With early voting underway ahead of the Nov. 4 general election, Brooklyn voters are zeroing in on their choices for mayor: Zohran Mamdani, Curtis Sliwa and Andrew Cuomo.
During two rather testy televised debates, each candidate explained why they would should be in charge of the city. They touched on housing, Israel and Palestine and education, among other things. Most residents who spoke to BK Reader recently in Downtown Brooklyn said they didn't watch the whole debate, only clips of it.
Kory Turner- Bey, 45, said he will be voting in this year’s mayoral election because he wants to make sure he’s active in the system, but is unsure who he’s going to vote for.
“It’s like having two cups of water with ink in it, which one would you pick?” the East New York resident told BK Reader. “Do you really want someone new, who doesn’t know what’s going on? Or do you want someone who’s older but convicted of some cases? I don’t really know.”
He added that he wants the winning candidate to focus on New York City and no one else. “We focus on a lot of people who are not from here, but I think if we focus on our people first, things would be better for us, as New Yorkers," Turner-Bey said.
Brooklynites have showed their enthusiasm for this year's election, where nearly 140,000 people have cast their ballots in the first three days of early voting, according to the New York City Board of Elections.
Aldo Juraidini, 35, an immigrant from Mexico but a 20-year resident of Prospect Heights, said the debates did not sway his decision to vote for Mamdani.
“I will be voting for Zohran because I think his focus on affordability is really relevant,” he said. “I think it’s something that affects me and affects a lot of what could be improved in the city. I think it stems from the fact that things are expensive, and people just don’t feel like they have a lot of room in their budget to navigate that.
Juraidini said that Mamdani’s emphasis on affordability goes beyond just rent prices. Although Cuomo and Sliwa have refuted the idea that Mamdani will make things more affordable for New Yorkers, Juraidini remains optimistic that things will change under the Democratic Socialist, although he also conceded that it won’t be easy.
Astha Sharma, 32, said she believes that there was a lot of misinformation spread by each party, but said the focus has to be on the city and the people.
As a 10-year Brooklyn resident, Sharma said that she has seen a major decline in New York City, but said that one candidate is the best candidate to keep his promises in helping New Yorkers.
“I think Zohran Mamdani is doing a great job so far. I’m hoping that it’s beyond just winning an election and just saying things to say them, but he comes off as a candidate who genuinely cares about the city that we’re all living in," she said.
