What to Know
- Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley and The Strokes held a fully vaccinated and full-capacity concert in New York City since the start of the pandemic at Irving Plaza.
- They were joined by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and comedian John Mulaney.
- All the proceeds from ticket sales for the concert went toward the Maya Wiley for Mayor campaign.
New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley held a full-capacity concert in New York City over a year with the band The Strokes at Irving Plaza this past weekend.
The band was joined Saturday night by comedian John Mulaney and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who recently endorsed Wiley for mayor. The concert hall, which reopened after a renovation, required proof of vaccination from all who attended.
"I am so thankful to The Strokes for their support of my campaign and my vision for this city and for their commitment to making this event happen safely and successfully," Wiley said in a statement. “This concert —was the first full-capacity indoor show in over a year and this is proof that New York City is on the road to recovery. I'm thrilled that my campaign was able to spearhead this important and joyful milestone for our city.”
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The Strokes, which was formed in New York City and is fronted by lead singer, Julian Casablancas, has been actively supporting Wiley throughout the campaign. A WNBC/Telemundo 47/POLITICO/Marist Poll released on Monday found that Wiley is currently in third place, trailing behind Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Kathryn Garcia.
After over a year of restrictions on large indoor gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, attendees of the event expressed excitement over the city slowly returning to normal and a sense of relief over the required vaccinations in order to gain entrance to the concert.
“I attended [the concert] as a fan of the band, but Maya is definitely the mayoral candidate that I support,” Michael McNamara, 25, said. “Once I walked inside, it felt like I was in the pre-pandemic world where it was completely normal to be standing inches away from other people maskless. I think requiring everyone to be vaccinated is what kept me feeling completely safe the entire event… everyone seemed to feel comfortable being jammed into a small room again. But I had no reservations about going once I heard that everyone was required to be vaccinated.”
A highlight of the night for some concertgoers was Ocasio-Cortez up on stage with Wiley.
"Having [Ocasio-Cortez] come out on stage to give an impassioned speech in support of Maya was one of the special moments of the night," McNamara said. "There was a moment during The Strokes' set where I made a heart with my hands and pointed at her and she did the same gesture back to me. Absolutely electric."
News
At full capacity, the concert held 1,000 people without masks indoors. All the proceeds from ticket sales for the concert went toward the Maya Wiley for Mayor campaign.
