This content is a transcript of a New York City mayoral debate featuring candidates Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Zohni Mandani. The debate covers a wide range of critical issues facing the city, including public safety, affordability, housing, transportation, education, and the candidates' leadership styles and past experiences.
two-hour debate live on all NBC New York
and Telmundo47 streaming and digital
platforms, politico.com, texatos, and
YouTube. The first hour is also live on
channel 4 and Telundo 47. We do have a
few rules for the candidates. For
traditional question and answer, you'll
have one minute to respond and we'll
offer 30 secondond rebuttals at the
moderator's discretion. We'll also be
asking questions where we will be
looking for shorter answers. We also
reserve the right to cut off your
microphone if you ignore the rules. But
candidates, you know, we don't want to
do that. The goal is for you to hear
each other and for New Yorkers to hear
everything you have to say. Good luck.
We'll begin with Melissa Russo.
>> Thank you, David, and good evening,
gentlemen. Thank you for being here. We
begin tonight by asking you to do what
every mayor dreams of, and that is to
write your own headlines. Imagine it's
January 2027, and you have been in
office for exactly one year. We would
like you to quickly give us one headline
about what you think your biggest
accomplishment will have been in year
number one. We'll begin with you, Mr. Cuomo.
Cuomo.
>> Uh first, thank you very much for
sponsoring the debate and having all of
us. Uh the one headline, how how many
characters in the headline?
>> No, you're familiar with headline
length. Rent down, comma, crime down,
comma, education scores up, uh, comma,
more jobs in New York City.
>> We're getting maybe a little over the
average headline, but
>> optimism high.
>> Thank you, Mr. SWAT. Uh Curtis Fua is
without his iconic red beret because I'm
talking to the people of New York City
about the really serious issues of
affordability, the cost of living and
obviously what I spent most of my life
doing, which is public safety in the
streets and the subways.
>> We would love a headline from you. What
will your headline be? Your big headline
and your number one as mayor. Curtis Lee
exceeds all expectations
and looks very mayoral tonight.
>> Mr. Mandani, you've had some time to
think about it. Now, what's your headline?
headline?
>> It's a pleasure to be here, first of
all, and I really want to thank the
moderators and the opportunity to speak
directly to New Yorkers about this
moment in time and our opportunity to
transform the most expensive city in the
United States of America. The headline
would read, "In about a year, Mandani
continues to take on Trump delivers on
affordability agenda for New Yorkers."
>> Thank you, Mr. Mandani. Sally,
>> thank you, Melissa. We're going to talk
about leadership. Voters have
reservations about all three of you as
chief executive of New York City, a city
with roughly 300,000 employees and a
budget bigger than many countries. We
have questions for each of you, and Mr.
Cuomo, we will begin with you. As a
former governor of New York, you
obviously have the management
experience, but you resigned from office
amid sexual harassment and COVID related
scandals. Why should voters now trust
that you have the character to be mayor?
You have one minute.
>> Good. Well, thank you very much and
thank you for the question. Uh first, uh
you are right. I left office. There was
a report that was done that had
allegations of harassment. I said at the
time it was a political report and uh
that there was no basis to it. Um it was
then sent to five district attorneys.
They all reviewed it. They found
nothing. It was then litigated for 5
years. I was dropped from the cases. So,
none of that came to anything. When it
comes to executive experience, I've run
the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, built housing all across
the nation. I was governor for 11 years.
The budget is double what it is in New
York City, and I got government to work.
I passed groundbreaking laws, minimum
wage, paid family leave, built projects
that had never been built before. This
is no job for on the job training. And
if you look at the failed mayors,
they're ones that have no management
experience. Don't do it again.
>> Thank you, Rena.
>> Thank you, Sally. In the theme of
leadership, Mr. Mandani, you work as a
foreclosure prevention counselor for
winning seat in the state assembly. You
have no substantial management
experience. How are you ready to lead
the nation's largest and greatest city
in the world in one day? You have a minute.
minute.
>> You know, I have the experience of
having served in the New York State
Assembly for 5 years and watching a
broken political system, the experience
of seeing a governor in Andrew Cuomo who
would rather have served his billionaire
donors and the working-class New Yorkers
who voted for him. and the experience
amidst all of that, of fighting and
winning for working-class taxi drivers
to free them from predatory debt and
delivering the first free bus lines in
New York City history and in working
with unions and workingclass New Yorkers
to finally raise taxes just that little
bit on Mr. Cuomo's donors to start to
fully fund our public school. And more
than that, I have the experience of
being a New Yorker, someone who has
actually paid rent in the city before I
ran for mayor. Someone who has had to
wait for a bus that never came. someone
who actually buys his groceries in this
same city. And what all of that
experience has shown me, which Mr. Cuomo
can't seem to understand, is that it is
far too expensive and far too hard for
New Yorkers to afford to live in this
city. And the definition of experience
is not doing the same thing again and
again and hoping for a different result.
