Citywide Picture – and What Happened in Our Neighborhoods

Citywide, Zohran Mamdani won the mayor’s race with about 50.4% of the vote (1,036,051 votes), ahead of Andrew Cuomo with 41.6% (854,995) and Curtis Sliwa with 7.1% (146,137), on a turnout of just over 2 million ballots — the highest for a New York City mayoral race in decades.  He carried Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan, with Cuomo’s strength concentrated in Staten Island and pockets of more conservative or affluent neighborhoods.

But the real story for us is how Queens — and especially our Bukharian-heavy areas — voted.

In Central and Eastern Queens, the map was more nuanced than a simple red/blue picture:

• In parts of Flushing and Forest Hills, as well as several election districts in Jamaica Estates, Glen Oaks and Kew Gardens Hills, Cuomo actually won individual districts by 70–75% margins, even as Queens as a whole went for Mamdani.
• That means many of our neighbors — particularly in the frum and traditional areas — sent a very clear message on crime, public safety, and quality-of-life issues, even while the city overall swung the other way.

On the City Council side, the districts that cover the heart of Bukharian life in Queens all stayed in familiar hands:

• District 23 – including Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Hollis Hills and Holliswood – is represented by Linda Lee (D, incumbent), who went into Election Day as the strong favorite and is on track to continue in that role.
• District 24 – covering Fresh Meadows, Pomonok, Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills and surrounding areas – remains with Councilman James Gennaro (D), a name well-known to many in our community.
• District 29 – Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Rego Park – is set to stay with Lynn Schulman (D), who fended off a Republican challenge from Jonathan Rinaldi.

So even as the mayor’s race brought in a new face at City Hall, the council districts surrounding Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Fresh Meadows, Jamaica Estates and Holliswood will continue to be represented by the same Democratic incumbents — people whose offices our community already knows and works with.

 

Nassau & West Hempstead – What the Numbers Say

Across the county line, Nassau delivered a very different message.

County-wide, Republicans swept all four major offices:

• County Executive: Incumbent Bruce Blakeman (R) won re-election with about 56% of the vote over Democrat Seth Koslow’s 44%.
• District Attorney: Anne Donnelly (R) secured another term.
• Comptroller: Elaine Phillips (R) held on to her office.
• County Clerk: Maureen O’Connell (R) also won re-election, completing a clean sweep of the county-wide positions.

In the Town of Hempstead, where so many West Hempstead and Five Towns families live:

• John Ferretti (R) won the Hempstead Town Supervisor race with about 53.3% of the vote against Democrat Joe Scianablo’s 46.7%, and the GOP held the town board by a 6–1 margin.

When you zoom down to the Nassau County Legislature districts that include West Hempstead, the picture is even more detailed:

• The redistricting earlier this year placed much of West Hempstead into the new District 5, with other portions falling into District 3.
• In District 5, which includes large pieces of Hempstead, Uniondale, West Hempstead and Franklin Square, Olena Nicks (D) defeated Moshe Hill (R) with about 57.4% (6,041 votes) to 42.6% (4,481 votes).
• In District 3, covering Elmont, Lakeview, parts of Malverne, Valley Stream and portions of West Hempstead and Franklin Square, Carrie Solages (D) won comfortably with about 66.1% (8,358 votes) over Republican Kadeem Brown’s 33.8% (4,269 votes).

So in West Hempstead and the surrounding area, you have a Republican-leaning county and town government, paired with Democratic wins in the key local legislative districts that contain many Orthodox and Bukharian families. That tension — between local needs and broader political trends — is exactly where advocacy will matter most going forward.