Why some Black New Yorkers see gentrification on the ballot in NYC mayor’s race
Renee Collymore says she has watched her Brooklyn neighborhood of Clinton Hill transform from a middle-class enclave for Black homeowners to a casualty of the crack epidemic to one of the borough's most desirable places to live.
She is a dying breed of political leader in this racially diverse and liberal neighborhood: a Black moderate Democrat who despises Zohran Mamdani and everything he represents. That includes his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America (“the far left”), his proposal for free buses (“there’s no free anything”) and even bike lanes (a symbol of “privilege”).
“Gentrification has torn this community apart,” said Collymore, who served as a district leader.
She sees Mamdani as the candidate of the gentrifiers. His upset win in the Democratic primary and front-runner status has prompted an existential crisis of sorts for Collymore, who has been active in local politics all of her adult life. Mamdani’s pledge to make the city more affordable should in theory appeal to Collymore, who has watched countless neighbors get priced out of Clinton Hill. But she suspects Mamdani will accelerate the economic forces changing the makeup of Black neighborhoods by greenlighting housing that’s out of reach for lower-income residents.
“Who's actually screaming for the housing?” she asked. “And why is that demographic screaming for housing?”
Some Black voters in the city are confronting a new political calculus in this year’s mayoral race. Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblymember from Queens, defied conventional political wisdom by winning the Democratic primary without a Black majority. He did so by running up the score in gentrified neighborhoods where liberal white voters have displaced older Black residents. Mamdani
Mamdani’s rival Andrew Cuomo, a household name in Democratic politics, has seized on that dynamic. His closing argument ahead of Election Day frames the race as old New York (Cuomo) versus new New York (Mamdani).
“Gentrifiers have raised the rent in this city and disrespected communities for far too long,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference last week where he endorsed Cuomo. “And [Mamdani is] the king of the gentrifiers.”
Cuomo, who won predominantly Black districts like Southeast Queens and parts of Central Brooklyn in the primary, said at the same event he is seeking the votes of “every New Yorker who’s a real New Yorker.”
