Havana on the Hudson

 Zorhan Mamdani, the TikTok Jacobin, upset former governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic Primary making him the odds-on favorite to be the next mayor. Running as a Democratic Socialist, Mamdani’s slick TikTok campaign came across as young and energetic sharply contrasting himself to a Cuomo who appeared ancient. On substance, under the banner of making New York City affordable, he called for the tired old socialist nostrums of rent freezes, increasing business and personal income taxes in the already highest tax city in the country, city-owned grocery stores, free bus service, a $30/hour minimum wage, and for effectively increasing property taxes for white homeowners. His program represents a sure-fire path for New York City to join the failed cities of Chicago and Los Angeles.

 

Contrary from socialist dogma, Mamdani’s base was not lodged in the working class and the African American communities, but rather it came from the young children of privilege who are over-credentialed, underemployed, and housing stressed. Most of them resided in what is called New York’s “commie belt” which runs from western Queens to western Brooklyn. For the most part these hipsters believe that society owes them a good life in New York City. Unfortunately for them, they can’t really afford it, and many live off the largess of their parents. Indeed, with two-bedroom apartments renting for more than $5,000/month, New York City is objectively unaffordable. This is not true of Mamdani whose college professor Dad and movie making Mom are more than comfortable.

 

The underbelly of the Mamdani campaign is its extreme anti-capitalist, anti-colonialist, defund the police, and above all its anti-Zionism themes. As late as this morning Mamdani refused to condemn the term “globalize the intifada,” which means kill the Jews in the diaspora. If that isn't antisemitism, I don't know what is! It is not a surprise that Jeremy Corbyn, the notorious British antisemite, congratulated Mamdani on his election win. Indeed, many of the people who marched in New York’s anti-Zionist parades worked as Mamdani’s shock troops during his campaign.

 

How did this happen? The answer is that both the Democratic and Jewish establishments in New York City are sclerotic. They are pale shadows of their former selves, and it will be difficult for them to rally to oppose Mamdani in the general election, where his most likely opponent would be Eric Adams, the current scandal plagued mayor. However, because the turnout in the primary was low, it is possible that Mamdani’s youth turnout hit a ceiling and that older voters will go to the polls in November in substantial numbers to swamp the TikTok generation. If not, New York City will soon become Havana on the Hudson as its tax base abandons the city.