Heatwave hits NYC on June primary Election Day 2025
Additional reporting from Tandy Lau, Amsterdam News staff
Polls opened on Tuesday, June 24, for the 2025 citywide June primary elections as a heatwave hit the city this Election Day. Temperatures reached about 100 degrees outside, matching the heat of a tightly-contested primary.
For early voting, organizers on the ground observed that voters were definitely engaged with their local elections this year and showed up to the polls.
“It’s my perspective that early voting has increased over last year, specifically because of all the attention with the mayoral candidates and all the races that are happening,” said Joan Alexander Bakiriddin, newly appointed president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Brooklyn Branch. “Because of the urgency of now, because of what’s happening at the federal level, folks are more in tune, paying attention — they want to make sure that their vote is already counted.”
Bakiriddin said that in addition to educating voters about candidates and ranked choice voting (RCV), it was also important to remind people about the general election in November. “We’re also telling people that if you’re not a Republican or a Democrat, then you won’t be voting now. We’ll see you in November or October for early voting,” she said.
Ariama C. Long photos
The extreme heat of summer came as a bit of a change-up after weeks of cooler rain and storms in the city this spring. A few speculators worried that the weather would deter voters from showing up at the polls on Election Day.
“The heat was very severe, and I ran around to various poll sites, dropping off cold water to our poll workers,” said Anthony Beckford, Democratic district leader and male state committee member in the 43rd Assembly District in Brooklyn.
Beckford said some machines broke down in his district in Brooklyn, but the Board of Elections techs were quick to respond and fix the issues.
“We do, however, need to make sure that every poll site has working refrigeration units and air conditioning units during the June primaries, to make sure that poll workers have adequate access to cool air and beverages,” Beckford added.
Meanwhile, other mayoral candidates braved the heat wave to canvass down to the last minute before retiring to their respective watch parties.
Eventual winner Zohran Mamdani kicked off Election Day with a 5:30 a.m. press conference at Astoria Park. NYPD cars parked outside his Long Island City watch party after the surging democratic socialist’s campaign noted recent death threats and plans to beef up security.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo cast his ballot in the early morning at the High School of Art and Design on East 56th Street in Manhattan. He later held his watch party at the Carpenters Union Hall.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams held her watch party in her Queens district at a local Jamaica bar, a few blocks from JFK airport. Her “In It for Us” slogan was printed on posters and plastered from pillar to post as a live DJ played R&B classics.
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander shared his watch party spotlight with long-time collaborator Jumaane Williams, the incumbent for public advocate who won in a landslide over Jennifer Rajkumar. The eventual third-place candidate later popped up at Mamdani’s watch party and was briefly brought on stage — they spent the recent few weeks campaigning together.
After the polls closed, Mamdani held an early lead in the polls in the first round of RCV. Cuomo conceded to Mamdani before midnight and congratulated him on his victory. The sun was out of sight by then, but not out of mind — despite the sweltering heat close to midnight at the outdoor watch party, Mamdani’s supporters faithfully awaited his address.
