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Contest in Washington Square
Hundreds of people gathered near Washington Square Park in New York City on Sunday to judge a look-alike contest for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with nine contestants competing for the crowd’s vote.
“Hundreds of people gathered near Washington Square Park in New York City on Sunday”
Amadeo Fusca, a comedian and actor, won the contest and took home a $100 prize after appearing in a New York Knicks jersey underneath a suit, with a haircut and facial hair resembling Mamdani’s.
Fusca, who is 40 years old, told The New York Post that it was “kind of the perfect storm of people constantly hitting me up,” after friends repeatedly sent him pictures of Mamdani during his mayoral campaign.
The contest was sponsored by Sonder, and police asked organizers and attendees to leave Washington Square Park because they did not have a permit, after which the competition continued just outside the park.
Fusca’s Mamdani embrace
Fusca said he began incorporating Mamdani’s mannerisms and appearance into his professional work after friends repeatedly sent him pictures of Mamdani during his mayoral campaign, pointing out their striking resemblance.
After Mamdani won the election, Fusca recalled that he asked his barber on the morning of the contest to cut his hair to look more like Mamdani, saying, “I went to the barber that morning and said, ‘Here, cut my hair, and make me look like this now.’”
He also described how he started posting Instagram videos to parody Mamdani, telling The New York Post, “It started to get more love, and I sort of realized recently that people are hiring me to do their variety shows.”
Other contestants leaned into Mamdani-inspired outfits, including suits, patterned red-and-black ties, dress shoes, and silver rings, and one participant appeared shirtless but wearing an apron as a nod to a rap music video Mamdani made in 2019.
Mayor’s agenda and local buzz
The contest highlighted Mamdani’s political profile, with multiple outlets describing him as a democratic socialist who took office in January and built a significant following among younger New Yorkers and on social media.
“Mamdani, a democratic socialist who took office in January”
Telegraph India said Mamdani’s agenda as mayor focuses on using government power to support the city’s working class, while Ynetnews described his mayoral agenda as heavily focused on using city government to address pressures facing working-class residents.
The event’s format was simple, with contestants judged on a single question about their favorite pizza and the winner decided by the loudest applause, according to Telegraph India and Ynetnews.
While the contest was held in Manhattan, Telegraph India noted that it was not the first time Mamdani look-alikes gathered, saying a similar competition was held in Brooklyn in 2025 while Mamdani was campaigning for mayor.