WASHINGTON

Polls have closed across New York City Tuesday evening as voters are poised to decide who will become the next leader of America's largest metropolis.

While the race is technically between three candidates, it has largely boiled down to a contest between Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, an unabashed democratic socialist, and Independent candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo, a one-time Democratic star who led New York state through the COVID-19 pandemic, is seeking to return to public office after falling from grace amid allegations of sexual misconduct from over a dozen women.

US President Donald Trump has sought for months to intervene in the contest, endorsing Cuomo after futilely appealing to Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa to step aside in the hopes of boosting the former governor's electoral prospects.

Trump has threatened to cut off federal funding for New York City if Mamdani, whom he derides as a "communist," emerges victorious in Tuesday night's contest.

Mamdani, an avowed democratic socialist, has run a campaign focused on affordability and social services, promising free buses, universal childcare, city-run grocery stores, rent-stabilized housing and a plan to raise the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030 from $16.50 currently.

All of this would be paid for, he says, by raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5% -- the same as in neighboring New Jersey -- as well as a 2% income tax on those earning over $1 million per year.

He has also pledged that he would order the New York Police Department (NYPD) to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he enter the city, citing the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against him over war crimes in Gaza.

Vote counting remains underway, while any individual who was in line at the time of closing -- 9 pm Eastern Time (0200GMT Wednesday) -- will be allowed to cast their ballot under state-wide rules.

Should Mamdani win, he would become the first Muslim and first South Asian to be mayor of New York City.