The field was wide open, with voters set to pick their first new mayor since 2013.
Democratic candidates — including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, former Mayor Bill de Blasio counsel Maya Wiley, Comptroller Scott Stringer and former presidential hopeful Andrew Yang — raced across the five boroughs to pitch New Yorkers on their vision.
On the Republican side, Guardian Angel founder and longtime radio personality Curtis Sliwa squared off against former President Trump-supporting businessman Fernando Mateo.
And on the neighborhood level, the City Council was poised to get its most diverse set of lawmakers in history.
Here are some images from an election year destined to shape the city’s future:
Wiley kicked off her campaign outside the Brooklyn Museum more than a year before election day.
Yang also hit the trail early, traveling to Staten Island in February.
Sliwa framed his run around changing direction from the policies of the city and state’s then two biggest leaders.
Former Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia worked to connect with voters during an outdoor movie in Astoria Park.
A young supporter of Democratic mayoral hopeful Dianne Morales attended a rally in Jackson Heights.
Adams rallied outside his Flatbush campaign headquarters a day before the primary.
Wiley connected with voters before the June vote.
Adams supporters started the celebration early during his primary party in Williamsburg.
Women City Council candidates and advocates rallied in City Hall Park in support of more female leadership.
Republican challenger Curtis Sliwa invited the media into the tiny Manhattan apartment he shares with his wife and an ever-growing number of rescue cats.
An anti-vaccination protester tried to disrupt an Adams rally outside Brooklyn Borough Hall.
Sliwa’s Midtown campaign headquarters practiced safety first.
Adams greeted voters, and a few non-voters, outside the Jackie Robinson School in Crown Heights on Election Day.
Sliwa didn’t let getting hit by a taxi stop him from campaigning on Election Day in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.
A Brooklynite brought their best friend to vote.
An ebullient Adams celebrated his early victory call in Downtown Brooklyn.
Felicia Singh supporters consoled the losing Council candidate outside her Election Day party in southeast Queens.
Board of Elections workers slogged through the arduous task of counting absentee ballots.
Adams started to enjoy his new title at the post-election Somos conference in Puerto Rico.