# NYC Mayor election thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 24, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085 "2025-06-24T17:40:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/401 "2025-07-12T20:10:03Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > How often have you been to NYC? That cite is useless and is probably counting bodegas (which are not full grocery stores). > [@DrDeth](#): > > There are 5658 Grocery stores in New York City as of May 5, 2025; which is an 0.02% increase from 2023. Of these locations, 4834 Grocery stores which is 85.44% of all Grocery stores in New York City are single-owner operations, while the remaining 824 which is 14.56% are part of larger brands So, 824 are large chain grocery stores. > [@Loach](#): > > I hate to just tell someone to just google, but just google food deserts NYC and you will see cite after cite about the issue and for how long it’s been an issue. Sure there are. But you claimed- > [@Loach](#): > > Outside of the occasional Whole Foods in expensive neighborhoods there are very few grocery stores. So that shows how many there are. I made no claim about “food deserts” which also occur in several downtown areas- San Francisco, Chicago, etc. _My opinion_ was that his idea to have government run food stores in not a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/402 "2025-07-12T20:16:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _My opinion_ was that his idea to have government run food stores in not a good idea. I agree that having the government run good stores sounds like a bad idea. However, I do think the food desert/bodego situation described above is a big problem, and one that government action _can_ address. I think a better plan would be to: 1. Figure out which regulations are most onerous to stores operating the “right” way, and adjust those regulations to make things easier for stores to operate. While so me may object to reducing regulations, I think a key point is the fact that stores operating in sketchy/under the table ways aren’t following those rules _anyways_. 2. Create programs to subsidize and assist stores that demonstrate that they’re operating above board and that sell healthy, less processed food. 3. Go after the stores that aren’t following the rules with stricted enforcement. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/403 "2025-07-12T20:24:04Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I agree that having the government run good stores sounds like a bad idea. However, I do think the food desert/bodego situation described above is a big problem, and one that government action _can_ address. More police on the beat would help also. > [@Babale](#): > > Create programs to subsidize and assist stores that demonstrate that they’re operating above board and that sell healthy, less processed food. Okay, > [@Babale](#): > > Go after the stores that aren’t following the rules with stricted enforcement. That might drive too many out of business. Remember, enforcement of stuff like this is sometimes done by corruption. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/404 "2025-07-12T20:57:56Z")
I would go for all of that _plus_ government run food stores, if the stores end up beaten by the “power of free enterprise ™”, then you close the stores, if not you maintain them until such time as they are no longer necessary. I know that the very thought of “government run” anything makes some people run for the hills, but I don’t think the reaction is warranted. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/405 "2025-07-12T21:45:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > How often have you been to NYC? That cite is useless and is probably counting bodegas (which are not full grocery stores). > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > There are 5658 Grocery stores in New York City as of May 5, 2025; which is an 0.02% increase from 2023. Of these locations, 4834 Grocery stores which is 85.44% of all Grocery stores in New York City are single-owner operations, while the remaining 824 which is 14.56% are part of larger brands > > So, 824 are large chain grocery stores. > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > I hate to just tell someone to just google, but just google food deserts NYC and you will see cite after cite about the issue and for how long it’s been an issue. > > Sure there are. But you claimed- > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > Outside of the occasional Whole Foods in expensive neighborhoods there are very few grocery stores. > > So that shows how many there are. I made no claim about “food deserts” which also occur in several downtown areas- San Francisco, Chicago, etc. > > _My opinion_ was that his idea to have government run food stores in not a good idea. So you’ve never been. Your “cite” wants us to pay to get a list so we can see if we agree with their definitions and where these stores are. The food desserts in NYC are not in “downtown areas” they are throughout the city. They occur in all 5 boroughs and correspond mostly to the areas of poverty. I’m not sure what you are trying to refute but you’re doing a piss poor job of it. Did you cite that because you think there are enough food stores in NYC? Because it’s a well documented problem. But yes the question of the best way to handle it is up for debate. