New Yorkers have shaken the United States's political establishment and delivered 34-year-old socialist Zohran Mamdani a thumping victory in the city's contentious mayoral election.
For weeks, polls predicted Mr Mamdani was on course for an historic triumph and as counting continued on Tuesday night, local time, his lead became unassailable.
He will become the first Muslim mayor of New York, and joins a small handful of people born overseas to get the keys to Gracie Mansion since the city threw off its colonial shackles almost two centuries ago.
Mr Mamdani ran for the Democrats — one of two major political parties in the US — but his policy platform was considered so radical many in the organisation's old guard declined to endorse him.
His signature promises are designed to combat the eye-watering cost of living in America's largest metropolis and include freezing some rents, providing free child care, no-cost buses and opening city-owned grocery stores.
To pay for all that, and more, Mr Mamdani has pledged to hike taxes on New York City's ultra-rich citizens, as well as companies — reforms critics point out are no sure thing, given they will require support from sceptical politicians elsewhere in the state.
Mr Mamdani has polled about 50 per cent of the vote.
Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo stood as an independent after failing to be pre-selected for the Democrats and was second with about 41 per cent, while Curtis Sliwa, from the Republican Party, was a distant third.
Mr Mamdani's blueprint for change has put him on a political collision course with President Donald Trump — a New Yorker himself — who has threatened to cut federal funding for the city if it elected a "communist".
Mr Mamdani strode onto the stage at his victory party in Brooklyn on Tuesday night to wild cheers.
"Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up," the mayor-elect exclaimed.
On top of a hostile White House, Mr Mamdani takes over as mayor at a time many of his new constituents are under considerable economic strain.
America's growing wealth divide is particularly pronounced in New York City, which is home to the world's highest concentration of millionaires and billionaires as well as rising levels of homelessness not seen since the Great Depression.
Mr Mamdani paid tribute to his working-class supporters during his speech, saying: "These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power, and yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater.
"Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. The future is in our hands. Friends, we have toppled a political dynasty."
He told the crowd they had made the city "one that working people can love and live in again".
"New York City, breathe this moment in," he said. "We have held our breath for longer than we know.
"We have held it in anticipation of defeat. Held it because the air has been knocked out of our lungs too many times to count. Held it because we cannot afford to exhale.
"Thanks to all of those who sacrificed so much, we are breathing in the air of a city that has been reborn."
Mr Mamdani, a self-described "democratic socialist", will be the city's most left-wing mayor in more than three decades.
Mr Trump, a Republican, was so concerned about the prospect of his home town lurching to the left, he urged people to vote for Mr Cuomo over his own party's candidate, Mr Sliwa.
"President Trump doesn't support me," Mr Cuomo said, trying to distance himself from the president, who is unpopular in the city. "He opposes Zohran Mamdani."
Mr Mamdani will take over from scandal-prone incumbent Eric Adams — another Democrat who had chosen to run as an independent until he dropped out of the race in September.
He begins a four-year term on January 1.
Kristina Teschner, a resident of the city's vibrant Brooklyn borough, is among the tens of thousands of volunteers powering Mr Mamdani's campaign.
The 44-year-old performer and political organiser relies on government food and healthcare programs to survive.
Ms Teschner was evicted from her apartment earlier this year, and was — for a brief period — homeless. A subsequent breast cancer diagnosis compounded her already precarious situation.
"I couldn't look at my bank account today, but I think maybe there's a hundred dollars in there," she told the ABC.
Ms Teschner said her struggles were reflected in Mr Mamdani's promises.
"There are so many people like me on the verge of having to leave the city," she said. "I can't bear it. The heartbeat of New York, working-class people, is being pushed out."
Socialist's big promises in spotlight
Mr Mamdani moved to New York City from Uganda with his family at age seven, and later became a US citizen. After a brief career as a rapper, he was elected to the state's assembly — or parliament — in 2021.
The millennial raised eyebrows when he defeated the high-profile Mr Cuomo in June's Democratic Party mayoral primaries, in what had been widely billed as a David-versus-Goliath contest.
Mr Cuomo, 67, more neatly fits the traditional US political pedigree and was well known to voters, having served three terms as the state's governor.
He resigned from that role in 2021, though, amid allegations of sexual harassment and corruption, which he denies.
Mr Cuomo, who also runs a consultancy business, is estimated to be in New York's top 0.5 per cent of earners. His campaign received significant financial backing from billionaires, cashed-up political organisations and pro-Israel groups.
The war in Gaza was a critical policy difference between Mr Cuomo and Mr Mamdani. The latter has a long history of pro-Palestinian activism and even promised to arrest Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, should he return to the Big Apple in the future.
New York City is home to the world's largest Jewish community outside Israel, and polling ahead of the election pointed to significant divides among the diaspora as to who to support.
Mark Galinovsky is among the city's 1.3 million Jewish residents, and on Tuesday told the ABC he had given Mr Cuomo his vote for multiple reasons.
The 34-year-old law student, who works up to 25 hours a week while studying full-time, said about 80 per cent of his income went towards the home he rented in Queens, the city's easternmost borough.
"Even with food benefits and subsidies, it's barely enough to get by," he said.
Mr Galinovsky said rising antisemitism — something Mr Mamdani has been accused of, and denies — had also shaped his decision.
"He [Mamdani] has tried to soften his image, but I think it's just to placate people," he said.
Mr Mamdani's campaign began with dire polling numbers. However, a viral social media presence and army of volunteers were credited with moving the dial.
Clips of the candidate doing things like salsa dancing with seniors and revving up the room at a Brooklyn nightclub seemed to energise previously disengaged people. Voter turnout in this election was at its highest levels since 1969.
While Mr Cuomo and Mr Sliwa are rusted in to New York City's establishment, Mr Mamdani has styled himself as a man of the people.
He rents an apartment in Queens, met his wife on a dating app and became known on the campaign trail for flashing a trademark grin to the cameras.
Critics contend he is all smile and no substance.
They say he lacks the experience required to manage the city's $US115 billion ($175.8 billion) budget, and has no guaranteed way to pay for the promises he has made on the campaign trail.
His opponents also highlighted Mr Mamdani's previous calls to defund the police and eliminate prisons — both policy positions he has walked back a bit — as unrealistic.
Mr Mamdani's victory could have major ramifications for the Democrats elsewhere, too.
Some analysts have described the party as being in the midst of an identity crisis since it was humbled by Mr Trump and the Republicans at last year's presidential election.
The result in New York City comes as some polls show approval ratings for the Democrats have plummeted to their lowest point in decades.
Despite that, the party's candidates won gubernatorial races in two states — New Jersey and Virginia — which were also held on Tuesday.
[Live moment link]
