comments about the police are worrying to him. REUTERS<\/p>\n Bernstein, 28, a Democrat who supported Zellnor Myrie in the primary, said he\u2019ll move out if Mamdani wins \u2013 most likely to Florida or New Jersey \u2013 a move a quarter of New Yorkers are reportedly considering<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think if people have the flexibility to leave, they will \u2026 I think [Mamdani\u2019s] pandering and trying to wait out the election. I don\u2019t think he actually believes in any of this stuff [he\u2019s now saying]. He\u2019s really a socialist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I know socialism fails because my family fled it\u2019<\/p>\n Phil Wong of Elmhurst, Queens, knows socialism doesn\u2019t work after his family fled mainland China to be free from it. He warns Mamdani\u2019s supporters think they\u2019ll get \u201cfree healthcare, free buses, free rents \u2026 [but] nothing is free.\u201d<\/p>\n Wong, 59, served as president of the Community Education Council for New York City\u2019s 24th district and is particularly worried about Mamdani canceling gifted and talented programs.<\/a><\/p>\n Phil Wong says that parents know best when it comes to education. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n Wong is, himself, running for City Council as a Democrat in Queens. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n \u201cIf he follows his group of people, the young hipsters that never had kids or never sat on a school board, that will be very harmful.<\/p>\n \u201cThe parents know best. I have three daughters, and I know there is a high demand for [these programs], and now you want to get rid of it? We\u2019re going to have a mass exodus of kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Wong, a self-described moderate Democrat, is throwing his hat into the ring in his local City Council race in Queens, where he says crime is rampant and more cops are needed \u2014 something he fears will get worse in a Mamdani New York.<\/p>\n \u2018Where is the money going to come from to make it free?\u2019<\/p>\n Alicia Barksdale, 64, of Harlem, is a former toll collector at bridges and tunnels for the MTA, who thinks Mamdani\u2019s plan to make buses free <\/a>doesn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is the money going to come from to [make] it free? My eyebrows are going up, because, okay, you\u2019re young\u2026 Saying free transportation is really saying to people you\u2019re going to be losing jobs,\u201d she said, explaining the MTA won\u2019t have enough revenue to pay drivers and might force them into early retirement.<\/p>\n Alicia Barksdale is concerned that a Mamdani victory could jeopardize New York City\u2019s federal funding. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n Barksdale supported Cuomo in the primary election and will again vote for him in November. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n She also worries a Mamdani victory will cause Trump to pull federal funding for the city \u2014 and the least fortunate will suffer most.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re just going to jeopardize them, when they\u2019re already struggling,\u201d Barksdale told The Post. \u201cWhen the city loses everything, he\u2019s going to be a one-term mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018His views would be comical if they weren\u2019t so scary\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHis ideological point of view would be comical if it wasn\u2019t so scary,\u201d entrepreneur Jason Pomeranc told The Post.<\/p>\n The 54-year-old lifelong Democrat was born in Queens and resides in Manhattan. He co-founded the SIXTY and Thompson Hotel Groups and thinks Mamdani\u2019s anti-capitalist views<\/a> and past anti-police rhetoric <\/a>will hurt business in the city.<\/p>\n Jason Pomeranc says that Mamdani\u2019s policies could harm local businesses and the economy in general. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Mamdani has a clear understanding of how important hospitality is, and how each decision he makes can have a ripple effect.<\/p>\n \u201cHarboring hostility to some of the bravest and committed individuals in the city betrays a lack of understanding of public safety \u2026 People don\u2019t feel safe walking around the streets of their home, tourists don\u2019t feel safe walking around the streets of the city\u2026 I\u2019m deeply concerned as someone who lives here that things could unravel quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Pomeranc is concerned that a Mamdani victory would send the Democratic Party the wrong message. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m worried for my children\u2019s safety\u2019<\/p>\n Sarah Sarway, a Jewish mother of a one-year-old with a second on the way, worries a victory by Mamdani, who supports boycotting Israel, could make her community less safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 34-year-old from Midwood, Brooklyn, is a lifelong Democrat raised in a Republican family. She says she always ignored conservative media \u2014 but she thinks they\u2019re right about Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cI was always rolling my eyes, trying not to listen to the media they were consuming just villainizing Democrats,\u201d the marketing professional said. \u201cBut Mamdani is really as bad as they\u2019re saying he is \u2026 they\u2019re not exaggerating.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Sarway, a Jewish mother, worries for her family\u2019s safety if Mamdani wins.<\/p>\n Sarway is concerned that anti-Israel protests \u2014 like this one at Columbia University in April 2024 \u2014 could get out of hand under Mamdani\u2019s mayorship. James Keivom<\/p>\n Sarway says young Democrats are so radical that they\u2019ve alienated her.<\/p>\n