A divided Queens votes in record numbers

Queens voters headed to the polls in record numbers on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Eagle photo by Noah Powelson

By Jacob Kaye, Ryan Schwach and Noah Powelson

Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo may both have unprecedented ties to the World’s Borough, but there was no love lost between their respective supporters in Queens as voters cast their ballots in the mayoral race in massive numbers on Tuesday.

Voter turnout across the borough was high. Lines formed in both the most progressive pockets and conservative corners of Queens. Voters were adamant – the mayoral race at the top of the ticket demanded their attention.

The race between Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa drew out scores of voters in North Shore Towers, a co-op in Glen Oaks home to thousands of retirees who voted in large numbers for Cuomo during the primary race he lost in June. But voters also showed up in droves in Astoria, the home of Mamdani’s base and the area that saw, by far, the largest amount of early votes cast in the race in Queens.

Over 176,360 voters cast ballots in Queens on election day before 3 p.m. Over 166,510 more cast ballots during the 10-day early voting period that preceded Tuesday’s election.

Queens’ turnout was replicated citywide, with over 1 million votes cast by noon. By 3 p.m., more votes had been cast than any mayoral election since 2001.

And while the mayoral race took center stage, some voters in Queens cast ballots in open City Council races. Others had strong feelings about several of the ballot proposals, which will influence the way housing is built in the city.

The Eagle fanned out across the borough to speak with Queens voters about the election on Tuesday. Read more below.

Mamdani mania

During the primary election, Mamdani won over 55 percent of the vote in Queens after all of the ranked-choice ballots had been counted.

His popularity has not waned in many parts of the borough since then.

Unsurprisingly, Mamdani was popular on his home turf, where turnout was surging both in the city’s early voting period and on Tuesday.

Younger voters in particular appeared to be showing up in large numbers to cast their ballots for the local assemblymember at P.S. 70 in Astoria.

Less than two hours after the start of election day, the poll site was registering one and a half votes per minute.

Nearly all of the voters who spoke with the Eagle at the Astoria polling site said they were concerned about how expensive the city’s gotten, and voted for Mamdani specifically because of his promises to make the five boroughs more affordable.

Emily May, who moved to New York City 14 years ago, said that she cast her ballot for Mamdani even though she plans to leave Queens soon. Her departure will be due, in part, to the fact that she doesn’t find it economically feasible to raise a family in the city.

“It is kind of crazy to think, ‘Well, if we want two kids, how are we going to do that?’” May said. “The city is just getting stupid expensive, and it just feels like it's becoming more of a party playground for people who are affluent or have money. Maybe a mayor can't fix everything, but you actually have to have somebody who gives a sh–t about the people who live here.”

Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani votes at an Astoria polling site on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.AP photo by Olga Fedorova

Over at Information Technology High School in Long Island City, Anne and Doug Harris brought their two-year-old daughter to the polls. The couple said that they hope she’ll have the opportunity to grow up in the borough but that staying in New York City may be difficult.

“It gets harder every year,” Doug Harris said. “And we want to make sure that we and other people have that option, because we love the city, and we want to make sure that the kids who are born here get the chance to grow up here.”

Arty Przychodzki, a 35-year-old voter in Astoria, said that while he didn’t feel the economic pressures Mamdani has focused on during the campaign, he sees that others do.

“I'd love to see everyone have a chance to be able to afford the city,” Przychodzki said.

Przychodzki was also among a group of voters expected to have a major impact on the mayor’s race – first-timers.

“This is my first time ever voting for anything,” he said. “But when someone comes in and is filled with life and vigor, and brings people together, I'm for that.”

Mamdani’s campaign drew out a large number of first-time voters during the primary and would likely need those same votes to win in the general election.

More than 107,000 first-time voters registered in the five boroughs since the primary, according to reporting by the New York Times.

Among them were siblings Irfani, Atinuke and Abi Da Silva, who spoke to the Eagle outside of P.S. 182 on Hillside Avenue in Jamaica. The trio were drawn out to register to vote and to ultimately make their way to the polls by Mamdani’s candidacy.

Atinuke Da Silva, 28, said that Mamdani was the most relatable of all the mayoral contenders.

“He spoke the most to me out of all the candidates,” Atinuke Da Silva said.