That's actually the definition of
insanity. Thank you, Mr.
>> If I can, I think I was invoked. Yes.
>> Uh, in other words, uh, what the
assemblyman said is he has no
experience. And this is not a job for
someone who has no management experience
to run 300,000 people, no financial
experience to run $115 billion budget.
He literally has never had a job. On his
resume, it says he interned for his
mother. Uh, this is not a job for a
first timer. Any day you could have a
hurricane, you, god forbid, a 9/11, a
health pandemic. If you don't know what
you're doing, people have to summar
and and if we have a health pandemic,
then why would New Yorkers turn back to
the governor who sent seniors to their
death in nursing homes? That's the kind
of experience that's on offer here
today. 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.
>> Yes. May I?
>> Uh first, what you said was totally
false. As you know, uh which part was
false? during COVID, everyone did
whatever they could in this state and
there have been numerous investigations
uh where they've gone through it and
they said we followed federal guidance
but yes people died during CO and my
heart breaks for everyone that broke in
uh that died in this state and across
this nation.
>> But just to be clear, Mr. Just to fact
check that, there is a criminal
investigation reportedly underway at the
DOJ about your testimony to Congress
about your nursing home record.
>> Yeah, but that was that is a political
issue with the Congress. They made a
referral uh which has gone absolutely
nowhere. But there have been multiple
investigations where the DOJ found that
the nursing home investigation was
politically motivated.
>> Okay, we're going to move on. We we
might have time to come back to it. I do
need to move on to
>> May I just finish my uh rebuttal, but
the assemblyman still says he has no
experience to do the job.
>> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Cuomo. Mr. Sua, as
founder of the Guardian Angels and as a
radio host, you've been a well-known
figure in New York City for decades, but
you also lack substantial management
experience. So, how are you prepared to
be the chief executive officer of New
York City? You have one minute, Mr.
Siwa. First of all, I created the
Guardian Angels to provide public safety
in the subways and streets when
government was incapable of doing so. I
didn't do it to get a title or a
paycheck. Secondarily, I don't declare
myself to be all knowing. I will hire
the very brightest and best in their
fields who have dedicated their lives to
trying to improve the city of New York
or the state or the federal government
or the private sector. But what I will
say is, thank God I'm not a professional
politician. We have the architect and we
have the apprentice of no cash bail,
which has been a disaster. We have the
architect and the apprentice here of
Raise the Age. My own son was almost
killed because of that in a gang attack.
We have the architect and we have the
apprentice of closed Riker's Island,
which would just release criminals in
the street. Thank God I'm not a
professional politician because they
have helped create this crime crisis in
this city that we face and I will
>> Thank you, Mr. SWA.
>> Thank you, Mr. SWA. Candidates,
President Trump has expressed intense
interest in this election and in all of
you personally. Mr. Mumdani, the
president called you quote my little
communist. Mr. Sivbo, he said you're
quote not exactly prime time. And Mr.
Mr. Cuomo, he has been critical of you,
but said you have always gotten along.
The president has threatened to cut
federal funds to the city, and just
yesterday, he killed the Gateway
project, the tunnel connecting New York
to New Jersey. You've all promised to
resist him in some way. What would you
say in your first official call with the
president to set the tone for your
relationship moving forward? We'll give
you a minute for this. We'll start with
you, Mr. Mandali.
I would make it clear to the president
that I am willing to not only speak to
him to but to work with him if it means
delivering on lowering the cost of
living for New Yorkers. That's something
that he ran his presidential campaign
on. And yet all he's been able to
deliver thus far has been prosecuting
his political enemies and trying to
enact the largest deportation program in
American history. And what distinguishes
me from Andrew Cuomo is the fact that he
has gotten on the phone with that same
president. Not asking him how to work
together to help New Yorkers are not
telling him that he would refuse to back
down to protect those New Yorkers, but
instead asking him how to win this race.
That's something I can do myself, I
don't need the president's assistance
for. And what I'd tell the president is
if he ever wants to come for New Yorkers
in the way that he has been, he's going
to have to get through me as the next
mayor of this city.
