Mamdani Faces Backlash Over Expensive ‘Freebie’ Victory Party

New York City’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, built his campaign on promises of affordability, free public services, and economic equality. But at his lavish victory party Tuesday night, the self-proclaimed “man of the people” offered supporters something far different — a cash bar where cocktails cost up to $22.

The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist narrowly defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa to claim just over 50% of the vote, according to The New York Post. Mamdani’s campaign rallies centered on slogans like “Free Transit for All” and “Housing is a Human Right.” But at the Brooklyn Paramount, a newly renovated Live Nation venue, guests were greeted with prices that screamed capitalism.

Photos posted by Politico reporter Jeff Coltin showed Pabst Blue Ribbon beers for $13, Montauk Summer Ale for $16, wines at $15, and cocktails like espresso martinis and old fashioneds topping out at $22. Even soft drinks ran $12, while a pretzel-wrapped hot dog sold for $10.

It didn’t take long for social media to light up with ridicule.

“Mamdani had a CASH BAR at his victory party,” conservative comedian Jimmy Failla quipped on X. “If you can’t get a free vodka from this guy, something tells me the free food and buses ain’t coming. Congrats, suckers.”

Other users piled on, branding the event “a perfect metaphor for socialist promises that never quite reach the working class.” One viral post read:

“Nothing says ‘for the people’ like charging $22 for a cocktail.”

Even as Mamdani’s team brushed off the criticism, comparisons to his rivals made the optics worse. Cuomo’s subdued watch party at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Midtown featured an open bar. Curtis Sliwa’s event on the Upper West Side included two free drink tickets and passed trays of calamari, meatballs, and shrimp. Mamdani’s? Nothing free but the speeches.

The irony wasn’t lost on observers who see the moment as a preview of what Mamdani’s brand of “democratic socialism” could look like in practice — big promises, bigger bills.

Mamdani’s campaign centered on pledges of free childcare, free bus service, city-run grocery stores, and a rent freeze for nearly one million tenants. He insists the city can fund these programs by hiking taxes on corporations and high earners — a proposal that would require approval from Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature.

But even some Democratic strategists warn his numbers don’t add up. Business leaders have cautioned that his soak-the-rich agenda could chase investment and jobs out of New York, leaving middle-class taxpayers to pick up the tab.

Now, the sight of Mamdani’s supporters paying $22 a drink to toast the dawn of “economic equality” has become the perfect symbol of his movement’s contradictions — a socialist celebration priced for Wall Street.