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/406 "2025-07-12T22:24:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > No, that misses on two scores. First, the purpose of affirmative action isn’t discrimination; it’s to decrease discrimination. And second, proof that the purpose of that form is affirmative action? I can’t take any argument seriously that claims that AA is not racial discrimination. A supporter might legitimately say “Yes, it’s discrimination, but it’s to correct for past injustices” or “Yes, it’s discrimination, but it’s to account for discrimination that happened earlier in people’s education.” But to say that it isn’t racial discrimination is to just be in complete denial of what it is. I can’t _prove_ to you that this particular form was used for AA, because university admissions is notoriously opaque (hence the interest in this data leak). But this data was obviously collected, and AA was used, and there really wasn’t any reason for them _not_ to use this data. In some places, collecting data like this is illegal. So they’ve switched to looking at the student essays and inferring the ethnic background. In some cases they’ve coached minority students (but not non-minority students) on how to write essays that will be viewed favorably in these terms. I don’t know offhand if Columbia was ever accused of this. > [@Chronos](#): > > And again: If you think that he filled out the form wrong, how do you think he should have filled it out? I contend that anything else he could have put down would have been even more inaccurate. This is getting absurd. He is not Black/African American in any sense. There is no argument that this was incorrect. If he wanted to emphasize his Ugandan origin, he should have checked the “Other” box and hand-written Ugandan. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/407 "2025-07-12T23:37:02Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > If he wanted to emphasize his Ugandan origin, he should have checked the “Other” box and hand-written Ugandan. He did hand write “Ugandan” and it was probably on the “Other” line. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/408 "2025-07-12T23:50:57Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > He should have ticked ‘South Asian’. I’m curious what makes you think that that, of all possible boxes, is the right one, given that his people probably originated in Afghanistan, and were most recently in Uganda, before coming to America. None of those places are “South Asian”. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I can’t take any argument seriously that claims that AA is not racial discrimination. And I can’t take any argument seriously that claims that a significantly lower percentage of blacks attending college is not racial discrimination. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > In some places, collecting data like this is illegal. Yup, because those places want to perpetuate racism, and the first step in that is making sure that it can’t be seen. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > This is getting absurd. He is not Black/African American in any sense. There is no argument that this was incorrect. If he wanted to emphasize his Ugandan origin, he should have checked the “Other” box and hand-written Ugandan. And on what continent is Uganda? And if the admissions officers had seen that, what would they have assumed about his race? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/409 "2025-07-13T00:44:24Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > If he wanted to emphasize his Ugandan origin, he should have checked the “Other” box and hand-written Ugandan. That’s what I did. I was White (Other) (Israeli) as well as White (North African), and White (European). The fact that White (North African) was even an option was kinda proof that my North African heritage wasn’t what they meant by African American. > [@DemonTree](#): > > Maybe you’re just smarter than him? I’m sure none of us are under the illusion that competence is necessary to win elections. He’s run a very impressive campaign. I strongly disagree with the guy on quite a bit, but I highly doubt he’s unintelligent. And if anything, I was the dumb one there. There was clearly no reason not to take the free advantage of checking African American. > [@Chronos](#): > > > [@DemonTree](#): > > > > He should have ticked ‘South Asian’. > > I’m curious what makes you think that that, of all possible boxes, is the right one, given that his people probably originated in Afghanistan, and were most recently in Uganda, before coming to America. None of those places are “South Asian”. What? Googling says his father was Gujarati and his mother was Punjabi. Neither of those places are in Afghanistan, and that would indeed make him South Asian? The form is asking about race or ethnicity, not nationality. So if Google is correct, Mamdani would be South Asia. If you are correct, and Mamdani is Afghani, the appropriate option on the form isn’t African American _or_ Asian - it’s White (Middle Eastern, if the subcategory exists). People from Afghanistan aren’t any more Asian than I am (and yeah, when my friends were making jokes about me applying as African American they also suggested I apply as Asian, because Israel is of course in Asia). > [@Chronos](#): > > And I can’t take any argument seriously