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The three mayoral candidates on Thursday spoke over one another, traded barbs and made their pitches for why they deserve to steer New York Metropolis within the first common election debate.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who leads the polls, fought again assaults from his opponents. In the meantime, GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa and impartial former Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried to painting the frontrunner as too untested and reckless to change into mayor.
Nonetheless, Mamdani maintained his poise when defending himself, and he was capable of briefly describe his proposals and strike Cuomo.
“If you want more of the same, vote for Andrew Cuomo, if you want an actual approach to lower crime, look at our Department of Community Safety,” Mandani mentioned at one level, earlier than launching into his plan to dispatch psychological well being outreach employees to answer psychological well being crises.
Cuomo discovered himself underneath fireplace not simply from Mamdani, however from Sliwa, too, as the previous governor tried to hit each his rivals.
Showing with out his signature purple beret, Sliwa tried to color Cuomo and Mamdani as two-of-a-kind.
At one occasion, he referred to as Cuomo and Mamdani the “architect and the apprentice” of a number of insurance policies he mentioned made town much less protected, together with bail adjustments.
A lot of the first hour of the talk was dominated by questions on worldwide points earlier than discussions on native points like affordability or schooling.
An enormous chunk of the night was spent discussing Mamdani’s former social media posts. Cuomo, as an illustration, introduced up Mamdani’s 2020 posts calling the NYPD racist and anti-queer following George Floyd protests. Months later, he tweeted criticism of the police’s additional time funds.
“Andrew Cuomo is a politician of the past, and all he can speak about are the tweets of the past in 2020,” Mamdani mentioned. “Those are tweets which I have apologized for to New Yorkers and police officers directly, and they are not what I am actually running on.”
The Democratic major winner — who maintains a double-digit lead within the polls — was questioned at size about his criticism of Israel. The candidates additionally sparred about how they’d deal with the Nationwide Guard and the way they might stand as much as President Donald Trump.
Sliwa — who mentioned he has not spoken to the president in years and isn’t totally aligned with the Make America Nice Once more backers — mentioned his opponents had “high levels of testosterone” when it got here to coping with the president. He can be completely different, he mentioned.
“You can be tough, but you can’t be tough if it’s going to cost people desperately-needed federal funds,” he mentioned, including that he would negotiate to maintain the Gateway Tunnel from New Jersey to New York, however was nice with the cancellation of the Second Avenue Subway extension in East Harlem.
“If you try to get tough with Trump, the only people who are going to suffer from that are the people of New York City,” Sliwa added.
Cuomo hit at Mamdani’s relative lack of expertise, claiming Mamdani has by no means had a job earlier than — though he’s been an assemblymember since 2021 and beforehand labored as a housing counselor.
“If you look at the failed mayors, it was the ones that had no management experience, don’t do it again,” Cuomo mentioned.
Mamdani and Cuomo went forwards and backwards on the latter’s resolution to ship sickened seniors again to nursing properties in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is reportedly underneath investigation by the Division of Justice.
“If we have a health pandemic, then why would New Yorkers turn back to the governor who sent seniors to their deaths in nursing homes? That’s the kind of experience that’s on offer here today,” Mamdani mentioned. “What I don’t have in experience I make up for in integrity. And what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience.”
The moderators then requested candidates to weigh in on native points, together with housing, schooling, policing and immigration.
One in every of Mamdani’s signature guarantees is to direct the Lease Tips Board to freeze the hire for greater than 1 million rent-regulated residences. He additionally mentioned he’d construct 200,000 “truly affordable” residences over a 10-year interval.
Sliwa promised to chop property taxes for residents over 65 and who make lower than $250,000, whereas Cuomo mentioned he’d give attention to constructing extra housing.
On schooling, Sliwa referred to as for the growth of the gifted and gifted program, noting his two youthful sons tried at age 4 and didn’t get in — however mentioned it didn’t have an effect on their schooling.
Cuomo mentioned he would double the variety of specialised excessive faculties from 9 to 18 and preserve the take a look at to get into these faculties.
Mamdani, who graduated from a New York Metropolis specialised highschool, clarified his plan to chop the gifted and gifted program for kindergarten college students solely.
Not one of the candidates, although, supplied any coverage concepts or strategies for the hundreds of scholars with studying variations when requested.
All candidates raised their palms to point they may take actions to cease a federal crackdown on immigrants — together with arrests of asylum-seekers exhibiting as much as routine appointments — however none had concise solutions on what, precisely, they’d do.
Cuomo and Mamdani mentioned they’d work to supply migrants with authorized illustration, whereas Sliwa mentioned “migrants who are essential workers” must be protected.
The controversy, co-hosted by WNBC, Telemundo and POLITICO, is the primary of two required underneath guidelines from town Marketing campaign Finance Board. The ultimate debate, co-hosted by THE CITY, is about for Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 7 to eight:30 p.m. It is going to air on NY1 and WNYC, in addition to on THE CITY’s web site.
Whether or not this debate can transfer the needle is unclear.
A latest Quinnipiac ballot noticed Cuomo choose up 10 factors after Mayor Eric Adams dropped out, with 33% supporting him — however he nonetheless trailed Mamdani’s 46%. The identical ballot confirmed only a few New Yorkers stay undecided.
Cuomo regarded to achieve some momentum with 10 days to go earlier than early voting begins on Oct. 25 and weeks earlier than Election Day on Nov. 4.
Forward of the talk, Mamdani marched from Trump Tower to 30 Rockefeller Heart, the place the talk passed off, with a bevy of supporters, together with a marching band.
Sliwa, who misplaced to Adams within the 2021 election, informed THE CITY earlier than the talk that he was “the people’s mayor” after he greeted his cheering supporters. A few of them blew whistles.
“I represent the outer boroughs. I represent the working class. I’m the populist candidate,” he mentioned. “Andrew Cuomo, he’s old. He had it. He had his chance. He destroyed the state. And Mamdani, that’s fantasy. I’m bringing reality to the stage tonight.”
Cuomo was the final to reach, greeting supporters earlier than going into the talk studio.
