BY EMILY SUHR
While many in New York City welcome the new mayoral administration with optimism, some young residents of Gerritsen Beach did not vote in the election, citing a lack of time, limited information, and doubts that the new leader will actually uphold promises.
Even though youth turnout citywide climbed in 2025, with about 19% of eligible voters aged 18-29 casting ballots on Election Day compared to 11.1% in 2021, some young voters still haven’t made it a priority. Amanda Curran, 21, voted in the primaries but didn’t make it to the general election.
“I just planned my time super poorly and unfortunately couldn’t get out there in time,” said Curran.
This comes after reports that this year’s mayoral race made history, breaking NYC non-presidential early voting records. Over the nine-day period, more than 700,000 New Yorkers cast their ballots ahead of Election Day. Brooklyn also saw the largest early-voting check-in figures, reflecting strong participation across the borough. Despite that, some young voters with opinions in Gerritsen Beach still didn’t take it to the polls.
“If I did vote, it would have been for Mamdani,” said Curran. “NYC as a whole has become way too unaffordable for a great percentage of people.”
Christopher Carbone, 21, also did not vote in this election. Like many across the city, social media influenced his thoughts on the race. Over half of people aged 18-29 find social media important for them getting involved, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center.
“I didn’t really know much surrounding the election, mainly what I saw online like Mamdani is a communist and Curtis got shot in the subway and Cuomo is corrupt,” said Carbone. “I probably would have voted for Mamdani because he is the youngest and Cuomo has failed the city before.”
Carbone said he was drawn to the candidacy of Zohran Mamdani because of his proposals to make rent more affordable and improve transportation, but added, “I doubt anything will change.”
This was a common line of reasoning for young people in Gerritsen Beach. Several other residents aged 25 and younger liked what Mamdani was promising, but didn’t feel the need to actually vote for it to happen. Instead, they only showed a passive type of support, cheering on from the sidelines rather than get involved directly.
This skepticism in Gerritsen Beach reflects a broader political challenge of finding and maintaining trust in the people who are supposed to lead and their proposed policies.