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Dear New Yorkers,

It was New Year’s Day on Coney Island, where the annual Polar Bear Club Plunge drew out some of New York City’s more daring characters: a group of friends dressed as rubber duckies, a couple in Spiderman and Wonder Woman costumes — and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

“I’m freezing … your rent as the next mayor of New York City,” Mamdani said to a camera. “Let’s plunge into the details,” he continued, before jumping into the 40-degree water.

The resulting video about his affordable housing proposal has garnered more than 800,000 views across social media platforms.

As the youngest of the nine candidates in this year’s crowded mayoral race, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist has passed only a few bills in his four years in the state Assembly. But he has set himself apart on voters’ social media feeds by mixing big policy proposals with a little silliness to try to draw New Yorkers who don’t know him to his campaign.

Twitter is not real life, but Mamdani’s viral appeal is showing signs of real-world success. He collected contributions from more New Yorkers than any other candidate during the most recent fund-raising cycle — and the most total cash in a single cycle of any candidate so far.

“I think that you’ll find more people heard about my policy on freezing the rent by me jumping into the water than me being at any number of political forums where I’ve said the same thing,” Mamdani told THE CITY in a phone conversation.

But it remains to be seen whether Mamdani’s digital popularity will translate to votes IRL.

Read more here about Mamdani’s social skills.

Weather 🥶

Sunny and very cold, with a high around 20 degrees. If you can, maybe stay inside today.

MTA 🚇

The Coney Island-bound F train runs express from Smith - 9 Streets to Kings Highway in Brooklyn from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Jan. 21.

By the way…

Lease up at the end of January? Here’s how to get your security deposit back.

Our Other Top Stories

In 2025, local leadership is on the ballot: from the high profile mayoral election, to all 51 seats on City council, multiple district attorneys, all five borough presidents and the public advocate, voters have a lot of decisions to make by the time the primary rolls around in June. Here’s everything you need to know about voting in 2025. The City University of New York, which enrolls more than 16,000 students who aren’t citizens, is readying the community for potential immigration enforcement as President Donald Trump returns to the White House. In a two-hour zoom session on Thursday, immigration advocates and legal advisers guided student viewers on how their data is federally protected, how the CUNY community can be protected from ICE enforcement, and the border policies that Trump might enact in his coming term.

Reporter’s Notebook

Adams Attends Trump Inauguration Amid Pardon Speculation

Mayor Eric Adams attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Monday after weeks of speculation, rushing to Washington in the middle of the night after a last-minute invite from the president’s team, his spokesperson said.

Billionaire and Trump liaison Steve Witkoff – who attended the mayor’s visit with the president at his golf course in Florida last week – reached out to Adams between midnight and 1 a.m. early Monday when he learned the mayor wasn’t coming, spokesperson Kayla Mamalek claimed.

The mayor and his police detail were then in a car by 3 a.m driving south. He didn’t cancel his original public schedule, which included many local events to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., until hours after he arrived.

“On MLK Day, like Reverend Dr. King said, we must put partisan politics aside to do what's best for our country,” the mayor posted to social media an hour before the inauguration was set to begin. “I believe there's much we can achieve working alongside the federal government as we support our city's values and fight for New Yorkers.”

Adams, who’s fiercely denied speculation he’s hoping for a pardon from the new president ahead of his corruption trial scheduled to begin in April, watched the ceremony from an overflow area, photos showed.

— Katie Honan

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Thursday, Jan. 23: Attend the opening reception of “Brooklyn Dreamland, Land without Shadows,” an art exhibit depicting the “bygone era of Coney Island.” Arsenal in Central Park, 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25: Customize your tote bag with tie-dye at the Queens Public Library. Call the library to sign up. 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25: If you want to help prevent flooding in your apartment and your community, hear solutions from policy experts and tradespeople at Flood Solutions Fair. Van Alen Institute, Gowanus, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

THE KICKER: Sunset tonight will be at 5pm for the first time since November. It only gets better from here, folks!

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Tuesday.

Love,

THE CITY

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