Mamdani draws crowds with scavenger hunt

The line outside Little Flower Cafe in Queens stretched around the block Sunday as people who completed Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s summer scavenger hunt waited to get their picture taken with him.

The scavenger hunt was announced on social media Saturday night. The first clue was posted at 11 a.m. Sunday.

The Mamdani campaign prepared 500 participant cards, and thousands of people showed up to the first location at 2 p.m. Sunday. All of the cards were gone in less than 15 minutes, according to the campaign.

There were seven stops along the route.

Before Mamdani began his multi-hour photo line, he spoke to the press about the goal of the scavenger hunt.

“As New Yorkers joined us, whether by walking or using public transit, they got to see what has been evident to so many of us for so long, which is that politics is not something that you have. It is something that you do,” he said.

Participants said the event was a way to connect with both Mamdani and the city.

“I think actually trying to have fun in politics and do a little bit of a community building exercise, a way to actually learn about our city — I’ve never known another politician to do it,” scavenger hunt participant Kavi Pandia said.

Julia Krist, who also participated in the scavenger hunt, added, “It’s been in line with what I’ve seen from the campaign since January. It’s getting young people engaged, getting people across the city engaged, making the campaign interactive.”

Dove Williams, winner of the scavenger hunt, rode his bike from stop to stop.

“I think that it’s really good to lean into the energy that he’s amassed as a candidate. And I think it’s really fun to kind of have some kind of collective activity for people,” he said.

Williams’ prize: a bag of Herr’s sour cream and onion chips, a nod to news that broke about Winnie Greco, a former Mayor Eric Adams staffer, handing a reporter an empty bag of that same brand of chips with cash inside.

Adams was also on the campaign trail Sunday, receiving an endorsement from the New York City African Council and going on a walking tour of Harlem businesses.

“I crisscross this city to help those who come from your community and continue to do so. And you’re right, I visited your country because that’s how you show respect for other countries,” Adams said.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo stopped by a Brooklyn church Sunday and was interviewed on Fox News, where he called Mamdani a dangerous socialist.

“They are socialists. It’s Bernie Sanders, it’s AOC, it’s Assemblyman Mamdani. And I think it would be a death nail for New York City, and he is dangerous, frankly,” Cuomo said.

Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa was interviewed on NewsNation, highlighting his latest campaign donation figures.

“Who raised the most donations? Curtis Sliwa. 4,400 local donations, never before done in one month’s time. I’m surging. Those will be an eight to one match,” Sliwa said.