The Hell Gate Podcast

We’re here this holiday week to mull over NYC’s Thanksgiving highlights and consider the benefits of escaping to Sharlene’s for 5 small beers after your mom tells you “there’s never a ‘good’ time to have kids, you know.” Then, updates on Mamdani’s transition committees and some news about leadership in the city—and whether or not they’ll help Mamdani answer questions like “Where does the NYPD end and federal law enforcement begin?” Truly, kind of a tough one! Finally, Adlan tells us about the beautiful $1,800/month basement apartment he’s so grateful to be signing a lease for.

What’s going on Mamdani? Getting scared of doing what you said you’d do? Or is big bad Jessica Tisch giving you the creeps? The team is trying to make sense of what you’ve been saying and it’s not quite adding up to the same spunk we saw just a couple weeks back. And how was the meeting with Trump today? Did the fish filet go over ok? We’re betting yes. (Spoiler: Total Mamdani victory—listen to the end of the episode for us reacting to the Oval Office meetup that has everyone buzzing.)Meanwhile, our current mayor is somewhere out there, still burning taxpayer dollars for his eurorail gap year soul search. Does he know Andorra is not part of the EU? Does he know he can take PTO? Come home mayor Adams. We miss you.

This week, Max, Chris, and Nick (the boys) discuss the Mamdani transition so far—the incoming first deputy mayor knows where all the (metaphorical) bodies are buried in Albany, while the incoming chief-of-staff is hoping to keep the administration honest to its progressive ideals. Meanwhile, Cuomo’s campaign is transcending to higher and higher planes as they attempt to ret-con the plot of the general election. Then: Elizabeth Street Garden is a park now? And should we ban carriage horses? Both of these issues might be 2026 problems.

Zohran won! The sun rose this morning on a city with a democratic socialist, Muslim, immigrant, shockingly young mayor-elect. The team was up late covering the respective victory and concession parties, and this morning—a bit weary—they rolled out of bed to reflect on the evening and the mayoral race as it came, finally, to a close. What’s next for Zohran? And what does it look like when a progressive candidate doesn’t abandon the political apparatus that got them into office? Will we get to find out?

On Friday night, just a few hours before the start of early voting, Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani sat down for an interview with the Hell Gate Podcast in front of a live audience at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. During our 45-minute conversation, we grilled Mamdani about his desire to keep Jessica Tisch as his NYPD commissioner, and how he plans to combat attempts to undermine his ambitious agenda.We also talked about the barrage of racism and Islamophobia that Andrew Cuomo and the anti-Mamdani forces have hurled at him in the waning days of the campaign, how he stays alert and healthy while maintaining a grueling schedule, and his one-Red Bull-per-week indulgence.Also: Mamdani's position on a controversial universal daylighting bill in the City Council, whether he'll bring back real snow days for schoolchildren, and if he'll build affordable housing atop Elizabeth Street Garden.

Max reports back from the big Mamdani rally, where the candidate got the stamp of approval from some big-time establishment Democrats. Then: Are you confused about the housing ballot propositions you have to vote on soon? Luckily Chris has the breakdown for you, to clear it up completely, with no further questions. We close out with some speculations on what Eric Adams's new gig will be. Full time Cameo star? Green juice king? Hope springs eternal.

Eric Adams went on a taxpayer-funded vacation to Albania. What? Why? Regardless, we're in favor of it. While Zohran Mamdani is beginning to don the mayoral sash, the team considers whether it seems as though Cuomo is gaining any “Cuo-mentum”—after all, bigger polling gaps have been closed. Then, Jessy Edwards breaks down her reporting that illustrates just how bad a housing crisis the new mayor of our fine city will have to tackle. Daunting. We'd be in Albania as well.

It’s a cold world, get a sweater. Eric Adams dropped out of the race. What’s going to happen to our beloved mayor? Who is going to take care of the crypto man babies? Who will flag down the wait staff at the Table of Success? We really thought he was in it to win it. The team freewheels a discussion on what’s next for our mayor, and then, for the public good, a watch party of the trailer for the hottest e-book ever self-published about a soon-to-be-former NYC mayor.