that claims that a significantly lower percentage of blacks attending college is not racial discrimination. Of course that’s discrimination. That doesn’t mean that affirmative action _isn’t also_ discrimination. It (correctly) recognizes that structural factors lead to discrimination in our society, and puts the thumb on the scale to correct this. I support Affirmative Action in many situations, but it’s obviously _discriminatory_. > [@Chronos](#): > > And on what continent is Uganda? And if the admissions officers had seen that, what would they have assumed about his race? Why do you have to bring up Uganda at all for a question about race or ethnicity? If there’s a name for the ethnic group of Indian descended people living in Africa after the end of the British Empire, it would be appropriate to put that in on a custom subcategory under Southeast Asian or Other. Just like you could put Afrikaners as a custom “White - Other - Afrikaner”, but you certainly wouldn’t list it as “African American - Other - Afrikaner” or as “African American - Other - South African”. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/410 "2025-07-13T01:26:24Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > What a paradox, eh? Diligent enough to include his entire ancestry, but sloppy enough to not realize that Black/African American doesn’t include non-Black African immigrants. African American does not include Black African immigrants either. Of course, living in New York from a young age may (or may not) influence one’s ethnic identity in certain directions. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > When i lived in NYC, i learned to read the “best by” dates, because it wasn’t uncommon for the local grocery store to sell expired goods. Oh, yeah. It is not confined to NYC, either. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I can’t take any argument seriously that claims that AA is not racial discrimination. A supporter might legitimately say “Yes, it’s discrimination, but it’s to correct for past injustices” or “Yes, it’s discrimination, but it’s to account for discrimination that happened earlier in people’s education.” But to say that it isn’t racial discrimination is to just be in complete denial of what it is. This comes up over and over again— I have even heard claims associating AA with the infamous efforts to keep Jews out of the Ivy League (e.g., this is why Feynman was not able to attend Columbia University). I am not sure that is what they still had in mind in the 1960s, but that legacy is (I assume) why racial or ethnic discrimination is supposed to be illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/411 "2025-07-13T02:09:04Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > What? Googling says his father was Gujarati and his mother was Punjabi. Neither of those places are in Afghanistan, and that would indeed make him South Asian? Neither of those are places. They’re peoples. > [@DPRK](#): > > African American does not include Black African immigrants either. If I tell you that cops are preferentially stopping African Americans for pretextual reasons, are you going to assume that immigrants from Africa are going to be safe? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/412 "2025-07-13T02:33:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Neither of those are places. They’re peoples. Gujarat and Punjab are places, and the people from there (like Mamdani’s family) are Gujarati and Punjabi. Where does Afghanistan come in? > [@Chronos](#): > > If I tell you that cops are preferentially stopping African Americans for pretextual reasons, are you going to assume that immigrants from Africa are going to be safe? Whites and Asians from Africa? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/413 "2025-07-13T04:24:37Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Or, being 17-year-olds, if they calculate, they calculate badly and end up looking silly. umm..one other thing about being 17,is that they have parents. When I was 17, that college application form was the most important thing in my life, and my parents knew it.( They were paying most of the tuition.) That’s why they helped me fill out the forms.. Mamdani’s father was a professor. I assume he helped his kid, too. And a professor knows a lot about the admission committee’s decision-making processes. It’s not a critical political issue , but let’s be honest about why he did it. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/414 "2025-07-13T04:29:31Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > When i lived in NYC, i learned to read the “best by” dates, because it wasn’t uncommon for the local grocery store to sell expired goods. [Products sold beyond their “best by dates” are not expired or unsafe to eat.](https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/whats-the-difference-between-sell-by-best-by-and-use-by-dates-on-food-labels/3383379/) This is a common misconception. It just means they are beyond their peak of best flavor and freshness. