This is my first column for the Village Star Revue. Getting the attention of people on the frantic streets of Manhattan is more challenging than getting people to talk to me on the laid-back streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn which I do every month for my People of Red Hook column. So, for my virgin POTV column, I waylaid mostly older people like myself, who tend to walk slower and couldn’t as easily breeze past me. But it worked out fine. My interviewees had interesting things to say about New York’s Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Linda Musial:
My husband hates him, but I have a good impression of him. I think he’s great. He’s got enthusiasm, he’s got wonderful ideas – I don’t know if some of his ideas will ever work, but free bus rides? Who could not like that?
Why doesn’t your husband like him?
I don’t know. He likes what’s his name. The more traditional one…
Brad Lander?
No. The one that committed –
Oh. Cuomo.
Yes. He’s more normal. He’s got experience – but he’s done some really bad things too, like, with women. I don’t like that.
Any other of Mamdani’s ideas that appeal to you, besides free bus service?
All of them. They’re all great. But I mean, how is he going to get free bus service? The taxes would be so high…
What about his ideas for affordable housing? That’s probably the most important issue in our city right now.
When I came here in 1965, I was paying $180 a month, and I had a roommate. But now my husband’s the super, so we pay rent, but not much. We couldn’t be here otherwise.
Back in the 1970s, I lived with my roommate in a beautiful one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side, and I paid less than a hundred dollars a month.
How can people pay such high rents? It’s not like they’re getting paid that much. We live in Soho. I see a huge change in who lives there.
When we were young, people used to crash in those warehouses over there. They didn’t even pay anything to live there! And now Soho is very upper-crust.
I see these (very wealthy) girls walking around with their hair down to here – I don’t like them. I mean I don’t know them, but I don’t like them.
This is the greatest city in the country, and it’s supposed to be accessible to everybody. And we’ve gotten away from that.
Exactly. I could never pay what they’re asking. I would go broke really fast.
Brian Porzak:
From what I know about (Mamdani), I think he’s an admirable person. As far as his qualities as a mayor, I don’t know if he’s the right person for that. I’m not voting for him because I feel that the person I am voting for has a tougher demeaner. Even if I don’t agree with him about everything, I think that right now, because of who’s in the White House, we need to have someone who’s very strong, and who can stand up to him. Right now, New York has to stand up to Trump. I think Mamdani is a great guy – don’t get me wrong – but right now we have to have the toughest guy we can get.
Well thank you so much for your time.
You are most welcome.
Eleni Mylonas:
I voted for Mamdani and I hope he will win. He seems willing to work – maybe he can use more experience – but you know, with inexperience, you have enthusiasm. I have a lot of experience, but I am what you would call jaded.
I can relate. So you voted for him and you’re hoping that he’ll win.
Yes! (Her friend shows up with their theater tickets.)
John Cosmas:
I definitely have a reticence about (Mamdani). I prefer someone who has more of a functional background, someone with more experience managing people and agencies.
So you’re concerned about his qualifications to be the mayor of the largest city in the country.
Yes, you could put it that way.
What about his ideas? He’s a socialist…
Well, a lot of words are being thrown around now, and what I prefer to look at are plans and actions.
Jeffrey Slatnick:
(Owner of the Music Inn on West 4th Street, in existence since 1958).
I like that (Mamdani) is young, and I’ve always been of a somewhat liberal persuasion. There are tons and tons to be learned in life for all of us, and him as well, so I wish him the best of luck. I usually don’t vote for candidates until I’m totally inspired by them.
When was the last time you felt that way?
When I first heard Obama, I voted for him.
Did Obama meet your expectations?
I didn’t have expectations. I just had a sensibility about him.
So now we have this guy, and you’re suspending judgement, would you say?
I don’t have any judgement about him. I probably won’t vote in the election. As an elderly person, it’s not unusual that I would have some liking of the Cuomo family, and thinking that someone with a lot of experience might be needed at a time when there’s a ruthlessness upon the land…
You’re not the first person who’s expressed that.
But it might be that Cuomo has been straightjacketed by his experiences and his past. Mamdani might just be the kind of suicidal fighter that we need at this time. I am of the view that everything that has happened and is happening is part of a divine continuum. And I find no fault with it. Each thing as it happens and as it unfolds has a lesson that brings us closer to recognizing the true reality of our existence.
So you think that Trump’s election will bring positive lessons?
I think the more compression on the stream of life, the faster it flows. People even age faster. But out of this tension (created by Trump) comes a need for a kind of order. And times like these always bring a personality that becomes a king, or whatever. It’s instinctive to humanity. And we just have to move on. The spirit of peace is also part of humanity. Right now (the peace and the tension) are both alive and at play, and they are both revealing themselves.
So how does Zohran Mamdani fit into the cosmic picture?
He’s just been projected into it, like you and I. We’re all in this endless play that’s part of the magic of existence. Zohran is fine. I have no idea whether he will be the mayor or what will happen.
Changing the subject from the spiritual to the political, what do you think about his politics about the Middle East? I ask you that because one of the guys sitting outside your store suggested that I talk to you, and he said to me, Jeff is a Jewish brother, and I’m a Jewish sister, so I thought I would ask…
I’m very deeply entwined in the Palestinian issue, and its relationship to the Jewish issue. During Covid I made a comic book about the ten plagues and their relationship to Egypt. I’ve always been uncomfortable with the traditional ancestral view.
You could rewrite the haggadah. (The Biblical story told by Jews on Passover about their people’s escape from slavery in Egypt and their journey to the promised land.)
I did rewrite it! But I put it in comic form so nobody would object to it.
Beverly Johnson:
(She declined to be photographed, but it’s worth mentioning that she is the only Black interviewee represented in today’s column.)
I don’t think there’s much of a choice. Eric Adams is corrupt, Cuomo would be a loser, it would be a step down to go from governor to mayor, and there are accusations against him as well as against our mayor. And Sliwa (Curtis Sliwa, the Republican mayoral candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels), I don’t think he’s qualified. He doesn’t have credentials, he was never appointed to anything.
So what about Mamdani?
Well, he’s a Muslim, and I don’t know if it would be a good idea for a Muslim to be mayor of New York City. He might have a lot of conflict with the Jewish people in New York. I could see it being problematic. Trump even said if he wins, he is going to step in and take over New York City! I think the best choice is Brad Lander.
A lot of people think Brad Lander is the most dependable choice.
Yes. Even though he hasn’t been appointed to any office, I still think he’s the best choice.
