Zohran Mamdani to hold first major rally of 2025 New York City mayoral race

Get out your beanies and ZetroCards – Zohran Mamdani’s supporters are rallying this weekend.

His New York City mayoral campaign is holding its first major rally of the cycle in North Brooklyn on Sunday – with an anticipated crowd of around 2,000 volunteers, supporters and other endorsers expected to be in attendance, according to the campaign.

Actor Kal Penn will emcee the event, titled “A City We Can Afford,” and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, New York City Council Member Chi Ossé, and New York Working Families Party co-Directors Ana María Archila and Jasmine Gripper will be among the featured speakers. Pakistani American singer Ali Sethi will perform.

New Yorkers just now tuning into the mayoral race will be disappointed if they’re looking for Sunday plans. Location details are being kept under wraps by the campaign, as the event is already at capacity with invited supporters and volunteers. If that feels odd for a candidate who’s still polling in the mid-10s to low-20s, it’s because the campaign isn’t focused on bringing in new supporters off the street with the event. Instead, they see it as breaking through a new stage of the campaign, where volunteers from around the city can appreciate the size and energy of the movement behind Mamdani all in one place – and perhaps be inspired to hit the ground running in the next seven weeks.

“Sunday’s rally will be a testament to the energy, momentum, and hope that has fueled our campaign since we launched six months ago,” Mamdani said in a statement. “As we head into the final stretch, we’re showing every New Yorker – from those that have been with us since the beginning to those that are just learning about our vision – that a better future is possible. Together, we will defeat Andrew Cuomo, end this era of corrupt, selfish politics and win a city working people can afford.”

Cuomo is the undisputed front-runner in the race, polling in the mid-30s to mid-40s in recent surveys. Mamdani, a democratic socialist and the farthest left of the Democratic Party primary candidates, is consistently polling second behind the former governor.

In 2021, Maya Wiley held a fundraiser/concert with The Strokes at the 1,000-person capacity Irving Plaza in mid-June, where she was joined by endorser Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Unlike that event, Mamdani’s first rally won’t have a fundraising component, since the campaign has already maxed out on fundraising. Also unlike in 2021, Ocasio-Cortez has yet to endorse in this year’s mayoral race.