>> All right, Mr. Cromwell, we we'll give
you a little extra time, but I'd like
you to answer this question as well.
what your first conversation with the
president would be like.
>> Okay. Uh first I never had a
conversation with the president that the
assembly was talking about. Um the but
he's he's has a distant relationship
with the truth. Uh I would say to the
president in the first conversation look
we have had many many battles. I fought
with we fought together every day during
co and the battles were bloody uh and
I'd like to avoid them. uh you know if
you come after New York, you know what
I'm going to do. You know it's going to
be ugly. Uh and you know my chances are
almost 5050 even though you're the
president. I'd like to work with you. I
think we can do good things together,
but number one, I will fight you every
step of the way if you try to hurt New York.
York.
>> Unless he weaponizes the justice system
to go after the attorney general of this
state, in which case you'll issue a
statement that doesn't even name the
president. And no matter what you think
about Donald Trump, you know that not
even being able to name him is an act of
cowardice. And that's what we would see
from Donald Trump's puppet on the right.
>> I I do want to get mislead, but Mr.
Cuomo, I'll give you a few seconds
respond to that.
>> Yeah. Uh I did me I said political
weaponization of the justice system is
wrong. Both sides do it. It's wrong when
Donald Trump does it. It's wrong when
they did it to Comey. It's wrong when
Comey did it to Hillary. It was wrong
when it happened James.
>> Thank you, Mr. Cro. I want to give Mr.
Slee a chance to answer this. Mr. Le
your first official conversation with
the president. What would you say to set
the tone?
>> Well, first of all, there's high levels
of testosterone in this room. I've had a
lovehate relationship with Donald Trump
that goes back over 30 years. But I know
one thing. Uh we have Andrew Cuomo. We
have Zan Mandami. They want to take on
Donald Trump. Look, you can be tough,
but you can't be tough if it's going to
cost people desperately needed federal
funds. Zoran Mandami, the president has
already said it's going to take7 billion
dollars out of the budget right from the
start if you're elected mayor. People
are going to suffer in this city. People
who need those federal funds. What I
would do is sit and negotiate. I would
say, "Look, Mr. President, we need that
gateway tunnel. It moves millions of
people from Washington DC to Boston, but
take away the Q train project. We don't
need those three stations going from
96th Street to 125th. It's not a
necessity. Sit with the president and
whoever he delegates and try to
negotiate. But if you try to get tough
with Trump, the only people who going to
suffer from that are the people of New York.
York.
>> Okay, Mr. Slewood, thank you. Brief
response, Mr. Mumani.
>> You know, Mr. Trump is already
suspending infrastructure grants to this
city and he's doing it in a blatant act
of political retribution and what it
requires is leadership that will stand
up to him and I disagree with Mr. Slew.
We do need to extend the Second Avenue
subway to 125th Street. It was a promise
made to Harlemmites decades ago. It's
time to actually fulfill it.
>> Thank you, Mr.
>> Quick question for Quick. Quick question
for each of you. Um, Mr. Cuomo, you've
been asked
>> He mentioned my name. Don't I get a
chance to respond?
>> Well, we got a lot of ground to cover. Obviously,
Obviously,
I was the last time you spoke with
President Trump. Mr. Cuomo, you've been
asked this before. And the last time you
said you couldn't remember?
>> Uh, I believe it was during his
assassination attempt. So last year in
2024, Mr. Slewell, when was the last
time you spoke with President Trump?
>> Oh, many years ago, we were receiving
awards. I was praising him for saving uh
the annual Veterans Day parade. Uh those
were the conversations that I had with
him. Can I please respond? I was asked
about the Q train.
>> Okay, real quick.
>> I am the mayor of Mass Transit. We do
not need a Q train. I'm in the subways
every day. We have more than a capable
system of transporting people. The
infrastructure needs to be fixed in the
system that we have.
>> Mr. Mani, have you ever spoken with with
President Trump? >> No.
>> No.
>> Okay, there you go, Sally. Thank you,
Mr. Cuomo. A followup to that. President
Trump has spoken positively about you
and your candidacy, even as his justice
department, as we've noted, is
reportedly investigating you for
allegations you lied to Congress over
your COVID record. Given that dynamic,
how would you be able to stand up to
this White House? How are you not
compromised? And just take into account
that New Yorkers are troubled by what
they view as a compromised relationship
the current outgoing mayor has with the president.
president.
>> Yeah. First, you're wrong when you say
there's any investigation uh of me. Uh
that's not true.
