New York City mayoral candidates clash in debate over Gaza, policing and housing

New York, New York – The three men vying for mayor of New York City, the largest city in the United States, clashed on multiple occasions on the debate stage Thursday night over issues ranging from the war in Gaza to public safety and housing costs.

Public safety was discussed throughout the debate, with Madi Mamdani’s disparaging comments about police and his calls to defund the New York City Police Department taking center stage.

“He believes in defunding the police, demilitarizing the police, and disbanding the police,” Cuomo said. “This is who he is.”

Mamdani tried to distance himself from his previous tweets, pointing out that they were from 2020.

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The three candidates discussed their plans to address New York City’s housing crisis, with Mamdani’s “rent freeze” plan drawing sharp criticism from Cuomo and Sliwa.

“A rent freeze only defers rent,” Cuomo said of Mamdani’s plan, noting that many of Mamdani’s opponents have said a rent freeze would do more harm than good to the housing stock.

Mamdani has tried to distance himself from his previous support for legislation to decriminalize prostitution and has faced criticism from his opponents over the issue.

Mamdani’s previous statements on Israel served as another flashpoint during the discussion. At one point, Mamdani said he “of course” supported the call for Hamas to disarm, despite dodging questions on the subject in an interview with Fox News the previous day.

“I have condemned Hamas time and time again and that will never be enough,” Mamdani said.

“Jews don’t trust that you will be there for them when they are victims of anti-Semitic attacks,” Republican Curtis Sliwa told Mamdani.

Experience also came up several times in the debate, with the focus on Mamdani and Cuomo who maintained they were the two candidates with the right resume to lead the city into the future.

“This is not a first-time job,” Cuomo said of Mamdani, adding: “He has never had a job.”

“Thank God I am not a professional politician because they contributed to creating this crime crisis in the city that we are facing,” Saliwa said, criticizing the records of his opponents.

Mamdani responded with a direct line to Cuomo on the issue of experience.

“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity,” Mamdani told Cuomo. “What you don’t have in integrity, you can’t make up for in experience.”

With less than three weeks until Election Day, Mamdani has a wide lead in the race for the nation’s most populous city, but Cuomo is working to narrow the gap, according to the latest public opinion polls.

The tight contest highlights how Cuomo’s independent bid continues to attract support from disaffected Democrats after the city’s embattled Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race.

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Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic state representative from Queens, who shocked the political world in June with his convincing victory On Cuomo Nine other candidates for the Democratic nomination for mayor received 46% support among likely voters in the latest poll of the race, from Quinnipiac University.

Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid multiple scandals and who is running as an independent candidate in the general election after losing the primary, received 33% support in the Oct. 3-7 poll.

Saliwa, who became the Republican Party’s candidate for mayor of the Democratic-dominated city for the second consecutive election, received 15% in the poll.

The Quinnipiac poll was the only major poll in the entire field After Adamsa Democrat who was running for re-election as an independent, withdrew from the race.

In the previous Quinnipiac University poll in early September, Mamdani had a 22-point lead (45%-23%) over Cuomo, while Sliwa had 15% and Adams had 12%.

Despite Mamdani’s lead in the race for Gracie Mansion, the Democratic socialist has struggled to gain the endorsement of national party leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

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Mamdani recently received an endorsement from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who joined Mamdani on the campaign trail this week, but has since declined to return the favor.
“It is a decision that should be made after this general election,” Mamday said when asked if the candidates support Hochul for re-election.