Scenes From Election Day on the Upper West Side

By Brendan Rose and Gus Saltonstall

Election Day officially began in New York City at 6 a.m. Tuesday, when poll sites opened. They will remain open on the Upper West Side and throughout the city until 9 p.m.

Early voting, which ended Monday, set a record for the city, with over 735,000 people casting ballots. But West Side Rag reporters traveling around the neighborhood Tuesday morning still found a steady stream of voters at polling sites on West 76th Street, West 84th Street, West 101st Street, and West 103rd Street.

“We will see if we can actually get these things done, but I want a candidate that wants to try to do good things,” Loie Platz, who voted in the mayoral race for Democrat Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday morning at West 103rd Street, told the Rag.

Other locals coming out of the West 103rd Street polling site said they had cast their votes for Andrew Cuomo.

“It was a tough choice, but I felt a little bit more experience was necessary,” Roz Leibowitz said. “And I have to say that there were some things regarding Jewish New Yorkers that got me a little bit upset. But I know Mamdani is going to win, so I wish him good luck and I hope we all have good luck with him.”

Along with the voters in the neighborhood were elected officials, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg at the corner of West 84th Street and Columbus Avenue, who is on the ballot for reelection.

“It is great to be out here interacting with voters on the Upper West Side,” Bragg told the Rag. “Obviously, it is an area of the borough that votes in high numbers, but we’re also throughout the borough engaging with voters everywhere.”

Nearby, the Rag bumped into former U.S. Senator Al Franken coming out of a polling site in the West 70s.

“I voted for Mamdani,” Franken, who moved back to New York City from Minnesota in 2021, told the Rag. “I like him. I hope he’ll be able to make up for his inexperience and put together a good team. He was the first to jump on affordability and the rest of the country kind of followed him. The city needs to get more affordable for people.”

There were teams of volunteers at the corners of the UWS polling sites, including a noticeable uptick in the number of Cuomo supporters handing out literature, compared to the June Democratic primary. There was still a strong Mamdani field team present in the neighborhood on Tuesday, while the Rag did not see any volunteers for Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

Though he lost citywide, Cuomo won the Upper West Side by four percentage points in the Democratic primary, with 34 percent of the vote compared to Mamdani’s 30 percent, and Brad Lander’s 25 percent. T

Farther uptown, the Rag also caught up with City Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who is running for reelection in District 7, and State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who is the Democratic nominee for Manhattan Borough President.

“The interactions regarding my race are very positive,” Abreu said about his Tuesday morning conversations with voters. “This district goes blue in every general election, so nothing really there to worry about, but I think people are excited more broadly about the mayoral race.”

Abreu officially endorsed Mamdani in July.

Hoylman-Sigal also said the response from voters had been “positive.” There is a “sense of understanding this moment is one that could set the direction for this city for the next decade,” he told the Rag. “The consequences are profound and Upper West Siders understand that, no matter what side they’re on in the mayor’s race.”

Hoylman-Sigal also endorsed Mamdani over the summer.

Other Election Day Upper West Side sights included a bake sale outside a West 76th Street polling site, organized by students raising money for the Anderson School. The choices included homemade treats and other baked goods donated by local businesses.

There was also neighborhood political button man Michael Zorek, who was outside the West 84th Street polling site selling his goods. He donates a portion of his profits to local political engagement groups.

The Rag will update this story throughout the day, and also publish a results story later tonight.

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