>> Congress there is no investigation.
Heard absolutely nothing. Congress did a
press release. They said they sent a
letter to Department of Justice uh which
they do routinely to generate press. Uh,
and that's what that is. Um, I have been
I fought Donald Trump. He investigated
me repeatedly with the Department of
Justice. The the Department of Justice
in Inspector General said that it was
actually politically motivated. That
does not back me up. When I'm fighting
for New York, I am not going to stop.
And I'll tell you something else. If the
assemblyman is elected mayor, Donald
Trump will take over New York City and
it will be Mayor Trump who runs New York City.
City.
>> We have to move on. Just a very quick
followup. Yes or no? You You're saying
unequivocally the Justice Department is
not investigating you. Correct.
>> I have one. I've heard absolutely nothing.
nothing.
>> They could be and you might not have
heard it, but okay, we'll move on. David.
David.
>> Okay. Thank you, Sally.
>> That is virtually impossible, by the way.
way. >> Okay.
>> Okay.
>> So, Mr. You did put out an ad the day
after the news first broke in the New
York Times that you were under
investigation, calling it a political
investigation, saying they were coming
after you as they had to, you know,
after other Democratic politicians. You
haven't denied this previous
>> the Republican Congress was.
>> Yes. I believe they play politics with
the justice system.
>> I believe the Republican Congress does
it. I believe Donald Trump does it. I
believe the Democrats do it. And that's
why I think people are sick and tired of
the justice system and the politics. If
you think that there's no difference
between the Democratic party and the
Republican party, then that's the
candidate for you. If you think it's
time to have a Democratic party that
actually stands up to Donald Trump and
his billionaire back working
not a Democrat, you're not a Democrat.
You're a Democratic socialist. You
didn't vote for Kla Harris, right? We
have grounded cover. No, no, we have to
cover. That's an incendiary charge. I
want to be very
>> You may have a chance to address it, but
we do have a lot of issues to get to
with the Yorkers.
>> I'll be very quick. You didn't say leave
it blank in the Kamela.
>> I'll be very quick. I said leave it
blank in the presidential primary
because primaries are place to air
disscent. And like many Americans, I was
horrified of Israeli genocide of
Palestinians. And if you want to look
for me on the ballot, you'll find me as
the Democrat.
>> Mr. Matti, thank you. General, we have
to move on. This week, the world is
reacting to President Trump's Israel
Hamas peace deal and the release of the
hostages. and many are cautiously
optimistic about a lasting peace. Of
course, the mayor has no direct role in
foreign affairs and we certainly have a
lot of questions for you about city
matters, but this war has been a major
topic in the campaign and there are
criticisms about your positions in the
past and how you envision leading on
these issues as mayor. So, we have
questions for all of you, but first for
Mr. Mdani because of something you said
uh that's been generating headlines in
the news today as we come into the
debate yesterday on Fox News. You were
asked if Hamas should lay down its
weapons key to the peace plan and ceasefire.
ceasefire.
And some say they found your answer
confusing. You said quote, "I don't
really have opinions about the future of
Hamas and Israel beyond the question of
justice and safety and the fact that
anything has to abide by international
law." And that applies to Hamas and that
applies to the Israeli military. So for
the voters tuning in tonight, Mr. Mdani,
what do you believe about Hamas and how
lasting peace will be achieved?
We know it's a complicated matter, but
we'd like you to keep your answer to a
minute if you could.
>> Of course, I believe that they should
lay down their arms. I'm proud to be one
of the first elected officials in the
state who called for a ceasefire. And
calling for a ceasefire means seizing
fire. That means all parties have to
cease fire and put down their weapons.
And the reason that we call for that is
not only for the end of the genocide,
but also an unimpeded access of
humanitarian aid. I, like many New
Yorkers, am hopeful that this ceasefire
will hold. I'm hopeful that it is
durable. I'm hopeful that it is just.
And for it to be just, we also have to
ensure that it addresses the conditions
that preceded this conditions like
occupation, like the siege and
apartheid. And that is what I'm hopeful for.
for.
>> Yeah. If I may,
>> that means from the river to the sea.
I'm being marginalized out of this. I'm
sorry. We need a debate of three. Excuse
excuse me. It's a debate of three. Do we
acknowledge that three people?
