A contingent of concerned New Yorkers raced to the polls Saturday as early voting kicked off in one of the most heated mayoral races in recent memory .

People casting ballots at early-voting sites throughout the city cited concerns over affordable housing, public safety and the need for improved transportation in the five boroughs as they chose between Democratic nominee and front-runner Zohran Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

“For the city to be a functioning city into the future, everybody has to be able to have an affordable place to live,” Brett Cott said as he exited an early-voting poll site at Bronx Supreme Court Saturday. Cott, 54, marked his ballot for Mamdani. “It’s a huge problem for everyone,” he said

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