A Bronx video, a year apart: How Zohran Mamdani’s street conversation became his road to City Hall

Full circle on Fordham Road

When Zohran Mamdani returned to Fordham Road in the Bronx last week, the transformation was striking. A year ago, he stood there with a Sharpie-written sign, 'Let’s Talk Election,' asking New Yorkers why they had backed Donald Trump or chosen not to vote at all.

Few stopped to speak.

Now, the same street stopped for him.

A Parks Department worker yelled, 'It’s the president!' as Mamdani, now New York City’s mayor-elect, made his way up the familiar hill in Rose Hill Park. Cars honked, strangers shouted his name, and a woman in a hijab kissed the campaign pamphlet he handed her.

On November 4, a day before votes were counted, Mamdani posted the same video on X (formerly Twitter) with one understated line:

“A few days after the presidential election one year ago, we went to Fordham Road in the Bronx. It was a little different last week.”

By the next evening, he had won the mayoral race, becoming New York City’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in more than a century.

A few days after the presidential election one year ago, we went to Fordham Road in the Bronx.

It was a little different last week. pic.twitter.com/9lc7VemaxG

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— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) November 3, 2025

The video that started it all

The footage from that first visit, filmed just after Trump’s re-election in 2024, showed Mamdani talking to ordinary voters about why they felt alienated from politics. Many cited frustration with Democrats, anger over Gaza, and exhaustion over the high cost of living.

That short, unvarnished video struck a nerve. It was shared across platforms, gaining traction for its honesty and lack of polish. Viewers saw something missing in mainstream politics, a candidate who listened rather than lectured.

The same spot, a new story

Walking the same pavement last week, Mamdani was no longer the man with a question, he was the answer many New Yorkers had chosen.

Alongside him was Andrew Epstein, one of his earliest aides. Last year, Epstein had held the 'Let’s Talk Election' sign just off camera. This time, his new sign read: 'Our Time Has Come.'

The symbolism was obvious. What began as a street conversation had turned into a citywide mandate.