2025 YEAR IN REVIEW: Mamdani’s historic mayoral victory topped slate of NYC politics’ biggest stories

NYC’s political news in 2025 was dominated by a steady stream of headlines, with officials from state, city and federal agencies frequently driving the news cycle, highlighted by the election of Zohran Mamdani as the next mayor of NYC, who is set to take office in less than a week.

NYC’s top political news in 2025

Zohran Mamdani wins a wild NYC Mayor’s Race

Mamdani, a Queens Assembly member who was first elected to public office in 2020, came out victorious in the 2025 mayoral election, surpassing candidates Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa on Election Day. It was an outcome few people outside the 34-year-old democratic socialist’s inner circle had expected when the city ushered in the new year last January.

With Mayor Eric Adams mired in controversy, numerous Democrats, along with Mamdani, launched bids to win the party’s nomination from him in June. Adams would ultimately choose not to contest the Democratic primary, and instead launched what would become an ill-fated independent re-election bid.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

For the first two months of 2025, a Democrat who hadn’t even officially declared candidacy in the race, Cuomo, led most Democratic primary polls. That all changed on March 1, however, when Cuomo, the former governor who resigned from office in 2021 after repeated sexual harassment allegations that he has always denied, officially declared his candidacy for mayor in a bid for an epic political comeback.

Mamdani and others in the Democratic primary field pounced, hitting Cuomo repeatedly for those sexual harassment allegations as well as his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically with regard to nursing home deaths.

Mamdani began to emerge as the biggest obstacle between Cuomo and the Democratic nomination for mayor, combining his attacks on the former governor with a campaign message focused squarely on affordability. Using unique social media tactics, Mamdani closed the gap with Cuomo as the primary approached, buoyed by campaign promises of a rent freeze for stabilized apartments, fare-free buses, and opening city-owned grocery stores to help lower the cost of food.

Cuomo, in response, painted Mamdani as an out-of-touch socialist and criticized him for anti-Israel statements, including the Queens lawmaker’s support for Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza. Mamdani sought to distance himself from the use of the most heated rhetoric, yet refused to publicly acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and even publicly threatened to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit New York.

Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for mayor in the June primary.Photo By Dean Moses

In the June Democratic primary, Mamdani shocked most pollsters with a convincing win over Cuomo, garnering the most votes a Democrat had received since David Dinkins in the 1989 primary. Undeterred, Cuomo then launched his own independent bid for mayor, believing that he could convince enough moderate Democrats, independents and even a few Republicans to win a four-way race between himself, Mamdani, Mayor Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

The race was upended even further at the end of September, when Mayor Adams — whose support in most polls never got out of the single digits — ended his re-election campaign. He would later endorse Cuomo, whom the mayor had previously called a “snake” for allegedly spreading rumors about his campaign’s impending demise.

As a Mamdani victory in November appeared imminent, Cuomo and some Republicans made a push for Sliwa, trailing in third with about 15% support from voters, to drop out of the race and endorse Cuomo, to no avail. Sliwa refused to budge and stayed in the race until the very end.

Even President Trump offered a last-minute endorsement of Cuomo, hoping to bolster Republican turnout for the former governor and frequent rival. Cuomo, however, publicly denounced Trump’s support.

The Nov. 4 election turned into a runaway win for Mamdani, who won roughly 51% of the vote and beat Cuomo by 10 points; Sliwa had less than 10% support. The election saw the biggest turnout in a mayoral race in over 50 years, as more than 2 million New Yorkers cast their ballots.

As the first Muslim mayor to lead the Big Apple, the nation’s largest city, Mamdani began selecting members of his administration in December and will take office on Jan. 1.

While Mamdani won the mayor’s office, other politicians snagged victories in local races this year. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine won the race for comptroller, replacing Brad Lander. Meanwhile, State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal came out victorious in the race to replace Levine as the borough president of Manhattan.

Adams’ criminal charges dismissed

The shocking political indictment against Mayor Eric Adams was dropped in early April.

A federal judge dismissed the five-count criminal campaign fraud indictment against the outgoing mayor in a ruling “with prejudice,” meaning that federal prosecutors will not be able to bring back the case against him.

This was good news for Adams, who was vying for reelection but eventually ended his campaign before Election Day in 2025.

Adams was charged in 2024 with bribery, campaign finance and conspiracy offenses, but has continued to maintain his innocence.

Julie Menin the likely next NYC Council Speaker

Manhattan Council Member Julie Menin announced in November that she has enough votes from the council to become speaker of the NYC Council when the new session begins in January.

Manhattan Council Member Julie Menin announced on Nov. 26 she had secured enough support to become the Council’s next speaker.Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit

On Nov. 26, Menin said she garnered public commitments from 36 current and incoming council members, which is 10 more than the required 26. She is expected to take office on Jan. 7.

Trump takes Penn Station redesign from New York

President Trump’s Department of Transportation took over the MTA’s plans for a brand-new Penn Station in Midtown in April. The move was shocking, but ultimately applauded by Gov. Hochul, who said the federal takeover would save New York taxpayers $1.3 billion that would have been used for the project.

The federal government rolled out its first set of plans for the multi-billion-dollar makeover in August, which includes construction starting by the end of 2027.

Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams arrested during ICE raids

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arraigned Friday federally after he and several other politicians were cuffed trying to inspect the 10th-floor ICE detainment facility in 26 Federal Plaza, but he says he was not the one at fault.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

ICE agents raided immigration court throughout the year. They were met with opposition from protestors, immigration advocates, and NYC politicians who questioned the agency’s tactics and the legality of their operations.

During an especially confrontational raid, City Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams were among a group of politicians arrested after demanding access to holding cells and blocking hallways at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan.

Lander was also arrested in a previous incident at the federal building, in which he was supporting a detained immigrant.

ICE will likely continue its operations into the new year, widening the division between homeland security and immigration advocates.

Stefanik drops out of 2026 gubernatorial race

Republican Congress Member Elise Stefanik announced in December that she would drop out of the governor’s race, clearing the way for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to challenge incumbent governor Hochul next year.

Stefanik said she wanted to focus more time on family and posted on X that it is “not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted” Republican primary.

Casinos score three spots in NYC

Three casino developers finally scored licenses to open up full-scale gaming in the city, as other bidders dropped out or were rejected by advisory boards along the way. The NYS Gaming Commission gave its final approval to Bally’s in the Bronx, and Metropolitan Park and Resorts World in Queens to build the multi-billion dollar casinos, officially ending a years-long review process, on Dec. 15.