His school friends remember Mr Mamdani as an Arsenal-obsessed boy who loved to play football in the park, the computer game Worms and had an impressive collection of TinTin books.
“Zohran was a very worldly person who had these experiences none of us did, like living abroad and he was just interesting”, Mr Roth Smith, Mr Mamdani’s best friend at the time, said.
“He had charisma at an age where most people could barely get their words out,” John McAuliff, Mr Mamdani’s former classmate who is the Democrat candidate for a state house seat in Virginia, said.
“I think at some level he, coming from out of the country, felt he probably needed to work harder to fit in, which I think is what breeds that skill”, he told The Telegraph.
Mr Mamdani was “incredibly kind”, he said, remembering how he had shared his goodie bag from a Harry Potter premiere he had attended with his mother with all his friends.
He was also popular with girls. Mr Roth Smith said he was “relieved” when Mr Mamdani got into the Bronx High School of Science because the girl they both had a crush on was going to a different school.
“Golden rule of Zohran is you’re not gonna win that contest… everyone’s in love with Zohran,” he said.
At high school Mr Mamdani continued his campaigning streak, running an unsuccessful attempt to become student body vice president by promising students fresh orange juice.
