NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Bangladeshi voters Help Propel Mamdani to Victory, and How the Internet Fell for a Chinatown Passport Photographer

Episode Date: November 6, 2025

Bangladeshi voters in Brooklyn’s Kensington neighborhood helped propel Zohran Mamdani to the most powerful position in New York City. Meanwhile, a film shop in Chinatown has become an unlikely destination for portraits.

Bangladeshi voters helped propel Zoramam Dani to victory and how the internet fell for a Chinatown passport photographer. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jenei Pierre. Zeranam Dani is New York City's first Muslim and first South Asian person to be elected mayor. WNYC's Ramsey-Khalifa reports on the Bangladeshi voters in Kensington that helped propel the unlikely candidate to the most powerful position in the city. the city. In a crowded basement of a community center in Kensington, Brooklyn, a group of Bangladeshi New Yorkers are elated to find out that Zohan Mamdani has just been elected mayor.

As Mamdani gives his speech, he calls out their neighborhood by name. City data shows Bangladeshis are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the five boroughs, and their political power is growing. South Asian turnout in this year's Democratic primaries surged compared to 2021. This year, they turned out in big numbers for Mamdani. They're chanting, my mayor, your mayor in Bengali. Like Mamdani, everyone at this party is South Asian and Muslim. But 50-year-old Muhammad Udin steered away from the type of immigrant-focused identity politics

that's consumed a lot of national discourse around this election. Actually, we are not looking for the Muslim, Shadishian and other countries. country, everyone is the human, so human rights is fast. So who can control the city, who can work for the middle class people, who can work for the health care. The celebration continued late in the night. People in the room kept the party going with chai and beef briani. 46-year-old Muhammad Hayder shares the same sentiment and says Mamdani is for all New Yorkers. He's the male for Newark. He's not Mayfurt, like one of nations, it's not like that. I don't want to separate it Still, he hopes that Mamdani takes a little bit of Kensington to City Hall.

That's WMYC's Ramsey Caliphate. Governor Kathy Hokel is promising more protections for Jewish institutions after red swastikas were found at a Brooklyn Yashiva Wednesday morning. She says the vandalism also targeted a cemetery and a community center, just hours before students were set to arrive at school. To all those in this community are feeling anxious, Bushing the parents of the school, the children, know that we stand here to protect you. Hokel says the state is boosting funding for high-risk sites like yeshivas and synagogues,

increasing the hate crime security fund to $90 million. Five men are facing assault and attempted murder charges after prosecutors say their biker gang got into a gun battle in East Flatbush last spring. The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office says the Street Nights Motorcycle Club was holding an anniversary party at an event hall when members of a rival biker gang drove by. Prosecutors say street night's members fired in the other gang's direction, hitting a 35-year-old biker in the leg. The crossfire damaged multiple vehicles and narrowly missed a bystander.

Nobody was killed. Defense lawyers did not immediately comment on the charges. A film shop in Chinatown has become an unlikely destination for portraits. More on that after the break. A film shop in Manhattan's Chinatown that's been serving the neighborhood for over three decades is turning into the internet's go-to spot for getting your portrait taken. WNYC's Ryan Cost explains. A Liz Digital Photoshop is a small shoebox of a store, wedged between a hair salon and an Asian food market.

Customers come in to get their film developed and to have their passport photos done. It's the passport photos that has the shop going viral. Chinatown resident Bolton Brown stopped in to get his own photo a few weeks ago. He posted the results to X and announced, the best portrait photographer in New York is the quote-unquote passport lady on Elizabeth Street. You just sit on this little stool and she just has a camera with a big flash and takes one shot and it looks great at your touch. More than one million people saw Brown's post. He's got soft shadows long.

as cheeks and a piercing gaze. Pretty soon, the comments started rolling in, and other accounts were sharing their own portraits. Emma Hartsfield from Brooklyn hadn't had hers done in years, but she saw Brown's post and decided to give a Liz Digital a chance to. However long she's been doing this, she's really perfected the craft. And you can tell she is very deliberate and knows what she's doing,

but makes it look effortless. The woman behind the camera is named Cheneika Keshe. Her setup is modest, a small white chair against a white wall. She shoots with a digital SLR. The flash has a diffuser to help spread the light. A few styrofoam boards take the edge off the shadows. She keeps a spray bottle and a comb nearby for last minute touch-ups. Keshe is not on social media, so she had no idea about her new title of New York's best portrait photographer.

Not until customers started to mention they'd found her through X. That was a very nice surprise. In truth, Eliz Digital has been a favorite among the city's analog set for years. People recommend her on Reddit, TikTokers post videos of the store, and X is full of love notes to Keshe in her business. Still, she's not exactly sure why her passport photos caught the Internet's attention. She guesses it might have to do with how plain they are. They like the way it looks and doesn't need to be auto.

I think people like to go to organic stuff, and they don't want to taste much. Keshe gives her subjects more attention than they'd get at the local drug store. She tells them how to tilt their head, to roll their shoulders back, and to look just below the lens. She'll take a couple shots, and then she'll confer with them about what she thinks is best. The photos are simple, but they're evenly lit, and somehow she makes her subject's eyes stand out. She don't want to make them look super ready or whatever, just as it is, and more real, and maybe better angle themselves. So maybe that's why they like it. Whatever the case, Keshe's happy for the customers.

She just keeps working, lining up each shot the same way she always has. A white wall, a steady hand, and a flash of light. That's WMYC's Ryan Koss. Got a flight plan soon? Some airlines are offering refunds to anyone wishing to cancel their flights during the Federal Aviation Administration's flight reduction period, which will affect all major airports in our area. The FAA says it will reduce air traffic by 10% at many busy airports

to keep the nation's airspace safe during the shutdown. United Airlines and Delta are two of the airlines offering refunds. Check with your airline to see if they're also offering free cancellations or refunds. The department says JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty Airports will all see decreased traffic because of the cuts. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Junae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.