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# Once Again I Did Not Win A Zohran Mamdani Scavenger Hunt
- URL: https://aftermath.site/mamdani-scavenger-hunt-2026/
- Published: 2026-10-12T16:30:54.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-12T16:30:54.000Z
- Description: But, once again, I did learn a lot about New York
- Author: Riley MacLeod
- Tags: Politics, mayor, nyc, zohran mamdani

In August 2025, before he was mayor, Zohran Mamdani hosted a [New York-themed scavenger hunt](https://aftermath.site/zohran-mamdani-scavenger-hunt/). That event was not without its hitches, largely that far more people showed up than Mamdani’s campaign seemed to be expecting, leading to a crowded contest where not everyone who ostensibly won could attend the meetup with Mamdani that served as a prize. On Sunday, Mamdani’s administration hosted another scavenger hunt; it was more ambitious and better organized than the first, and, despite some challenges, showcased the mayor’s interest in getting people out into the city while learning about its radical history. 

[Calling it](https://www.nyc.gov/content/organize/pages/scavengerhunt?ref=aftermath.site) “a citywide celebration of People Power in New York City,” Sunday’s scavenger hunt had a lottery-based entry of teams of up to four people. It relied on the scavenger hunt app [Goosechase](https://goosechase.com/?ref=aftermath.site), where teams and their members had to register to receive clues. Teams could technically be larger than four, but non-registered members couldn’t upload answers to the app. Teams that came in the top 100 would win “an invitation to a special celebration at the end of the day,” though only the four registered members could attend. From what I can gather from the results there was something in the ballpark of 1000 teams, though many of those ended the day with zero points.

A friend of mine won the lottery and invited our group chat to join them, warning us from the start that they were determined to win. Our team ended up only being three people, a situation made slightly more complicated by the fact that one of us wasn’t able to register on the app. All of this was made even morecomplicated by the fact that it rained all day–like, *actual* rain, and actually *all day*. This meant I didn’t bike like I did for the previous scavenger hunt, which made getting around a lot slower and more challenging.

At 10am, the first couple of clues went live on the app. These were simple: One was to fill in a sentence from the website of the the [Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement](https://www.nyc.gov/content/organize/pages/?ref=aftermath.site), which was behind the event, and the second was to take a selfie in front of your “favorite NYC bagel spot” in relation to the clue’s detailing of a [1951 strike](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bagel-union-strikes-new-york-city?ref=aftermath.site) by the Bagel Bakers Local 338\. I, an inveterate morning person who had been up for hours by that point, swiftly handled both clues (full disclosure, the bagel spot I went to is probably my least favorite, but was closest to my apartment), which opened up a whole new series of clues across the city. During the day, more clues would be released, or completing certain ones would open up more. Clues were worth different numbers of points, and while my team didn’t unlock all of them for me to get a final count, I personally saw over 100.

One way this scavenger hunt improved on the last was by having far more clues that were far more spread out, preventing the crush of people that made the first one frustrating. In addition to clues being across the boroughs, many could also be completed from home, requiring tasks like visiting the website of the [Tenement Museum](https://www.tenement.org/?ref=aftermath.site) and writing in the app about a story from it you enjoyed, sharing the name of your nearest [Animal Care Center](https://www.nycacc.org/?ref=aftermath.site), or providing the minimum wage for [delivery workers](https://www.workersjustice.org/en/ldu?ref=aftermath.site). 

