In one of his TikTok videos/campaign ads, Zohran Mamdani (suit, tie, no helmet) unlocks a Citi Bike from an Upper East Side dock as someone off in the distance yells “Communist!”

Without missing a beat he replies, “It’s pronounced cyclist!”

In an electoral campaign defined by Mamdani—his youth, that he’s a Muslim, his views toward Israel, and his affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America—many have missed that Mamdani might become the first New York City Mayor to be a real cyclist, the first Citi Bike Mayor.

The irony should be obvious. Citi Bike is named for and sponsored by Citibank, which, as you might have guessed, is a bank. It’s currently valued at around $180 billion. I’m not sure there’s a more potent symbol of capitalism. Also, Citi Bike is not operated by the City o

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