Hundreds of energized voters snaked around Union Square on Sunday afternoon, as New Yorkers sought one of the limited Zohran Mamdani Scavenger Hunt cards at the first clue stop.
The Democratic mayoral candidate who stunned the city’s political establishment by toppling former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for the nomination and has shaken up social media feeds, announced the scavenger hunt in a Saturday video, kicking it off with a jab at incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.
Crunching on a bag of Herr’s Sour Cream & Onion chips, a pointed wink at Adams’ recent scandal involving an aide allegedly stuffing cash into a chip bag for a reporter, Mamdani said, “Friends, I have to come clean. I have something to hide.”
In a change of tone, he quipped, “Many things, in fact because we’re doing a scavenger hunt!”
Adams quickly responded to the initiative on X, writing, “This run around is exactly what he plans to do with your safety, your housing and your taxes. It’s all kid’s play for Mamdani.”
By early Sunday afternoon, Union Square was alive with volunteers and supporters, queued up ahead of the so-called “Zcavenger” hunt 2 p.m. kickoff. The first clue, a mash-up of city politics and rom-com trivia to tease out the name Hugh Grant, led participants to the historic Tammany Hall Building on the edge of the square.
Across the square, clusters of friends huddled over their phones, some frantically Googling hints for the next clue, others pulling up maps and transit apps to plot their route, a phenomenon that happened repeatedly throughout the afternoon.
Several participants told Newsweek they were eager to solve the clues without looking them up online, while others said they simply wanted to see where the hunt would take them. One passerby who spoke to Newsweek, laughed at the irony of uploading a photo of the clue from a “socialist candidate into a capitalist thing like ChatGPT.”
New York City Transit Front and Center
Campaigning on affordability, Mamdani has promised “fast, fare-free buses.” Fittingly, his scavenger hunt doubled as a transit tour, with participants constantly mapping transit routes, crowding buses, and eventually crossing boroughs.
Bronx resident Brittany Steele, 30, who is not registered with any political party, told Newsweek that she is “not a person who gets excited about Democrats, even though I don’t like Republicans,” but she came out not only because she loves scavenger hunts, but because Mamdani feels different to her, he’s “relatable” and “trustworthy,” she said.
“You can tell by the way he does everything, that he actually lives here and grew up here,” which is important to her. Steele spoke with Newsweek while heading to the second clue piling onto a crowded bus heading toward the East River. She laughed saying the hunt is “brilliant marketing—proof you care about the city by sending people to the city.” She added that having people take the bus falls in line with his platform.
The bus Newsweek rode to the second clue was so packed with supporters it blew past several stops without taking passengers, drawing some frustration from locals trying to get on with their Sundays.
Later clues steered participants to the Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall and up to Tramway Plaza, keeping New York’s transit system at the center of the hunt.
What Mamdani Supporters Say They Are Looking For
Walking through the East Village in between public transit stops to get to the far East corner of Manhattan, at the John V Lindsay East River Park Track, or clue two, 23-year-old Simon Busemeyer, joined scavengers because he finds Mamdani to be “less corrupt than other candidates” and a “change” to the status quo.
Busemeyer, who moved to New York City this week to attend graduate school at Columbia University, told Newsweek he came out because he is “excited to be a part of some community,” and hopes to join other events in the future.
Participants crossing over to John V Lindsay East River Park Track as the second stop on Zohran Mamdani’s scavenger hunt on Sunday, August 24, 2025.
Participants crossing over to John V Lindsay East River Park Track as the second stop on Zohran Mamdani’s scavenger hunt on Sunday, August 24, 2025.
Mandy Taheri/Newsweek
Most of the supporters Newsweek spoke with were under 40 years old, and many of them say November will be the first New York City mayoral election they will participate in. Chatting amongst themselves, many supporters talked about their perception of his character, joked about other candidates, and talked about how they hadn’t been to that area of the city in a while.
One 24-year-old new city resident told Newsweek they are supporting him because she believes he is “genuinely a progressive candidate,” counter to other Democratic politicians. Others echoed that sentiment and pointed to his rent-freeze and housing-affordability agenda, transit, and childcare policies, as their main reasons for support.
While inside Mamdani’s circles, his policies are celebrated, beyond them, he has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans, as his platform breaks with the centrist mold and is often classified as too “socialist.” His proposals for tax increases and a citywide rent freeze, in particular, have sparked backlash from pro-business and party moderates, as well as his decriminalization policies.
Critics on social media called out the scavenger hunt online as an example of the “unseriousness” of his campaign.
The Queens assemblyman, ended the hunt with the last clue at one of his favorite cafes in Astoria, writing in an X post: “Queens is the future (of the #ZcavengerHunt).”