I Came to See Mamdani's First Big Speech as Mayor. I Found Something Else Entirely.

"It was around noon when I stepped off the train, surfacing into Lower Manhattan's particular brand of winter blight-when the cold is amplified by tall buildings that block out direct sun and funnel air directly onto your face. It was about 25 degrees, though the temperature felt theoretical once the wind got involved. Within minutes my ears had gone brittle, aching in that sharp kind of way that makes you briefly resent your parents for ever leaving the Middle East."

"I followed a small group of South Asian aunties in industrial-grade puffers and bright yellow "Zohran" campaign beanies, which smartly functioned equally as political statements and survival gear. They led me toward the official public "block party," a kenneled-off stretch of Broadway that I had optimistically imagined would involve warmth-adjacent amenities: food carts, coffee in little paper cups that burn your fingers just a bit, maybe even porta-potties."

A person stepped off the train into Lower Manhattan's particular winter blight, where tall buildings amplify cold and funnel wind onto the face. Temperatures near 25 degrees felt theoretical once the wind arrived, leaving ears brittle and aching. A small group of South Asian aunties in industrial-grade puffers and bright yellow 'Zohran' campaign beanies functioned as both political statements and survival gear. An official public block party proved to be a kenneled-off, empty stretch of Broadway hemmed in by police barricades and large screens, with music blasting and people standing around. The person then moved north toward City Hall Plaza to witness the scheduled inauguration of Zohran Mamdani, described as the first Muslim, first South Asian, first African-born, and first millennial mayor of New York.

Read at Slate Magazine