The Hell Gate Podcast

This week in NYC news: The UK is installing a new hypercapitalist project in the form of pods, or tubes, or maybe it is an airlock, or maybe a pneumatic network meant to shoot gymgoers onto ellipticals with the force of wads of cash. In any case Jessy and Chris explain how and why PureGym, formerly Blink Fitness, is forcing us into their mysterious tubes. Also, Brad Lander is running for congress. The vibe is Mr. Rogers. Will it work? Probably. Then—Katie attends a hearing featuring local celebrities Richard Kind, Matt Dillon, and Mark Ruffalo, who have unified in defense of their church-slash-pickleball court (that is turning into a pile of sand). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The team pulls an Eric Adams this week and leaves the city to go hang out somewhere quaint and European, but hotels are expensive and so are flights, so they end up in Atlantic City (the New York of New Jersey). It's bleak out there. It's giving post-apocalyptic preview of what New York can expect from the parade of casinos coming soon to the metropolitan area. It’s cold, and dad’s not coming home. And he took the dog, too. It’s making us wonder if this is actually the best way to fund the MTA, and why we’re not just taxing the fucking rich. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re here this holiday week to mull over NYC’s Thanksgiving highlights and consider the benefits of escaping to Sharlene’s for 5 small beers after your mom tells you “there’s never a ‘good’ time to have kids, you know.” Then, updates on Mamdani’s transition committees and some news about leadership in the city—and whether or not they’ll help Mamdani answer questions like “Where does the NYPD end and federal law enforcement begin?” Truly, kind of a tough one! Finally, Adlan tells us about the beautiful $1,800/month basement apartment he’s so grateful to be signing a lease for. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s going on Mamdani? Getting scared of doing what you said you’d do? Or is big bad Jessica Tisch giving you the creeps? The team is trying to make sense of what you’ve been saying and it’s not quite adding up to the same spunk we saw just a couple weeks back. And how was the meeting with Trump today? Did the fish filet go over ok? We’re betting yes. (Spoiler: Total Mamdani victory—listen to the end of the episode for us reacting to the Oval Office meetup that has everyone buzzing.)Meanwhile, our current mayor is somewhere out there, still burning taxpayer dollars for his eurorail gap year soul search. Does he know Andorra is not part of the EU? Does he know he can take PTO? Come home mayor Adams. We miss you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Max, Chris, and Nick (the boys) discuss the Mamdani transition so far—the incoming first deputy mayor knows where all the (metaphorical) bodies are buried in Albany, while the incoming chief-of-staff is hoping to keep the administration honest to its progressive ideals. Meanwhile, Cuomo’s campaign is transcending to higher and higher planes as they attempt to ret-con the plot of the general election. Then: Elizabeth Street Garden is a park now? And should we ban carriage horses? Both of these issues might be 2026 problems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zohran won! The sun rose this morning on a city with a democratic socialist, Muslim, immigrant, shockingly young mayor-elect. The team was up late covering the respective victory and concession parties, and this morning—a bit weary—they rolled out of bed to reflect on the evening and the mayoral race as it came, finally, to a close. What’s next for Zohran? And what does it look like when a progressive candidate doesn’t abandon the political apparatus that got them into office? Will we get to find out? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have whiz-man, superstar data boy, and mayoral poll vibe-checker Michael Lange to give us the block-by-block for this week’s election. How it’s looking from both the birds-eye and the street-level. Then, the team debriefs about Mamdani’s performance on the stage last week at the live taping of the Hell Gate Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Friday night, just a few hours before the start of early voting, Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani sat down for an interview with the Hell Gate Podcast in front of a live audience at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. During our 45-minute conversation, we grilled Mamdani about his desire to keep Jessica Tisch as his NYPD commissioner, and how he plans to combat attempts to undermine his ambitious agenda.We also talked about the barrage of racism and Islamophobia that Andrew Cuomo and the anti-Mamdani forces have hurled at him in the waning days of the campaign, how he stays alert and healthy while maintaining a grueling schedule, and his one-Red Bull-per-week indulgence.Also: Mamdani's position on a controversial universal daylighting bill in the City Council, whether he'll bring back real snow days for schoolchildren, and if he'll build affordable housing atop Elizabeth Street Garden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max reports back from the big Mamdani rally, where the candidate got the stamp of approval from some big-time establishment Democrats. Then: Are you confused about the housing ballot propositions you have to vote on soon? Luckily Chris has the breakdown for you, to clear it up completely, with no further questions. We close out with some speculations on what Eric Adams's new gig will be. Full time Cameo star? Green juice king? Hope springs eternal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eric Adams went on a taxpayer-funded vacation to Albania. What? Why? Regardless, we're in favor of it. While Zohran Mamdani is beginning to don the mayoral sash, the team considers whether it seems as though Cuomo is gaining any “Cuo-mentum”—after all, bigger polling gaps have been closed. Then, Jessy Edwards breaks down her reporting that illustrates just how bad a housing crisis the new mayor of our fine city will have to tackle. Daunting. We'd be in Albania as well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.