>> Mr. SL, go ahead and we'll give you a
sec. Go ahead. Mr. SL,
>> the president of the United States
should have been applauded by you, Zoran
Mandami, and you, Andrew Cuomo, on the
day that he brought together that
international coalition that met in
Egypt that came from the Middle East and
the Persian Gulf. I certainly applauded
him for bringing peace to Gaza and
trying to end the hostilities in the war
between the Israelis and Hamas so there
can be peace between the Israelis and
peace between the Palestinians. But you
seem Zoran to be incapable of praising
our president and answer you were
incapable of praising
give credit where credit is due. He's
brought peace to God.
>> Gentlemen, we want to hear everything
you have to say. We have other questions
on the matter. Mr. Cuomo, please brief
response because we do have other
questions on this issue that you may be
able to address. Go ahead.
>> I did applaud President Trump and his
administration. I think it was a great
accomplishment. I hope the peace holds.
>> The assemblyman will not denounce Hamas.
The assemblyman will not denounce Hassan
who said America deserved 9/11.
The assemblyman just said in his
response, well, it depends on uh
occupation. That is code meaning that
the Israel does not have a right to
exist as a Jewish state which he has
never acknowledged. That is from the
river to the sea. That's why he won't
denounce globalize the inif which means
kill all Jews.
>> Let's give Mr. Mani a chance to respond
to that.
>> I want to be very clear. The occupation
is a reference to international law and
the violation of it which Mr. Cuomo has
no regard for since he signed up to be
Benjamin Netanyahu's legal defense team
during the course of this genocide. And
I find the comments that Hassan made on
9/11 to be objectionable and
reprehensible. And I also think that
part of the reason why Democrats are in
the situation that we are in of being a
permanent minority in this country is we
are looking only to speak to journalists
and streamers and Americans with whom we
agree of every single thing that they
say. We need to take the case to every
person and I'm happy to do that. Which
is why I was on Fox News yesterday
talking about I wish it was more like
NASCAR so we could see all the
billionaires who are sponsoring you
right on your suit jacket.
>> Melissa has another
>> we're going to turn it to Sally actually.
actually.
>> Yeah, actually this kind of flows and
then we'll go back to Melissa. Mr.
Mdani, you told NBC's Meet the Press
that you don't believe it's the role of
the mayor to police speech. Your words
about this war have comforted many New
Yorkers, but they've troubled others.
And I want to ask about some of this.
There is your recent refusal, as we just
discussed, to condemn the slogan,
globalize the antifat, which many view
as a call to arms. In 2017, you wrapped
lyrics praising the Holy Land five.
These are men who were convicted of
supporting terrorism.
How would you assure New Yorkers,
especially Jewish residents who might be
concerned about this, that you would be
a mayor for all? You have one minute to
answer this.
>> Thank you for this opportunity.
When I
am speaking about the responsibility of
leading this city, I mean leading not
just those who voted for me, leading
leading not just those who vote, but
leading every single person who calls
the city home. And that includes Jewish
New Yorkers. And I have been so thankful
for the opportunity I've had to sit with
so many Jewish New Yorkers over the
course of the primary and through the
general. And it's in those conversations
that I learned that this phrase evokes
many painful memories. memories of bus
attacks in Hifa, of restaurant attacks
in Jerusalem, and I heard from a rabbi
about their roommate who was killed on
one of those buses. And in hearing that
and the distance between that impact and
the rationale that some use of saying
it, of speaking about the Israeli
occupation of Palestinian land is why I
said that I would discourage this
language, language that I do not use.
And what I'm looking to do as the first
Muslim mayor of this city is to ensure
that we bring every New Yorker together,
Jewish New Yorkers, Muslim New Yorkers,
every single person that calls this city
home, that they understand they won't
just be protected, but they will belong.
>> Mr. Well, we will get to you first. I'm
going to ask a question of Mr. Cuomo.
While you are a strong supporter of
Israel, you have also been slow to
develop a relationship with the city's
Muslim community. You have called Mr.
Mandani a terrorist sympathizer. How do
you assure those New Yorkers, especially
Muslims and Arabic New Yorkers, that you
will be a mayor for all? You'll have one minute.
minute.
>> Yeah. Well, first, I think the
assemblyman uh created the perception
himself. Why wouldn't he condemn Hamas?
Why wouldn't he condemn Hassan
Why did it take us here tonight for the
first time for him to say it? He still
won't denounce globalized inif, which
means kill all Jews. Just say, "I
denounce it." he won't do it. That's the
issue and his divisiveness.
>> Can you address the question that we're
to you? I think you've made the point,
but can can you please answer about your
own relationship with the Muslim
community? You did not visit mosques for
many years. More recently, you have been.
been.
