Upper East Side Swung Left In 2021 Election, Final Results Show

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Despite a frightening national climate for the Democratic Party, the Upper East Side was friendly turf this year's left-leaning mayoral candidate, according to newly released vote totals from last month's general election.

In the Nov. 2 mayoral election, Democratic nominee Eric Adams improved significantly on Bill de Blasio's 2017 vote share in the neighborhood, according to a Patch review of the results.

The neighborhood's results form a slight contrast with citywide trends, where Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa improved on the GOP's 2017 showing in part by performing well in majority-white areas.

A sizable shift

On the Upper East Side, Adams, the outgoing Brooklyn borough president, won 78 percent of the vote. Sliwa, the Guardian Angels leader running on the Republican and Independent party lines, earned just 19 percent of votes.

Four years ago, when Mayor Bill de Blasio cruised to re-election over Republican Nicole Malliotakis, de Blasio won about 52 percent of Upper East Siders' votes compared to 40 percent for Malliotakis — a far narrower margin than Adams's total this year.

That swing can be observed in individual election districts: in a two-block district that runs from East 89th to 90th streets between Fifth and Park avenues, Malliotakis beat De Blasio four years ago, winning 132 votes to his 113. This year, by contrast, Adams thumped Sliwa, 237 to 52.

Meanwhile, in Yorkville's District 5 City Council race, Democrat Julie Menin handily defeated Mark Foley — running on the Republican and Liberal party lines — by a margin of 76 percent to 24 percent.

While comfortable, that margin was slightly narrower than Ben Kallos's four years ago, when he won re-election over Republican Frank Spotorno with 80 percent of the vote.