Last night marked the second and final New York City mayoral debate, setting the stage for the biggest general election showdown in decades. The until-now virtually untouchable Democratic frontrunner, Zohran Mamdani, faced relentless attacks from both Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa that exposed his superficial command of policy.
Mamdani’s refusal to answer tough questions, which moderator Errol Louis called out, revealed a lack of rigor behind the 34-year-old neophyte’s platform. Mamdani’s uneven performance may stall his momentum, but whether it will imperil his projected victory will become clear only when early voting begins on Saturday.
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Following opening statements, the evening began with the candidates’ views on the recent ICE raids on street vendors selling knockoff designer goods on Canal Street. All three criticized the raids, with Mamdani calling for the passage of street-vending reform bills. But as City Journal’s Nicole Gelinas noted, the city would never issue licenses to vendors of counterfeit and fake goods.
Over the next several exchanges on housing, anti-Semitism, and public safety, a more energized and engaged Cuomo put Mamdani on the defensive. When discussing housing, for example, the former governor noted that homelessness has doubled in the city since he left Albany. He blamed Mamdani: “This man never even proposed a bill on housing or education,” charged Cuomo.
After Mamdani hit Cuomo for not building enough housing as governor, the former governor fired back, “My friend really doesn’t understand government,” explaining that localities are responsible for housing production, not the state.
“I allocated more funding for housing than any governor in the history of the State of New York. I did things,” Cuomo said. “You’ve never had a job, you’ve never accomplished anything. There’s no reason to believe you have any merit or qualification for eight-and-a-half-million lives.”
Mamdani’s stronger points came when he turned Cuomo’s words against him. “In [Cuomo’s] own words, that the city is getting screwed by the state. Who was leading the state? It was you.”
In one emotionally charged moment, Sliwa said that his two Jewish sons feared the prospect of a Mamdani mayoralty and viewed the socialist as an “arsonist who would fan the flames of anti-Semitism.”
“You got a lot of explaining to do. A lot of apologizing to do,” Sliwa told Mamdani.
In one newsworthy development, all three candidates affirmed that they would keep NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch on the job. Mamdani’s statement at the debate confirmed reports that emerged yesterday of his plan to retain Tisch, adroitly timing the announcement to control the narrative in the fever pitch of the election season.
The candidates also got a chance to cross-examine each other. Cuomo asked Mamdani why he appeared in a picture with Ugandan deputy prime minister Rebecca Kadaga, who had championed the country’s 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act (colloquially known as the “Kill the Gays” bill). Mamdani responded that he wasn’t aware at the time of Kadaga’s support for the bill and claimed Cuomo was trying to distract from how he does not have “a set of policies to protect [gay] New Yorkers.”
Mamdani then questioned Cuomo about sexual-harassment allegations made by Charlotte Bennett, who, he noted, was in the audience. Cuomo deftly answered and pivoted: “Everything you just stated was a misstatement,” he retorted, because “the cases were dropped.”
Cuomo then demanded to know why Mamdani—a Ugandan dual citizen—wouldn’t boycott, sanction, and divest from Uganda for its criminalization of homosexuality. “You have no problem with BDS against Israel, but no BDS for Uganda.” Mamdani didn’t respond.
The night’s most memorable moment came from another Mamdani non-answer. The candidates were asked whether they supported the three pro-housing proposals that will appear on the back of city voters’ ballots. Mamdani said that he was “appreciative that those measures will be on the ballot,” then refused to answer.
Cuomo and Sliwa pounced.
“C’mon! What is your opinion?” bellowed Sliwa; “Yes or no, try the truth,” shouted Cuomo.
Mamdani then cast both his opponents as appealing to “the Republican Party’s votes” before moderator Errol Louis asked again whether he supports the proposals. Mamdani responded, “I have not yet taken a position on those ballot amendments.”
Mamdani’s refusal is extraordinary. He is apparently not prepared enough to vote on every measure on the ballot, much less win its biggest contest.
And as Eric Kober explained in City Journal before the June primary, much of Mamdani’s base is composed of higher-income renters who pay market or near-market rates in higher-density Brooklyn and Manhattan neighborhoods. Many of Cuomo and Sliwa’s voters, by contrast, are homeowners who would be more directly affected by increased development spurred by the ballot questions. This makes Mamdani’s voters naturally less NIMBY. So why won’t he commit to the ballot measures, especially when he says that the city needs to build more housing?
Perhaps it has something to do with opposition to the ballot proposals from left-wing groups and their aligned city council allies, for reasons ranging from preserving councilmembers’ veto over rezoning to opposing real estate developers. Mamdani doesn’t want to risk inciting councilmembers, who would otherwise be disposed to give him whatever he wants.
Mamdani’s noncommitment casts doubt on his seriousness about building more housing. The proposals are especially relevant to speed up government-subsidized affordable-housing development—the kinds of programs that he praised by name in the debate.
Cuomo, counterintuitively, has come out in favor of the housing ballot proposals. Sliwa, more predictably, opposes them.
Mamdani’s performance will raise questions for voters. First, if he has a commanding lead, why would he play these last days of the campaign so conservatively? And if Mamdani is unsure about important ballot questions that appear on the same paper bearing his name, what else doesn’t he know? His refusal to provide details on matters ranging from ending mayoral control of public schools to his Department of Community Safety plan won’t inspire confidence in undecided voters.
Debate performance isn’t always tied to election outcomes. Undoubtedly, only a small share of voters tuned in last night. More were watching the Knicks’ opening night game; Cuomo rushed to it himself, immediately following the debate. He sat courtside next to Mayor Eric Adams, where the two embraced and flashed a thumbs up. Adams endorsed Cuomo today.
The Knicks won, by the way—showing that, like Andrew Cuomo, old New York mainstays can still play some ball.
Photo by Hiroko Masuike-Pool/Getty Images