The clues that did require travelling also had variety. An early one asked you to time yourself getting to your nearest [public bathroom](https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/09/mayor-mamdani-brings-17-new-public-bathrooms-to-neighborhoods-ac?ref=aftermath.site) (I’ll also admit that I didn’t actually *do* this one, but as a runner, trust me I know how long it takes). Others asked you to either figure out a location and then go to it and check in with your GPS coordinates on the app, or to take a picture of yourself there and upload it. All of the clues centered around NYC labor and organizing, history, or Mamdani’s quality of life priorities. There were questions about [ACT UP](https://actupny.com/?ref=aftermath.site) demonstrations, [trolley strikes](https://www.bklynlibrary.org/blog/2014/08/25/great-trolley-strike-1895?ref=aftermath.site), [a bakery boycott](https://www.gc.cuny.edu/news/ebinger-girls-blackout-cake-and-boycotts-nyc-guidebook-gives-peoples-story?ref=aftermath.site), and strikes for [women’s equality](https://now.org/about/history/history-of-marches-and-mass-actions/?ref=aftermath.site); requirements to take a picture of a bike lane, bus, and taxi; and visits to landmarks like the [Ali Forney Center](https://www.aliforneycenter.org/?ref=aftermath.site) or the theater where [*The Cradle Will Rock*](https://music.si.edu/story/cradle-will-rock-working-mans-musical?ref=aftermath.site)was first performed. (Side note: that [movie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a%5FR8bN5BErk&ref=aftermath.site) still holds up.) Not all were site-specific: A clue about a [1937 laundry workers strike](https://lawcha.org/2022/05/04/laundry-workers-uprising/?ref=aftermath.site) asked you to take a picture in front of any laundromat, and one about city construction required taking a picture of any construction crane (along with a warning not to climb it). These broader clues were a good addition to the more specific ones, giving me things to look out for and tasks to accomplish as I travelled between destinations.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/10/IMG_7626.PNG)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/10/IMG_7627.PNG)

After handling a few of the easier clues, I swiftly became obsessed with one asking you to find a manhole cover indicating the [Catskill water supply](https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/282137f0-c610-012f-cf2a-58d385a7bc34?ref=aftermath.site). But here is where I also ran afoul of a problem that would dog me quite a bit with questions that required research: Google’s [AI answers](https://aftermath.site/google-ai-search-god-no-why/) kept forcing on me manhole locations that additional research made *seem* likely, but when I’d go to their locations they would only have the standard manholes. It was hard to look things up on my phone in the rain, because my screen kept getting wet and making it impossible to type, so I spent far longer than necessary wandering into traffic in Brooklyn to kick leaves off manhole covers and groan. I kept walking further and further, aware that time was wasting, and fighting with my damp phone to get anything beyond overly confident AI crap. After checking a number of streets that *didn’t* have what I needed, I finally trekked all the way to the [most reliable information](https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2026/09/21/a-prospect-heights-manhole-cover-reveals-the-source-of-brooklyns-water-supply-a-century-ago/?ref=aftermath.site) I had. My heart was in my throat that the cover that was supposed to be there might have been replaced, but luckily it panned out.

> There was another Mamdani scavenger hunt today and while I did not necessarily enjoy spending 8 hours in the rain I did enjoy my needlessly complex journey to see this unusual manhole cover  
>  
> [\[image or embed\]](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:25ofi7urzd5uhgzdbq4gqybn/post/3mxmxdu3ra226?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=aftermath.site)
> 
> — Riley MacLeod ([@rcmacleod.bsky.social](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:25ofi7urzd5uhgzdbq4gqybn?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=aftermath.site)) [October 11, 2026 at 5:33 PM](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:25ofi7urzd5uhgzdbq4gqybn/post/3mxmxdu3ra226?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=aftermath.site)

My relief was short-lived when it then made the most sense to trek *all* the way back across town to check in at the [Lesbian Herstory Archives](https://lesbianherstoryarchives.org/?ref=aftermath.site), though this did let me pop by my house to change my shirt, which was soaked despite my raincoat. From there, I took the subway a couple stops to check off a few locations in Sunset Park, trying to take selfies in front of landmarks despite the rain making my camera blurry and my worry about looking like a creep taking a picture in front of some people’s [homes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alku%5Fand%5FAlku%5FToinen?ref=aftermath.site).

While I did all this, my team spread out across the city to tackle other clues. Our teammate who hadn’t registered would text photos to us to upload, though it was a little clunky to have to tell her clues from the app, especially when I was finding it so challenging to text in the rain. While I thought we were moving at a pretty good clip, our place in the rankings kept changing wildly–sometimes we were thousands of points behind the top 100, and other times we were tantalizingly close.

