A giant yellow banner on a busy expressway linking New York's Brooklyn and Queens boroughs proclaims: "Vote Zohran -- for a city we can afford."

The city's soaring cost of living, perhaps more than any other issue, has propelled the unlikely Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani to the front of the Big Apple's mayoral race.

Early voting began Saturday and election day is November 4.

Astronomical rents and housing scarcity are pervasive problems in America's most populous city of 8.5 million people where one in four people cannot afford life's essentials.

In June, the median New York rent exceeded $4,000 for the first time, according to the StreetEasy property site -- more than double the US average.

Unregulated rents increased 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared

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