Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Wednesday’s Headlines: They Said ‘Cuo-No’ Edition

It's Zohver, it's all Zohver. Plus other news.

Zohran Mamdani loves the bus … and now he’s almost certainly the Democratic nominee for mayor.

|The Streetsblog Photoshop Desk

It's Zohver — voters said, "Cuomo? Oh no!"

Today's papers will be dominated by news that Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani shocked the world with a Democratic Primary tally of roughly 43.5 percent of the votes versus Andrew Cuomo's 36 percent. Brad Lander, who cross-endorsed Mamdani had about 11 percent. (Click around on the Times's "most detailed map" or The City's "How Your Neighborhood Voted in the NYC Mayoral Election" map.)

Those first night numbers suggest that Mamdani will officially become the Democratic nominee for mayor next week when the Board of Elections pushes the ranked choice voting buttons and reallocates the votes of the also-ran candidates to Mamdani and Cuomo.

In a sparsely attended concession speech, Cuomo not only admitted that he'd lost the primary, but he raised questions about whether he'll continue his campaign on his independent ballot line in November. Rather than say, "This is not the last night of my primary campaign, but the first day of my mayoral campaign," he said he'd "look at the numbers" before deciding what to do next. (The Post played up his speech as not just a concession, but a departure, but we'll see.)

We'll have more coverage later (including of how Public Advocate Jumaane Williams trounced Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar, as the Times and Gothamist reported), but if you're obsessed with vote-counting, head elsewhere.

In other news from a slow day (for everyone else):

  • Election Day had gotten off to an interesting start: Daily News reporter Chris Sommerfeldt posted on Bluesky that it looked like Cuomo would drive the three blocks to his polling place. But after Sommerfeldt posted the skeet, Cuomo ended up walking (though he did get picked up by an SUV, which spirited him away).
  • It's also worth remembering that not a single member of Streetsblog's celebrity panel even ranked Cuomo, let alone put him at the top of their ballot.
  • The hottest day of the year was also a cascading nightmare of power failures for the subway system (and, yes, I can say that from personal experience). Thank goodness for Citi Bike. (NYDN)
  • State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli punctured the MTA's boasts about its service increase post-Grand Central Madison. (NY Post)
  • The Daily News editorial board counsels caution on driverless cabs.
  • Finally, Streetsblog is crowd-sourcing your Bedford Avenue bike lane stories. Click here or below:

Streetsblog has been covering the fight over the Bedford Ave. protected bike lane for a long time.Now, it's time to share YOUR story 🗣️

Streetsblog NYC (@nyc.streetsblog.org) 2025-06-24T19:40:30.950Z

—with David Meyer

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Amtrak’s Dithering Means Penn Access Won’t Be Done ‘Til 2030, MTA Says

Boom: The MTA's ambitious Penn Access project is delayed until 2030 at the earliest ... and Amtrak is to blame, says the MTA.

October 28, 2025

From Parking to Park: East Side Lot To Become Public Space

The East Side finally gets back some of its waterfront from cars.

October 28, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: ‘Life After Cars’ With Doug Gordon and Saray Goodyear

Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of The War on Cars podcast on their new book, opposing views, Turtle Jesus and potential off-ramps towards car-free cities.

October 28, 2025

Vision Zero Cities: How Istanbul Builds Subways Cheap — And What U.S. Cities Can Learn

Istanbul has expanded its subway network by more than 200 miles over the past three decades.

October 28, 2025

Tuesday’s Headines: Amtrak Agonistes Edition

The MTA is blaming the national rail system for delays on the Penn Access project. Plus other news.

October 28, 2025

Ugly Truth: Feds’ Canal Street Raid Pushed Aside NYPD, Safety and Free Speech

President Trump's heavily armed and masked immigration troops are turning American cities into battlegrounds — and eliminating accountability and free speech in the public realm.

October 27, 2025
See all posts