Mamdani is for sure drawing in even more people.

I would say you are not familiar with the city and if you have any connections at all, start by finding people who will let you couch surf so you start getting the lay of the land and the feel for the different boroughs.

If you really have no money you’ll probably end up living in the worse parts of the Bronx or Brooklyn, which can be dicey. The places to most people want to be are Midtown (Manhattan), Williamsburg (Brooklyn) or Astoria (Queens) and they can be very pricey.

A lot of people are being priced out and now moving to Jersey City, which is very close by to Manhattan. Depending on what school you go to, living in Jersey may rule you out for certain types of aid for living outside of the state. I had college mates that went this route, they eventually dropped their chance at aid and all roomed together in Hoboken. Keep in mind a con with public transport between states is that it costs more.