Zohran Mamdani, the incoming Mayor of New York City has had a volatile relationship with President Trump. He's called the president a fascist. Trump, in return, has called him a "little communist mayor," and warned that he may send in the National Guard. The administration also said it will expand ICE operations in the city.
But when the two leaders finally met face to face recently it was, to many people's surprise, cordial. Some may even say warm.
"We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I want him to do a great job, and we'll help him do a great job," the president said. Soon the internet was flooded with memes of the president looking admiringly up at Mamdani. The next day's New York Post cover read "I love you Mam."
But many New Yorkers say they're taking it all with a grain of salt and remaining on guard.
"The president says one thing one day, and a different thing the next," says one street vendor outside the subway station in Queens. "You don't know what's real anymore."
What she does know is that she's seen an uptick in immigration enforcement recently, which is why she asked that NPR withhold her name. She's undocumented, and she's worried.
Every morning at around 4:30 a.m., she posts up here and sells refreshments and breakfast. A few weeks ago, a little after setting up, she says several ICE agents jumped out of an unmarked car in pursuit of two workers who'd just bought something to eat.
She ran into the building behind her, locked the door and hid in the stairway until it was all over.
This vendor says she loves Mamdani, but worries the president will punish the city for electing a democratic socialist. She fears New York will turn into Chicago or Los Angeles, two cities that have experienced large-scale immigration raids.
This is a common sentiment in New York these days. The day after the White House meeting, President Trump said that while he's not planning on sending troops into New York now, he would, if needed. NPR reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment and received no response.
Mamdani, for his part, reiterated he will defend immigrants in New York.
His team did not grant NPR an interview, despite multiple requests. But a source close to his transition team who spoke on condition of anonymity told NPR that Mamdani is exploring legal strategies at the local level to limit Trump's actions in New York City, including muscling up the NYC Law Department by adding 200 attorneys.
Congressman Patrick Ryan of the Hudson Valley, a Democrat whose district includes some of New York City's northern suburbs, told NPR that one of the lessons from Chicago and LA is that states can successfully challenge the administration in court. Ryan cites his own background as an Iraq War veteran.
"To come home to my state and my country, and see the idea of U.S. troops deployed against U.S. citizens and American cities, it's so fundamentally un-American. It's also, by the way, not what young American men and women sign up to do," he says.
He hopes the meeting between Mamdani and Trump de-escalated tensions. But like the street vendor in Queens, he's taking it with a grain of salt. He's hoping for the best, he says, but preparing for the worst.
Which is what organizers on the streets are doing.
Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez is the deputy director of the advocacy group Street Vendor Project. She says street vendors are among the most vulnerable immigrants in New York. "Street Vendors are the eyes on the ground right? They see everything that happens."
She's hopeful that the incoming Mayor will be an ally. She says she's also confident New York street vendors are uniquely prepared to weather an ICE campaign. Many of them, she says, see this as "the next pandemic."
The organization is, in fact, leaning in on pandemic-era strategies for vendors who are scared to work on the streets during immigration raids. "We have a catering program for example, where people can reach out to us, and we'll connect them to a vendor for catering their event."
She says, something the new mayor could do is make it easier for street vendors to operate — which Mamdani has said he will prioritize. He has pledged to allow thousands of additional license applications for vendors, and repeal criminal liability rules.
Meanwhile, in the cold shade of her stand, the breakfast street vendor looks out at the busy avenue. She wonders how long this liveliness will last, and how long she will endure.
"Three more years," she says, referring to the Trump administration. "I hope they go by quickly."
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