The feline residents of New York City’s corner delis and convenience stores have long been beloved community icons, inspiring everything from popular Instagram and Tiktok accounts to children’s books and magazine covers. Now, the bodega cat is at the forefront of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign thanks to a sticker contest aimed at boosting voter registration.
Hundreds of artists submitted designs to Mamdani’s 36-hour “I Registered to Vote for Zohran” sticker contest. They focused on quintessential New York City imagery like public buses, street signs, subways, and pigeons that were then voted on by thousands of users online.
On Monday, September 29, Mamdani announced the winner on Instagram: a glowing red, blue, and gold watercolor illustration depicting a bodega storefront, created by arts educator and freelance illustrator Nishan Patel. Lounging window-side, a pink furry feline is bathed in the warm glow of the small business’s interior, a tender homage to the neighborhood delis and its workers that make NYC the unique home that it is.
“It was a very close race with tons of amazing submissions,” said Mamdani’s post, noting that the sticker will be available at Mamdani campaign events throughout the month of October.
Submissions for the “I Registered to Vote for Zohran” sticker design contest (screenshot Maya Pontone/Hyperallergic via Zohran for NYC)
The custom sticker spotlight on bodega cats was praised by users online, including the popular Cats for Zohran Instagram account, which had been promoting both Patel’s submission and another feline-focused sticker. “BIG PURR ENERGY 🐾,” Cats for Zohran commented.
Today, Mamdani featured the design in a promotional voter registration video parodying the iconic Mean Girls (2004) “October 3” scene.
With Election Day just one month away, this week proved to be a pivotal time for the NYC’s mayoral race. New York Mayor Eric Adams announced that he had withdrawn his third-party bid for re-election, reducing the race to three candidates: the young Democrat primary winner Mamdani, disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Results from a New York Times/Siena poll released today show that Mamdani is currently maintaining a strong lead in the race following Adams’s exit.
A popular pigeon design submitted by 14-year-old Isla Dalisay-Hockett (image courtesy Yasmin Dalisay)
Mamdani’s campaign, which is rooted in door-to-door canvassing efforts and extensive social media outreach, has notably mobilized young people across the city, including those who are not even yet eligible to vote — such as Isla Dalisay-Hockett, the 14-year-old artist behind a popular pigeon design submission for the sticker contest.
Dalisay-Hockett told Hyperallergic that she came up with her drawing while she was on the subway.
“I really like the winning sticker,” Dalisay-Hockett said, noting that it “matches” the campaign’s focus on small businesses, which Mamdani has proposed supporting by cutting business fines in half, simplifying online applications, and boosting funding for mom-and-pop shops.
”His campaign is one of the ones where people are very excited,” Dalisay-Hockett said.
“He’s young, he’s new to the political landscape, and his wife is a cool artist,” she continued, referring to Syrian, Brooklyn-based illustrator and animator Rama Duwaji. “There’s so much just to be excited about in his campaign, and I think it’s really cool.”
