It was 10 p.m. on election night. Twenty minutes prior, most news organizations had called the New York City mayoral race for state assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a previously obscure politician who rose to power through an unrelenting campaign for affordability .

In a long line to enter Mamdani’s election night party at the Brooklyn Paramount, Naftali, 31, who declined to give his last name, was in good spirits.

“I’m feeling incredible,” he said. “I’m so hopeful about the future of our city and of American politics.”

Naftali had door-knocked for Mamdani since December. Though the campaign wasn’t laser-focused on climate issues, he felt that many of Mamdani’s promises to improve transit, such as making buses “fast and free,” intersect with environmental issues.

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