With just days left before the Democratic primary, NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani joined more than 200 working-class New Yorkers at a get-out-the-vote rally Saturday afternoon in Jackson Heights.
Held at Diversity Plaza and backed by longtime supporters including CAAAV Voice, DRUM Beats, and New York Communities for Change (NYCC), the rally drew tenants, youth organizers, labor advocates, and local elected officials who praised Mamdani’s progressive agenda and ground-up campaign.
“Working-class New Yorkers have supported Zohran Mamdani since Day 1 of his campaign, and we’re pulling out all the stops to help elect him as our next mayor,” said Alicé Nascimento, political director of NYCC. “We’ve been actively engaging thousands of voters in communities of color since his campaign kicked off in October.”
Mamdani, a state Assembly Member representing western Queens and the son of Ugandan-Indian immigrants, delivered a fiery speech highlighting his immigrant background and his pledge to make New York City more affordable for working-class residents. If elected, he would be the first immigrant mayor in generations.
“We are just three days away from showing that it is possible to stand up and fight back against the Trump administration,” Mamdani said. “We are going to freeze the rent for more than 2 million New Yorkers, make buses fast and free, and deliver universal childcare.”
Mamdani’s platform includes a four-year rent freeze, universal after-school and childcare programs, free public buses, and legal representation for the city’s 400,000 immigrants facing deportation risks. His speech also emphasized restoring public faith in local democracy.
“Our city can be more than the luxury product Bloomberg described,” Mamdani said. “New York City can be a place where the working class not only survives—but thrives.”
The rally featured testimony from grassroots organizers and residents from immigrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs. Eon Tyrell Huntley, a parent and NYCC and Democratic Socialists of America member, underscored Mamdani’s commitment to tenants and the city’s underserved.
“I’ve watched my neighbors be priced out,” Huntley said. “We know that we deserve leaders who are going to fight for us—leaders like Zohran Mamdani.”
Support also came from local elected officials including Queens Assembly Members Claire Valdez and Steven Raga and Council Member Julie Won.
“I’ve worked with Zohran in Albany. He’s been on the front lines making sure working-class New Yorkers are not forgotten,” Raga said. “We need to make sure our buses are free and fast, and that our families have access to child care and housing stability.”
Community organizers and youth leaders voiced support as well. Polly Gong, a Chinatown youth leader with CAAAV Voice, emphasized the stakes for immigrant families: “A four-year rent freeze means not being afraid of losing a roof over your head. It means we can invest in our neighborhoods.”
Following the rally, hundreds of volunteers canvassed the neighborhood, knocking on doors and urging residents to rank Mamdani first on their ballots.
The event capped months of organizing by the endorsing groups, which have mobilized thousands of voters in neighborhoods including Chinatown, Sunset Park, Flatbush and throughout Queens.
The primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24, with early voting already underway.
Photos from the rally show a diverse cross-section of New Yorkers waving signs, marching through the streets, and posing with Mamdani, reflecting the multicultural coalition that has fueled his campaign.
As Mamdani told the crowd, “Victory is in your hands. If we want to win this race, we can vote for it, we can fight for it, and we can deliver the city we deserve.”
