Let's Go, New York

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LISTENING: to my kitty snore
FEELING: ...hope?
SEEING: the sun blaze outside

In a mayoral forum in May, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani was clear when asked about what song he loves to hear blasting out of New Yorkers' car windows: "Many Men" by 50 Cent. 😮‍💨

I remember being in fifth grade, prancing about in my backyard, singing at the top of my lungs every lyric on 50 Cent's debut album. It was 2003. I was 10. My family still owned the childhood home we lost in 2020. My brother had purchased "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," and my mind was blown. So was apparently all of my fifth-grade classmates'. Our yearbook is full of elementary school faces with "50 Cent" listed next to them as their favorite singer. Even in the 'burbs of Long Island, we went hard for 50 because, well, the guy got bars. And he's from Queens!

I already loved Mamdani, but when he gave that answer, I felt seen. And Tuesday night, for the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful. The election results started pouring in after 9 pm. Things were looking good, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Then, disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo threw in the towel. Mamdani had won. My door-knocking wasn't for nothing! Every action we take, big or small, political or not, contributes to change. His primary victory reminded me of that. We did that, y'all. The people did. I've never been prouder to be a New Yorker.

Welcome to Possibilities, a creative climate newsletter on the possibilities that lie where crisis meets community. I’m Yessenia Funes, and I'm ready for a Mayor Mamdani.

A few months ago, I sat at a seafood boil joint with two homegirls and told them how excited I was about Mamdani. I was set to leave for Palestine in a few days, and he inspired me. He was running on a pro-Palestine platform. My friends, however, were wary. They didn't think he could win. Not with Cuomo running.

Then, in Palestine, I came face to face with family after family and farmer after family. They looked at me and asked simply: What will you do for us when you return home? I knew in that moment that writing and reporting were no longer enough. I came home, and I started knocking on doors. For Mamdani. Even then, people were skeptical. Smart people. Organizers. Activists. The type of people I would consider fearless — ones who joined me on the delegation to Palestine. They could not fathom a political victory like Mamdani's, not when the establishment was so set on squashing it.

And I get why. We've grown jaded as progressives. Cynical. Hopeless. A second Trump presidency would do that. What Mamdani's campaign has done, however, is ignite the people once more. He's brought us back to life. Reminded us of the change we've long hungered for. And climate people, he's promising a lot. I'm pumped, of course, about all the things he wants to do: create city-owned grocery stores, speak up for Gaza, freeze the rent, and provide free childcare. The climate stuff, though, is the shit I get geeked on.

Let's break it down.

"Mamdani’s historic primary win is a victory for the climate movement," said John Qua, campaign director for Lead Locally, an advocacy group focused on local elections. "Mamdani's primary win connects local climate action to the fight to make our cities affordable. His agenda should be a model for mayoral candidates across the country who are concerned about climate change."

The most popular promise Mamdani has made is fast and free buses. As a state assemblyman, Mamdani has already accomplished this through a pilot program. Now, he wants to expand that. As a Queens girlie who regularly takes the bus, I would love to see these rides move faster. And I don't need to tell y'all how crucial public transit is to reducing greenhouse gases from vehicles. I would drive my car a whole lot less if I knew I could actually rely on these buses to get me home at a decent time.

In an ask-me-anything Reddit thread, Mamdani also said he hopes to create "universal school streets," which would close the streets in front of city schools to vehicle traffic. This change would add a ton of new open streets to neighborhoods, places folks can walk or ride their bikes without worrying about cars. He also discussed plans to pedestrianize the congestion relief zone in Lower Manhattan (y'know, where cars have to pay more to cross into now and that people love to hate). He wants to add and protect bike lanes. And he wants to do so with the immigrant delivery bikers in mind. Yasss!

Mamdani's climate platform is explicit on his ambitions to decarbonize the city's grid and invest in climate resiliency. He wants to use the city's public lands to develop renewable energy projects. He's thinking about floods and heat waves (I haven't left my house amid the current heat advisory). He wants to create resilience hubs that can serve as safe spaces during emergencies. He's fighting to stop utility asshole ConEd from spiking our rates. He wants to turn school parks that become burn zones in the summer into green oases where children can safely play outside.

"If Mamdani wins the seat, his office will reduce the carbon footprint of the largest city in the country," Qua said.

None of this will be easy. The political establishment will try to take him down. They'll do all they can to stop Mamdani from winning again in November. If he wins then, they'll do whatever they can to ensure he fails and make voters regret electing a socialist. He'll make compromises, some great and some small. He'll disappoint us as all politicians do. He'll also continue to inspire us. To fight for us. To fight for this city. And who knows? Maybe he'll decide to run for a bigger seat next time. I could ride for a Zohran-AOC presidential ticket!

A girl can dream. And that's what Mamdani has sparked in all of us today: dreams we thought were long dead. And I'm not talking about the type of dream that still upholds the status quo — the Kamala-Harris-as-our-first-woman president dream. That was never a real dream of mine. That was settling. Now, we dream big. We dream of freedom. Affordability. Of returning a city to its roots. Of immigrants.

The right tells us that this city — that this country — is not for us. Our elected officials, bought and paid for by the fossil fuel sector, tell us either that the climate crisis isn't real or that it's God's will. They want to keep polluting this planet and killing our kids. They think that's the future we deserve.

Well, let's prove them wrong.

As Mamdani said during his victory speech Tuesday, quoting the great Nelson Mandela, "It always seems impossible until it is done." 🌀

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