USA Africa Dialogue Series - Mamdani mania hits New York

*Correspondent's dispatch: Mamdani mania hits New York*

Rosemarie Ward

New York correspondent

The last time I was at Forest Hills Stadium I saw LL Cool J, Run DMC and Queen Latifah. On Sunday, nine days before New Yorkers vote for a new mayor, I saw another trio on stage there: Bernie Sanders, Vermont's socialist senator, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive New York congresswoman, and Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist who defeated Andrew Cuomo , the former governor, in June's primary.

The lefty line-up headlined a "New York is not for Sale" rally. Mr Mamdani has stumped on this theme, along with promises to make the city more affordable, throughout his campaign. Most of the 13,000 enthusiastic supporters in attendance were young. Many wore red "Democratic Socialists" sweatshirts. Others donned yellow and blue attire in homage to the colour scheme of Mr Mamdani's campaign logo. One supporter wore a pin declaring "Hot Girls Want To Freeze Rent", a nod to Mr Mamdani's affordability platform. Union members mixed with Twitch streamers.

Kathy Hochul, New York's moderate governor, was drowned out by chants of "tax the rich", which Mr Mamdani wants to do to pay for his agenda. She opposes this part of his plan. Mr Mamdani joined her on stage and raised her hand in the air, to remind his fans she was on his team.

Several speakers warned the crowd, many of whom were among his 90,000 canvassers, that despite Mr Mamdani's lead in polls, they should not be complacent. Along with rallying the crowd to fight Mr Trump and the "oligarchy", Mr Sanders cautioned that Mr Mamdani does not have all the answers and he will still have to pick up the rubbish and keep crime low.

Despite the cautions against complacency, the rally seemed like a victory celebration. Not everyone is excited at the prospect of Mr Mamdani becoming mayor. Many moderates are lukewarm and many business leaders remain sceptical. Before the rally began I spotted a former staffer to Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire who was New York's mayor from 2002 to 2013. I overheard him joke: "I'm a spy for the capitalists."

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