Editor’s note: Zohran Mamdani and Zack Weiner have LinkNYC in common

I owe my big-screen debut to LinkNYC.

Five years ago, I saw long-shot New York City Council candidate Zack Weiner – no relation to Anthony Weiner – awkwardly posing in a video playing on the streetside screen on one of the city’s payphone replacements. His name was prominent, but at the bottom, in small print, it advertised his movie, streaming on Hulu.

To me, it looked like an illegal campaign ad, ostensibly promoting the actor-turned-candidate’s film to avoid spending campaign cash. So I put on my reporting hat and called the campaign.

That phone call ended up in the mockumentary “Citizen Weiner,” and so did a talking head interview I did with the filmmakers. Weiner’s father co-created “Dora the Explorer,” and the whole run was a lighthearted attempt to meld entertainment and local politics. He got 2% of the vote.

Years later, another son of a famed filmmaker brought some video magic to the campaign trail – and now he’s the mayor.

Zohran Mamdani’s pre-K enrollment video playing on a LinkNYC screen caught my attention last week, and I put my reporting hat on again. Turns out he’s exploiting a legal loophole. Elected officials can’t appear in public service announcements in most cases, to keep them from making taxpayer funded reelection ads. But these ones seem to be alright, since the city doesn’t actually pay for LinkNYC screentime.

Like most things involving Mamdani, the mayor’s streetside ad campaign has evoked some strong reactions. Some New Yorkers love it, happy to see a good program promoted. Others see Dear Leader smiling on a screen and think dystopia.

All I know is politicians shouldn’t try to sneak something by me on LinkNYC. I’ll be watching.