In Ridgewood, Natalie, a voter in her mid-30s, told the Eagle she voted for Brad Lander in the primary and didn’t really have an opinion on Mamdani until he won. In the months since, she’s become more enthusiastic about the prospect of a Mayor Mamdani.

“We need someone who is looking out for the working class,” she said.

A Cuomo comeback

While turnout was high in districts that Mamdani was expected to win by a large margin, Cuomo-supporting districts also saw massive turnout on Tuesday.

The North Shore Towers, a Glen Oaks co-op complex home to a large number of retirees, saw lines outside of its polling site throughout the morning.

Many voting in the Eastern Queens neighborhood, which gave Cuomo 61 percent of the vote during the primary race, said they would be again casting their ballot for the former governor.

But often voters said their motivations were less about Cuomo’s vision for the city and more in opposition to Mamdani’s candidacy.

Merrill, a North Shore Towers voter who declined to give her last name, said she was worried that Mamdani’s policies would lead to an exodus of the city’s wealthiest residents.

“[Mamdani] is going to drive out the rich people and those rich people earn their money,” she said. “They have a right to live here with their money. They earned it. You can’t take it from them and give it to the poor.”

Independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, ballot in hand, walks to a voting booth in Manhattan on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. AP photo by Richard Drew

Cuomo found some strong support in Middle Village.

There, an auto mechanic named Larry said that “not much” drew him to Cuomo except his experience.

He wasn’t alone.

Alvaro, a Middle Village voter who went to the polls with his wife and daughter, said that the family was voting for Cuomo because of the work he did as governor.

“I think he has a lot of experience,” Alvaro said. “I agree with some of [his policies], some I don’t agree…but he did good things for the city and the state.”

And while some touted Cuomo’s experience, others said they couldn’t vote for Mamdani, who has served as an assemblymember in Queens since 2021, because of his lack of it.

Ann Collins, a 50-year-old lifelong resident of Astoria, said that she’s been concerned about a general disorder in the city over the past several years and that she believes Cuomo is best suited to address it.

“He’s the best choice of all three,” Collins said. “I don't think that Mamdani is experienced enough to run the city, plus I'm a Democrat, and that's too far liberal for me. And I don't think Sliwa could do it.”

Thelma and Ramon, a Ridgewood couple, said that they voted for the Queens-born Cuomo because they felt Mamdani’s resume was too thin.

“We felt we had to vote for Cuomo,” Thelma said. “Mamdani wasn’t our type of person to vote for because I feel he has no government experience. None whatsoever.”

Like many of the Mamdani voters who spoke with the Eagle on Tuesday, the Ridgewood couple said that they too had concerns about affordability.

“It’s ridiculous, it’s really gotten out of hand,” Thelma said. “$2,000 rent for a one-bedroom apartment? It’s outrageous…We live on a budget because we’re both retired. You see the increases inch up monthly in electricity, in our water, the rent, groceries.”

“It’s hard, and we’re only two people,” she added.

Some in Queens, including Rochdale Village voter Blake Osmond, said that he cast his vote for Cuomo because of his hometown ties.

“He's well known,” Osmond said. “I've never heard of Mamdani until this election. But I've always known of Cuomo and his family.”

Does Sliwa have a shot?

Few voters the Eagle spoke with on Tuesday said they had cast a ballot for Sliwa, who carried several districts in Northern Queens in 2021 when he ran as the Republican candidate against Mayor Eric Adams.

But some voters, like Maria in Middle Village, said that she was sticking by her candidate, even as President Donald Trump encouraged voters on Monday to vote for Cuomo to prevent a split vote and a Mamdani victory.

“He’s got the right ideas,” said Maria, who declined to give her last name.

The Middle Village voter said crime and public safety were top of mind when she went to the polls and that Sliwa’s history as the founder of the Guardian Angels makes her believe he’d make the city a safer place. She also couldn’t get behind either of the other candidates.

“I don’t like what the one guy stands for, and I don’t like what the other guy did,” she said.

Other voters also appeared to have an apathetic attitude toward the two frontrunners, despite the enthusiasm for the election throughout the city.

Elizabeth, a voter in Rochdale Village, wrote her own name as her choice for mayor.

“When I can't find a good candidate, I'm not going to waste my vote,” she said. “But I'm going to vote.”