So says the New York Post, which reports Jewish residents across the five boroughs are racing to buy guns ahead of Zohran Mamdani taking over from current mayor Eric Adams.
The bad news for those hoping to exercise their Second Amendment rights is that Mamdani, who has tweeted out support for a complete ban on firearms in addition to his opposition to Israel, can almost certain wreak even more havoc with the city's firearms permitting system than the lengthy delays that have taken place under Adams's watch. The NYPD Licensing Bureau is already taking months to approve the premises permits necessary to keep a gun in the home, and multiple lawsuits have been filed over the delays in the department's issuance of concealed carry permits.
Still, despite the barriers erected between Big Apple residents and their right to keep and bear arms, some local firearms instructors and gun store owners say they've seen a surge in interest since the mayoral election.
Michael Bergida, who opened a gun shop in Marine Park, Brooklyn, called Samson Armory — a nod to the Biblical Israelite warrior and symbol of sheer strength — said his new business is booming.
Bergida, 30, is arming everyone from fearful zaydes to terrified rabbis.
... “The NYPD is all retiring – we have to fight for ourselves. People are freaking out over Mamdani – anyone who has any Christian-Judeo values,” Bergida claimed, adding that he largely works with the Jewish community, who are tougher than bubbe’s brisket.
“We have to let everyone know — don’t f–k with the Jews,” Bergida said, claiming that the majority of those with licenses in New York are Members of the Tribe. “Never again.”
... “It’s getting busy because of him,” said longtime gun safety instructor Lance Dashefsky, referring to Mamdani.
Conceal carry permit requests rose 14% from 620 in June, when Zo won the Dem primary, to 706 in August, according to the latest NYPD data.
Licenses can take between six months and a year to get in NYC, and only after completing a mandatory state concealed-carry class that includes 16 hours of classroom study and two hours of live fire training.
Dashefsky, 57, who expects the numbers to soar even higher, caters to the new crowd by providing bagels, lox and a schmear during a typical Sunday class.
“I always ask people in class why they want a gun,” said Dashefsky. “And now the answer is Mamdani.”
Brooklyn firearms instructor Ross Den said anyone who was ever on the fence about getting a concealed carry weapon, is no longer.
We don't have any more recent data than August, but it's worth noting that the city experienced a much bigger spike in permit applications in October and November of 2023, following the Hamas attack across Israel. In October of 2023 there were 996 applications submitted, and 1,271 in November of that year. In fact, the 706 applications filed in August, 2025 is actually one of the lowest monthly totals in the past two years, with only June, 2024 and May and June of this year having fewer applications submitted.
The NYPD is as bad at releasing timely information about the number of applications as it is about issuing permits, so it could be some time before we can tell the extent of the current spike in interest. Still, the anecdotes from folks like Bergida and Dashefsky do suggest that the surge is significant... at least for New York City.
In a city with a population of almost 8.5 million people, though, the number of applicants is just a small fraction of what it should be. The Trace reported earlier this month that since the Bruen decision struck down New York's "may issue" licensing laws, "more than 17,000 New Yorkers have been approved for permits, and over 8,000 additional applications are pending as of October 1." That's a little more than two-tenths of one percent of the population.
According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, more than 21 million Americans (or about 8% of the adult population of the United States) possess a valid carry license, and millions more are likely carrying in states where a license isn't required. At the state level, CPRC estimates about .93% of New York adults have a carry permit, so NYC trails the rest of the state by a considerable margin.
Given the small number of New Yorkers who are licensed to carry a firearm, even a modest increase in applications can result in a big increase percentage-wise. I'm glad that more New Yorkers are getting serious about exercising their Second Amendment rights in the wake of Mamdani's election, but we still have a long way to go before the number of active permit holders in New York City even remotely resembles the numbers nationally, much less the percentage of folks carrying in 2A-friendly states like Indiana and Alabama.
Editor's Note: Radical lefties like Mamdani will stop at nothing to enact their gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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