In the past year, Zohran Mamdani has become a growing force in New York City’s political and cultural life, bringing together people in all business sectors, boroughs, neighborhoods and artistic circles. On Tuesday, November 4, Mamdani, a Socialist, made history: The first Muslim mayor of New York City and the youngest Mayor – elected in a century. His campaign didn’t sell on metaphor or desire. It refers to the conditions in which the New Yorkers are trying to live: Hiring that removes the paychecks to be difficult decisions, the snow attack in reducing the budget and the fiery cut of more than 40 million Americans.
Mamdani’s other suggestions may seem good if one has never had to choose between rent, food and travel. There is free public transport. Hiring pressures are driving up housing costs. Tax the wealthy who use New York as a cultural playground maintained by everyone’s work. These are not bad thoughts. They are pragmatic answers that the city can support working people, including artists.
It is also important that Mamdani’s relationship with culture is direct, always alive. His mother, Mira NIR, has been with the International Cinema of other countries for four decades, building a film infrastructure without generations of artists. His wife, Rama Duwaji, is a working example of navigating procrastinating invoices, health care, rehiring and crazy resilience. Mamdani’s politics does not consider that cultural workers come from outside. They come from within themselves economically and emotionally.
“When I talk about the importance of making the most expensive city in the United States. “We will not have art if we do not hire that the artist can. We can’t be creative if we can’t take care of children if we can’t find $2.90 to afford the luxury of a few.”
Many in the art world understand the importance of this. Others reacted with fear. One of the most negative reactions came from the Instagram account @jerrygogosia. In an IG story posted on November 6, the account said: “Mamdani is bad for the art world. You complain enough if you have to separate the fifty one seller from your seller.”
This was not attacked as Satire, Irony, performance or provocation. It is presented as objective fact. And when pushback came, instead of backing down, clarifying or rethinking, Jerry doubled down. He then posted a video of Richard Spencer – a well-known Neo-Nazi – on his news in an attempt to defend his position with the “free speech” argument. This was not a slur on Fascism. It was the spread of Fascist propaganda in tax practice. It was a typical rhetorical arrangement used to oppress artists, not to protect me.
It also makes sense to realize that Jerry doesn’t always live in New York. The criticism was not just unfair – it was geographically and materially removed from the conditions of the city he spoke of.
And those situations are real. I teach in the Cuny program. I work as a creative journalist and critic. I navigate abuse, intimidation, high recruitment and diminishing support from institutions and my students, colleagues and peers. The erosion of free speech is not seen as speech. It can be seen as pressure. It is seen how I can discuss war, work, protest and national power in the classroom. A year and a half ago, my reporting on the student protests against the war in Gaza and the organized efforts led to my LinkedIn profile being hacked by My Links Profile wanted by Homand Security. That one It looks like what it’s like when speech is actually at risk.
Be why it is so confusing to see “free speech” that seeks to protect the comfort of the rich while those who actually speak, teach, organize and build institutions within.
The history of modern art in New York is divided by affordability, physicality and survival. Revealing the invisible on the industrial floor. QueER night and bar performance put together with borrowed money. Street art, punk and independent film are fueling neighborhood developers who haven’t given up yet. Culture requires time, intimacy and the ability to stay in place long enough to create new forms.
When employment increases, when wages are fixed, when transportation is unaffordable, when workers are treated as inputs instead of livelihoods, culture does not decline. Moving. It’s going. If billions in taxes threaten a certain kind of art world, then the art world in question has never had art. It was an investment plan with wall labels. It was a dedicated maintenance sold as a judgment of beauty.
Mamdani is not a threat to culture or artists. It is a threat to the idea that the rich are the natural guardians of nature and have the right to out artists. People who have made traditions have been supported by the city for decades. Now people who benefit from culture can be asked to donate. If that sounds like a fall, it’s only a fairy tale fall. It is not the end of the tradition. It is the beginning of its correction.