>> Yeah. I don't think I'm I don't I don't
think in any way the assemblyman is
representative of the Muslim community,
which is a vital community in New York
City. Uh and uh I am very fond of and
I've been working with. Uh I think he's
playing his own politics. Uh many of his
positions don't even follow uh the
Muslim faith. So I see them as two
totally separate things.
>> Mr. Mumani, want to respond?
>> You know, it took Andrew Cuomo being
beaten by a Muslim candidate in the
Democratic primary for him to set foot
in a mosque. He had more than 10 years
and he couldn't name a single mosque at
the last debate we had that he visited.
And what Muslims want in this city is
what every community wants and deserves.
They want equality and they want
respect. And it took me to get you to
even see those Muslims as part of this
city. And that frankly is something that
is shameful and is why so many New
Yorkers have lost faith in this politics.
politics. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
I've worked with the Muslim community
for many many years.
>> Name a single mosque you went to when
you were the governor.
>> Before Can you name a single mosque you
went to in 10 years?
>> You were ever here. They were
>> before I was here. Before you were even
in state government, I worked with the
Muslim community.
Presided over state of the states, uh we
worked in religious working groups,
town, anti-semitic groups, etc.
>> All right, gentlemen. Uh Mr. Rosar has a
specific question for you, but I'll give you
you
this is what disturbs me about you. Uh
you will be celebrating your birthday
this weekend in 1991.
And I was in the streets of Crown
Heights with the Guardian Angels for 30
days and 30 nights when the first
Democratic Socialist mayor of New York
City, that's right, David Dinkens was a
proud member of the Democratic
Socialists of America, abandoned the
Jews for three days. They were left to
their own means and we protected them
for 30 days and 30 nights. Then your
favorite mayor, Bill Delasio, in 2019
abandoned the Jews again when they were
being attacked in Williamsburg in Bur
Park and Crown Heights. And I had to
bring the guardian angels in for 30
days. Jews don't trust that you are
going to be there for them when they are
victims of anti-semitic attacks.
>> Okay, brief response, Mr. Mani. We have
a specific question for you from
Rosarina, but Mr. Mdani, please.
>> I agree. By the way,
>> one of the most meaningful experiences
I've had over the course of this
campaign has been the conversations I've
had with Jewish New Yorkers. Jewish New
Yorkers who've told me about the door
that they've had to lock that they had
kept open for 40 years. Jewish New
Yorkers who've told me on the M57 about
an apartment the speech therapist was
trying to sell when a realtor told her,
"Put the Jewish books off the table."
Jewish New Yorkers who've told me about
their fear in living in this city. And I
will be a mayor who finally addresses
that not through the theatrics of the
politics on this stage, but through
action. I'll do that by ensuring that we
have police officers outside of San.
Gentlemen, we have a lot to get to and
we do have a specific question for Mr.
Sio Rosino.
>> Thank you, David. Um, Mr. S, why you've
called for tougher policing of pro
Palestinian protest and you've suggested
that Mr. Mandani uses languages that is
anti-semitic. How do you assure New
Yorkers that you'll be the mayor for all?
all?
>> Well, I've been there for all people in
all times for 46 years as leader of the
Guardian Angels here and around the
world. Whether it is a religious uh
violation of people's rights to worship
as they choose in a mosque, in a church,
in a synagogue, or a shul, whether it's
because of racial identity. Remember in
the summer of 2020, Asians were under
constant attack because of the lockdown
and pandemic. I don't remember Governor
Cuomo coming to their aid. You were the
governor then. I was out there going
into all the neighborhoods, Flushing,
Bayside. We were in uh uh down in
Bensonhurst. We were in uh Chinatown
itself where Asians were being attacked
indiscriminately because they were
thought to be carrying CO. We protected
them then. Governor, you were not there
for them. Delasio was not there for
them. We understand hate. And in order
to counteract hate, you have to get the
community involved along with the police
to protect people when they're under
siege. Jews are under attack now more
than ever before.
>> And I don't believe either of you have
the capability of protecting them with
increased anti-semitism.
>> That is pure fiction. I passed the no
hate in our state, the strongest hate
crime law in the United States of
America. We tolerate no hatred, no
discrimination. We are from every place
on this globe and proud, excuse me, and
we're tolerant and we accept. Uh if you
notice, the assemblyman still won't say
he believes that Israel has a right to
exist as a Jewish state. He is a
divisive personality all across the
board. NYPD are racist. Barack Obama is
evil liar and he gave the finger to the
Christopher Columbus stat. By the way,
your laws with no cash bail turn the
haters right back in the street to
violate and attack again and again and
again. You're the reason for that. No
cash bail.
