TEXT & PHOTOS BY DONNA ACETO | With early voting having begun the day before–and the General Election just over a week away–State and City office holders past and present were accounted for at a “New York is Not For Sale” rally held at Forrest Hills Stadium, Queens, on the crisp night Sunday, October 26, 2025.
The strong showing sent a unified message of support for Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, the New York State Assemblymember who could emerge from Election Day as the mayor of New York City.
Tom Duane, a former NYC Council Member and NYS Senator whose coverage area included Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, and Greenwich Village, gave gravitas–and queer cred–to the Mamdani campaign. (Serving from 1999 to 2012, Duane was the first openly gay and first openly HIV-positive member of the Senate.)
Among the currently serving electeds in attendance were NYS Assemblymembers JoAnn Simon and Tony Simone. Openly gay Simone shares that distinction, and parts of his coverage area, with NYS Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher (both on the ballot for, respectively, Manhattan Borough President and District 3 City Council Member.)
NYC City Council Member Tiffany Cabán took to the stage with several other Democratic Socialists. The next generation had their say in the words of NYC Youth Poet Laureate Kai Diata Giovannio, while Union leaders including SEIU President April Verrett expressed their support. NYC Comptroller Brad Lander took to the podium to voice his support, and came back onstage to boogie down with the Resistance Revival Chorus.
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum joined both Muslim and Christian leaders onstage; and NYS Governor Kathy Hochul shared the stage with NYS Senate Majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and NYS Assemblymember Jordan Wright.
The consistently enthusiastic crowd, many of them Mamdani campaign volunteers, roared their approval upon the arrivals of Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, the Senator from Vermont. Mayoral candidate Mamdani inspired, entertained, and warmed the crowd. He thanked them for their hard work and asked for “just one more thing: MORE.” The crowd left vowing to knock on doors…more doors.
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DONNA ACETO | A NYC-based photographer specializing in events and political activism, Aceto has been Lead Photographer for AIDS Walk New York for 25+ years and was the primary photographer for Gay Men’s Health Crisis for 15+ years. Her clients include the NY Civil Liberties Union and the Edith S. Windsor Trust. Click here to access archival photos available for licensing for publication as well as fine-art prints for framing.
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