THE MAKING OF MAYOR MAMDANI

He is a brilliant political talent with dizzying ambitions to change the city. Is he ready for the actual job?

- By David Freedlander

IT WAS A LITTLE MORE than 24 hours after Zohran Mamdani had declared victory in a thunderous speech at the Brooklyn Paramount—one in which he mocked Andrew Cuomo and lit into Donald Trump and all the forces of reaction that had kept New Yorkers paying too much for too little and in which he declared himself a proud Muslim, a proud immigrant, and a proud democratic socialist; quoted Eugene V. Debs and Jawaharlal Nehru; and spoke untranslated Arabic—that the newly minted mayor-elect was found wedged into an economy-class window seat on the 10:30 a.m. JetBlue flight from JFK to San Juan. Around him were Elle Bisgaard-Church, his closest aide, and two beefy members of his security detail.

The plane was filled with lobbyists, operatives, members of the City Council, and local political bosses, all clogging the aisle to greet Mamdani. The occasion was Somos, a conference that every year kicks off the morning after Election Day, bringing in the entire New York Democratic Establishment for five days of imbibing, schmoozing, and backroom deal-making on the beaches of Puerto Rico. Ostensibly designed to deepen the long-standing connections between New York and the island territory, it is the kind of event where aspiring members of Congress can be seen buttonholing politicos at the bar of the Caribe Hilton, hoping to land an endorsement; where high-ranking government officials are spotted stumblingly drunk at the end of an evening at the Fairmont El San Juan; where two lawmakers can be glimpsed grinding on the dance floor. It was not surprising when, four years ago, Eric Adams arrived in San Juan on a private jet owned by Brock Pierce, the crypto tycoon and