New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani participates in the West Indian Day parade in Brooklyn on Sept. 1, 2025. Christian Monterrosa/Reuters New York —

During a recent canvassing call for New Yorkers with Caribbean ties, one of the city’s most prominent Black leaders tried to dispel rumors about Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist and Democratic nominee for mayor.

“I just want to make clear nobody around Zohran is trying to take Black people’s homes,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said on the Zoom call, which was attended by approximately 90 people. “Quite the opposite. He wants to make sure that we’re able to stay in our homes.”

Mamdani, virtually unknown to most New Yorkers when he entered the June Democratic primary, beat Andrew Cuomo even as he los

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