>> Thank you.
>> There there have been a number of
absolutely unfounded lies that have been
said by Andrew. I would just like a
moment to address them directly. I've
said time and again that I recognize
Israel's right to exist. I've said that
I will not recognize any state. I said
that I will not
>> as a Jewish state
>> if I would be allowed to finish that I
would not recognize any state's right to
exist with a system of hierarchy on the
basis of race of religion. I have made
that very clear and part of that is
because I'm an American who believes in
the importance of equal rights being
enshrined in every single country
whether we're speaking about Israel or
whether we're speaking about Saudi
Arabia. You can stand here and you can
lie all you want, but New Yorkers, we
may have the question to address some
issues here.
>> All right. And we have another
polarizing issue that we would love to
discuss with you candidates and let's
talk about the National Guard here in
the city of New York. Now, let's go back
to Mr. President Donald Trump. One
threat hanging over the city is the
deployment of the National Guard troops
like he has done as you all know in
other cities. The NYPD commissioner has
rejected the idea as unnecessary, but
the president ordered troops to hit the
streets of New York. Now, how would you
respond? Uh, Mr. Siwa, you have a minute.
minute.
>> There's no need for the National Guard
in New York. Kathy Hokll, the governor,
when we had a crime crisis in the
subways that I'm well familiar with
being down there all the time, unlike my
two adversaries, uh she sent 750
National Guardsmen down into the subways
in 2024. Remember the horrible case of
Deina Kow? Does anybody even say her
name anymore? That woman who was set on
fire by that migrant as a result of that
the worst crime I've ever seen committed
in the subway system. The governor did
the right thing. She sent an additional
250 National Guardsmen, giving us a
total of a thousand National Guardsmen
in the subway system. While our mayor,
Eric Adams, was telling us it was all a
perception. So, Governor Hokll has
responded. I would tell the president of
the United States, since I'm familiar
with cities all across America having
guardian angels there, if you were going
to send the National Guard, you don't
need to send them to New York City.
There are other cities that could
desperately use their help in dealing
with their crime crisis.
>> Thank you, Mr. Siwa. Uh Mr. Manny, how
would you respond?
>> You know, I agree with police
commissioner Tish and that we do not
need the National Guard here in New York
City. We do not need them for the
purpose of safety because it if it was
safety that President Trump was so
concerned about, he would send them to
the eight out of 10 states that have the
highest levels of crime in this country.
But he won't because they're all run by
Republicans. What New Yorkers need is a
mayor who can stand up to Donald Trump
and actually deliver on that safety.
When Donald Trump sent ICE agents on
people in Los Angeles, Andrew Cuomo said
that New Yorkers need not overreact.
That is the furthest answer that New
Yorkers are looking for. They are
looking for someone who will lead,
someone who will say that they will have
their back, someone who will actually
fight for the people of this city. And
that's who I am because I'm not funded
by the same donors that gave us Donald
Trump's second term, which isn't
something that Andrew Cuomo can say.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mandi miss.
>> Yeah. First the answer in the subways is
not more National Guard. I put National
Guard in the subways also. It's more
NYPD is the answer. But uh the National
Guard is not he's not sending in the
National Guard to do any real function.
It's control. It's power. He's trying to
say these Democrats don't know how to
run these cities and it's a political
gesture by sending in the National
Guard. He has said if the assemblyman is
elected he will take over New York.
Forget the National Guard. But this is
he said, "I'm going to take the funds."
>> They ordered the troops to come here.
What would
>> the Well, I went through this with him.
He sent the National Guard to 20 cities
when I was governor. You know what city?
He didn't He didn't send them to New
York. Why? Because I said to him, "Don't
you dare. We don't need it." And he
backed down and he will again.
>> So that proves a good relation.
>> Wait a second. The president is going to
back down to you, Andrew Cuomo. I know
you you think you're the toughest guy
alive, but let me tell you something.
You lost your own primary, right? You
were rejected by your Democrats, and you
have a difficult understanding that what
the term no is. So, you're not going to
stand up to Donald Trump. And I agree
with Curtis.
>> You're not going to stand up to Donald Trump.
Trump.
>> And he can't stand up to Donald Trump
who knocked him right on his toes. You
negotiate with him. You don't fight with
it because only the people of New York
City will lose.
