Zohran Mamdani, SFC ’06, was elected New York City’s 111th mayor on Tuesday, in an election that drew record turnout. This moment holds particular significance for many Muslim, South Asian, and immigrant New Yorkers. For the Bank Street community, it also carries distinction, as Mayor-elect Mamdani will be the first Bank Street alum to lead the nation’s largest city.
This election has surfaced a range of deeply held opinions across many issues impacting New Yorkers and, as a 501(c)(3) organization, Bank Street does not take positions on candidates or political questions. As an institution, however, Bank Street takes pride in how many of our alumni give back to the city and continue to shape their communities long after graduation.
“Our goal is to help young people learn to think critically, act with empathy, and engage responsibly with the world around them,” said Shael Polakow-Suransky, GSE ’00, President, Bank Street College. “Zohran Mamdani’s path reflects the leadership skills and passion for civic involvement Bank Street strives to cultivate in all our students.”
Mayor-elect Mamdani attended Bank Street School for Children from 1999 until his graduation in 2006. Teachers who taught him remember a thoughtful, engaged student whose curiosity and care for others were evident early on. “It was an exceptionally talented class, one that you remember for a long time,” recalled a former teacher. “In a class of brilliant students, he was right up there in the pack.”
“He and his classmates cared about deep inquiry and deep learning,” she said, adding that the Class of ’06 had a knack for turning even mundane projects into something meaningful. “The teachers used to joke that if we gave them the task of walking outside and counting all the bricks on the building, they would say ‘okay, let’s do it.’”
His teachers described him as a curious, affable student who approached learning with imagination. One recalled how he surprised her with a collection of poems after cautioning that poetry “wasn’t his thing.” She found them so thoughtful that she kept them to this day.
As a student, he was known for his early interest in politics. He won a school-wide mock election as an upstart seventh-grader candidate, stunning the eighth graders who hadn’t expected to be bested by someone younger. Mamdani proposed an equal rights, anti-war platform that prioritized spending on education over the military. Then, as now, he shocked “the establishment” and won the election.
Since its inception in 1916, Bank Street educators have worked to support young people in developing the ability to listen to opposing viewpoints, approach complex problems as learners, and build a more just and democratic society—in and out of schools.