amNY 2025 ELECTION PRIMER: What you need to know about the NYC Mayor’s Race and more

The 2025 NYC mayor’s race is shaping up to be one of the most consequential elections in the city’s history.

The energy among voters is evident in the huge early voting turnout witnessed since the first ballots were cast on Saturday morning, Oct. 25. As of Tuesday night, Oct. 28, the NYC Board of Elections reported just shy of 300,000 New Yorkers had already checked in to vote through four days of early voting. That number is exponentially higher than the turnout seen during the early voting period of the 2021 mayoral election, when just under 80,000 ballots were cast over the nine-day period.

At the top of every voter’s mind is the three-way battle between Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, independent candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Recent polling data, combined with the early voting turnout skewing older thus far, suggests a competitive contest between Mamdani and Cuomo as the hours tick down to Election Day, Nov. 4.

amNY interviewed the next mayor

amNewYork has sought to inform the readers of their choices and provide them with a look at where each candidate stands on the major issues impacting the city, and the kind of leader that each mayoral hopeful hopes to be at City Hall over the next four years.

amNewYork interviewed all three candidates in sit-down sessions that brought together a team of editors and reporters from this publication and other citywide outlets in Schneps Media, our parent company, to meet with the candidates individually. Ahead of each meeting, the team formulated a slate of questions on a variety of topics and the candidates’ qualifications.

Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran MamdaniPhoto by Jonathan Portee

Andrew Cuomo is running for NYC mayor in 2025.Photo by Jonathan Portee

Republican mayoral nominee Curtis SliwaPhoto by Jonathan Portee

The interview team included amNewYork’s Editor-in-Chief Robert Pozarycki, Senior Political Reporter Ethan Stark-Miller, Transit Editor Barbara Russo-Lennon and Police Bureau Chief Dean Moses; Schneps Media Outside Editorial Director Richard Esposito and Chief Content Officer Bobby Hankinson; Brooklyn Editor-in-Chief Meaghan McGoldrick; Bronx Bureau Chief Lesley Cosme-Torres; and Reporters Shane O’Brien, Florencia Arozarena and Jonathan Portee.

Our interviews were conducted at neutral sites within Manhattan between Sept. 20 and Oct. 8. None of the candidates knew the questions in advance. To assure the most candid answers, the interviews were recorded for note-taking purposes only.

Read the interviews below:

Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani says he’s preparing to lead, but isn’t taking anything for granted

Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa on crime, cats and a campaign he’ll never quit

Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo leans on his experience in pursuit of political comeback

A closer look at the big issues

In addition to publishing the stories about the interviews online and in print, we took a closer look at where each candidate stands on some of the biggest issues facing New York City today: affordability, crime, education, public transit and the future of Rikers Island.

Some of our closer look stories are below:

Where the candidates stand on street redesigns, bike and bus lanes, fare evasion and more

Where do the mayoral candidates stand when it comes to public safety and improving the NYPD?

Where do the candidates stand on improving the city’s quality of life?

Candidates weigh in on rideshare protections for passengers, drivers and companies

Where does the next NYC mayor stand on the future of Rikers Island?

Biggest campaign moments

Since Labor Day, the 2025 NYC Mayor’s Race has been marked by pivotal moments along the way. Here’s a timeline of some of the race’s biggest developments:

Sept. 5: Mayor Adams, polling in single digits, vehemently refutes reports that he is mulling dropping out of the race in favor of a job offer, possibly with the Trump administration.

Sept. 15: Gov. Kathy Hochul endorses Mamdani for mayor in an op-ed published in The New York Times. Days later, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins follow suit.

Sept. 28: Mayor Adams announces he is ending his bid for a second term amid sagging poll numbers and a lack of financing. He would later endorse Cuomo as his successor.

Oct. 2: Mamdani announces that he will eliminate gifted and talented education programs for children age five and younger if elected.

Oct. 2: Cuomo changes his stance on Rikers Island’s future, and says he now favors keeping the correctional facility open, but renovated — and converting the proposed community-based jail sites into affordable housing.

Oct. 9: Cuomo’s support increases in the first poll taken since Adams’ departure from the race, though he still trails Mamdani at this point by double digits.

Oct. 13: The last living Israeli hostages are released after more than two years of Hamas captivity. Mamdani issues a statement that, while applauding the development, is critical of both Israel and Palestine.

Oct. 22: Sliwa suddenly quits his job at WABC radio on the air during an interview after increasing pressure from various parties, including the station’s owner, John Catsimatidis, to quit the race.

Oct. 22: At the second and final debate, Mamdani hears jeers from his opponents when he fails to take a stand on a number of controversial ballot questions.

Oct. 24: Mamdani delivers a passionate speech about Islamophobia in response to attack ads and heated rhetoric; Cuomo responds that the candidate is pretending to be a victim.

How to vote

To find your early voting site or Election Day polling place, visit vote.nyc. The mayoral race will be at the top of the 1- or 2-page paper ballot you’ll receive when you vote. Don’t forget to flip the ballots to vote on other important races, including six different ballot questions.

Here’s a sample of how the paper ballot will appear in Manhattan.