Over two million New Yorkers took to the polls for Election Day, culminating in a surge in voter turnout that has not been seen in over five decades. Weighing in on pressing issues from housing affordability to public safety, folks rounded out a contentious mayoral race with votes for local and citywide candidates, as well as six ballot propositions. WSN’s photographers visited polling sites across seven neighborhoods around NYU to speak with voters about their choices.

Chinatown

Chinatown resident Joseph Henrikson, 45, said he voted for Zohran Mamdani because he believes the democratic socialist will best serve the needs of his neighborhood.

“This is a very interesting area with complex issues, like the proposal for a jail down the street and the debate around the handbag vendors that an ICE raid tried to clear,” Henrikson said. “These things are dualities in themselves that I’m trusting Mamdani to navigate.”

Greenwich Village

Danielle Korn, 76, whose main concerns are the safety and cleanliness of the city, said she voted for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, even though she thinks he will lose.

“I hate Cuomo, but he has the experience,” Korn said. “And I don’t support Mamdani in any way. I don’t agree with a lot of his policies, like free buses, because he doesn’t have any understanding of how difficult it is to run a city like New York.”

Downtown Brooklyn

New York City College of Technology student Daniel Hernandez, 18, voted for Mamdani, believing that he will bring hope to the city. 

“For this election, the most important thing is ICE, because it’s just tearing families apart,” Hernandez said.” After everything Trump’s done, people have been losing hope, and we should start healing a bit before we actually do anything great.”

East Village

Peter Feld, a former NYU professor and longtime East Village resident, said that his key issues were affordability and education policy.

“I voted for Zohran Mamdani on the Working Families Party ballot line to send a message about progressive change, including taxing the rich, free buses, free childcare and freezing the rent,” Feld said.

Soho

“I was waffling between the two of them,” Cuccia said. “I like things about Mamdani, and there’s the Cuomo backstory, but the jail did it. That jail is the stupidest thing ever. It’s right there, $16 billion and it’s ridiculous.”

Union Square

“He was present for us,” Garcia said. “I like that people go and vote for whoever they want to vote for. This may be a good message for the so-called president looking to be a king — we are not going to put up with dictatorships or abuses.”

West Village

Anne Gorrissen, 80, who formerly worked at a modeling agency, voted for Mamdani, citing housing and education as her top priorities.

“Cuomo is just like Trump — corrupt politicians who are all about the money and not about the people on the ground,” Gorrissen said. “I’m too old to leave the city, but if I were younger, I would leave the country. I love New York, so I don’t hope that happens.”

Contact Ivy Chan, Krish Dev, Kyra Reilley, Suditi Sircar, Julia Smerling, Zara Surti and Alex Woodworth at[email protected].