Here’s where we also ran into another problem. One of the earliest clues I’d done was to take a picture in front of a New York Central Labor Council-affiliated [union hall](https://nycclc.org/resources/affiliated-unions-nyc-clc-afl-cio?ref=aftermath.site), since the list the clue provided said there was one near me. The building seemed more like a small local business than a “hall,” but I took a picture and uploaded it anyway. A half an hour later I got a notification on the app that my submission had been rejected, which I chalked up to it not being a very good picture. (I am a 44 year old man; please do not ask me to take selfies.) Over the course of the scavenger hunt, several of our photo submissions would get rejected, always about a half an hour after uploading it, and sometimes in situations where we felt the picture was both correct and clear. It was annoying that this would happen on such a long delay, and it led me to take backup photos of every location I visited. It also made us wonder how the submissions were vetted, whether by the app or by some harried group of volunteers speeding through thousands of rainy pictures. The mayor’s office’s deputy press secretary for economic justice told me via email they believe the submissions were hand-reviewed; I’m waiting for more details and will update when I hear back.

After uploading my clues in Sunset Park, I trekked all the way back across the hilly neighborhood to the subway, only to find that my OMNY card was out of money and the [cursed machine](https://aftermath.site/nyc-subway-omny-metrocard/) wouldn’t take my drenched dollars. I decided to walk to my next location several miles away, during which time the rain worsened so much that water started coming out of my pant legs as I trudged. The friend who formed the team, still determined to win, had headed to Manhattan and encouraged me to join them, but my enthusiasm was finally starting to flag. I stopped along the way to buy a hot chocolate, infuriating the barista when I offered a pile of soaked dollars (I just like paying for things in cash!), but it didn’t do much to perk me up. I logged my arrival at my destination in the app with a little less than an hour before the hunt’s 5:30pm end time, but I didn’t think the points I’d be able to accrue once I factored in travel time to Manhattan would be enough to make a difference. And, while it had been exciting to see new places and learn new things, and while I take sick pleasure from the [type 2 fun](https://www.rei.com/blog/climb/fun-scale?ref=aftermath.site) of being out in weather, a day of wandering around on my own was starting to lose its luster. As I headed home, I regretted that we hadn’t formed a team more strategically spread out across the boroughs.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/10/IMG_7628-1.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/10/IMG_7631-1.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/30/f5/30f5b1bb-84ee-4c26-b446-fb9a5e512994/content/images/2026/10/IMG_7632-1.jpg)

Our team leader made a noble effort in Manhattan, but we ultimately came in 126th with 7,875 points, having completed 48 quests. While the first-place team scored a whopping 14,600, our team was only about 700 points behind what we would have needed to make the top 100\. My friend was disappointed, and I couldn’t help imagine how things might have gone if I’d hustled more. But I’ll also admit that even though I don’t know what the winners' event entailed, the thought of spending any more time anywhere but my couch wasn’t that appealing anyway. While only 100 teams could get the ultimate prize, all participants will get 20% off at the [City Store](https://a856-citystore.nyc.gov/?ref=aftermath.site). 

Overall, it seems like the Mayor’s office learned from the last event and tweaked things to make this scavenger hunt both feel more like a fair competition and to make sure participants had more variety in how they pursued the tasks. It also felt more like a real scavenger hunt than the first event, with actual things to find and hidden places to uncover. There were also more opportunities to learn about the city given that there were so many more clues, and it’s been fun to go back and spend more time with the answers now that the hunt is over.

I definitely wish I could have done more of the hunt with my team; the scope of the thing means it’s likely a lot of teams split up to do more tasks, but it was still a bit of a lonely experience. And while I didn’t love the app-based nature of the hunt as much as having to get clues from in-person volunteers, it made things a lot more streamlined. A lot of my frustration with the app definitely came down to having to try to use my phone so much in the rain–really, the rain was the worst part, and the event would have been a lot more enjoyable if the weather hadn’t been so miserable. (For what it’s worth, my fitness watch tells me I walked 10 miles, and also all my clothes are *still* wet.)

But weather aside, the scavenger hunt was another outcome of having an administration that actually likes the city and wants constituents to know more about it. Events like this help make a radical history that often feels niche into a core part of what it means to live here, while highlighting the administration’s priorities. And it’s always welcome to have more free things to do these days, even if it wasn’t a great day for it. Here’s hoping my shoes dry before the next one.

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