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/415 "2025-07-13T06:58:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If I tell you that cops are preferentially stopping African Americans for pretextual reasons, are you going to assume that immigrants from Africa are going to be safe? What does that have to do with college admissions? The relevant disadvantages would presumably be things like poverty, bad schools, living in a bad neighborhood where everyone is in survive rather than thrive mode (not conducive to learning) lacking role models in family and community that show the value of education and make jobs like doctor or lawyer seem like a real possibility worth working towards, and not having good advice on what to focus on and how to apply to colleges. None of that is necessarily true of immigrants from Africa, black or not. It’s particularly not true of immigrants from Africa who grew up in a good neighborhood and have a college professor parent. Which is why according to @puzzlegal , those kids are unlikely to benefit from affirmative action. > [@Babale](#): > > He’s run a very impressive campaign. I strongly disagree with the guy on quite a bit, but I highly doubt he’s unintelligent. Yeah, I wasn’t being entirely serious. > [@Babale](#): > > And if anything, I was the dumb one there. There was clearly no reason not to take the free advantage of checking African American. Nah, you were right not to do it. The fact some people on a message board are willing to defend a Democratic candidate from putative wrongdoing does not mean that whatever universities you applied to would be fine with it. Plus, don’t you live in California? Racial preferences are banned there, so colleges in state would only be using that form for monitoring. > [@Babale](#): > > The form is asking about race or ethnicity, not nationality. So if Google is correct, Mamdani would be South Asia. If you are correct, and Mamdani is Afghani, the appropriate option on the form isn’t African American _or_ Asian - it’s White (Middle Eastern, if the subcategory exists). These divisions are so arbitrary. There are several ethnic groups that span the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan; it makes no sense that the same person could be considered white or Asian depending which side of an artificial line their family came from. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/416 "2025-07-13T07:18:16Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > When i lived in NYC, i learned to read the “best by” dates, because it wasn’t uncommon for the local grocery store to sell expired goods. > > [Products sold beyond their “best by dates” are not expired or unsafe to eat.](https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/whats-the-difference-between-sell-by-best-by-and-use-by-dates-on-food-labels/3383379/) This is a common misconception. It just means they are beyond their peak of best flavor and freshness. The fermented dried apricots were probably not unsafe, but they were inedible. If the only date they give you is a “best by” date, that’s the one you look at. I was literally buying expired food that “fell off a truck” at my local supermarket. So yes, i looked at whatever dates i could look at. (I also once bought spoiled chicken there. They gave me a refund when I brought it back, but i saw them repackage it and return it to the shelf. And yes, i suspect that was illegal. But they did it.) Fwiw, i never discard food at home just because it has exceeded its “best-by” date, and i have eaten olives that were a couple years past that date. But at a dicey grocery store, you use whatever data you can see. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/417 "2025-07-13T07:52:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@DPRK](#): > > > > African American does not include Black African immigrants either. > > If I tell you that cops are preferentially stopping African Americans for pretextual reasons, are you going to assume that immigrants from Africa are going to be safe? The first generation may not have had lifelong experience with _American_ police. Nevertheless, as at least one immigrant was told when he asked whether he counted as Black and/or African-American, “The cops will let you know.” ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/418 "2025-07-14T19:33:15Z")
> **[Cuomo stays in NYC mayor’s race as an independent after losing Democratic...](https://apnews.com/article/andrew-cuomo-zohran-mamdani-new-york-mayor-b51061b3b88ff52b44ffebbbf952554d?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share)** > > Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced he will run for New York City mayor as an independent candidate. Democrats are asking to be swept up and deposited into a big metaphorical dustbin.🚮 ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/419 "2025-07-14T19:53:57Z")
Rofl. So there’s now two scandal-ridden independents trying to stop the free juice Democrat? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2025, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085/420 "2025-07-14T19:56:56Z")
If the NYC Establishment Democrats rally to Cuomo, or don’t at least pretend with a serious face to ask him nicely to back down, they would seem to be asking for abuse indeed. ISTM they already showed themselves useless when “the best” they could cough up was Cuomo. 2021 ended 67% Adams, 28% Sliwa. If only two major non-R were in the final, one of them would be highly likely to make it. As it is turning out now, anyone who wants to win needs to hold on to at least half the Dems AND for Sliwa to gain little or nothing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-mayor-election-thread/1020085.md?page=22)