>> Stand up to negotiate.
>> We have a followup.
>> Uh, I'd like to see a show of hands. Are
there any circumstances where any of you
would allow the NYPD to cooperate with
the National Guard if Trump sent them to
New York? Show of hands. Yes. No takers.
Okay. Moving on. If history as a guide,
National Guard troops in the city could
trigger protests. And we have questions
for each of you about how you would
handle that. So, Mr. Siwa, you have been
arrested for protesting migrant housing
and for trying to serve Mayor Bill
Delasio with court papers. How would
your NYPD handle protests? And would you
continue participating in protests as
mayor? You have one minute.
>> Well, I have been arrested oftent times
in civil disobedience. That is a great
American right. But demonstrations have
a time and a place. And it used to be
before Bill Delasio. I know he was your
favorite mayor. on Mandami that you'd
have to get a permit. There's a time
period you were in a structured area.
You get a sound permit. You'll be turned
around in a day. If there was going to
be civil disobedience, you discussed it
with the police department. And
obviously, you had an opportunity of
expressing your anger or your outrage at
whatever it was that motivated you to
sit down in the street to block traffic
or block an egress. Now we have
rampaging groups that go running through
the streets that enter all kinds of
facilities and violate other people's
rights. And there's no one who's willing
to stop it. When I'm the mayor, there
are rules and regulations. Everybody has
a right to demonstrate. But you can't
violate other people's rights or you
yourself must be arrested. And I would
remove the face coverings. Remove those
face coverings. Why are you afraid of
identifying who you are as a
demonstrator unless maybe you're an
agent provocator who's been sent in here
to cause chaos?
>> Thank you, Rosarina.
>> The next question goes to you, Mr.
Manny. You were arrested for blocking
traffic in a pro Palestinian protest and
you participated in a sitin at Grand
Central. Protesters offered block
streets, bridges, and hubs like Grand
Central. How much of that would you
allowed as mayor? And what's your line
in having the NYPD arrest protesters?
You have a minute.
>> Protest is a part of what makes this
city's history what it is. It is a part
of the First Amendment. We deserve to
have a mayor who stands up for that
first amendment, especially as we have a
president that's looking to shred it at
each and every opportunity. And we will
continue to have protests in this city
as we should no matter who is the mayor.
And the line will be on the question of
breaking the law. What we have today,
however, is an attempt to intimidate so
many who are looking to use that freedom
of expression to share their opinions
about the city and the world around
them. And to be frank with you, what New
Yorkers are looking for is someone who
can show leadership in city hall.
Because when they don't see that
leadership, that's when so many take to
the streets. And if you had a leader
like Andrew Cuomo who was telling people
not to overreact when they see ICE
agents abducting girls as young as 6
years old to deport them, many New
Yorkers will take to the streets. We
deserve to have a leader who will
actually be following through on the
values of the city. That's the leader
that I'll be.
>> Mr. Mandano, just a quick followup. If
you're elected, would you still
participate in protest? >> No.
>> No.
>> If I'm elected, I'll be the mayor and
I'll be leading the city from city hall.
>> But no no participation in protest. Right.
Right.
>> The the important thing is to lead from
city hall. Well, that's what I'll be doing.
doing. >> Okay.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah. If I may respond because I believe
my name was invoked.
>> A very brief response and then I have a
question for you.
>> Uh I dealt with ICE. I stood up with
ICE. I had a war with ICE here in New
York when I was governor.
>> Uh and I stood them down and they moved
out. Uh what the assemblymen are saying
is uh he doesn't believe in law and
order. He believes in defunding the
police, disarming the police, disbanding
the police. That's who he is. Abolish jails.
jails.
>> Question for you. 15 seconds.
And then we do just 15 seconds because
we have a question for Mr. Cuomo.
>> Mr. Cuomo lies again and again and
again. I am not running to defund the
police. I am running to actually work
with the police to deliver public
safety. Andrew Cuomo says that he has
stood up to ICE. He has not said a word
about the abductions that are happening
right now.
>> He's referring to a previous comment you
made and we will get back to this. But
Mr. Cuomo, a question for you.
>> It's a comment he made the operative language.
language.
>> I understand. I said that as governor,
you put the National Guard on standby
during the George Floyd protest. You
didn't deploy them. As mayor, talk about
how you would balance the right to
protest with maintaining order in the streets.
streets.
>> The right to protest. The right to
protest is a sacred right. There is no
doubt about that. But the law is the law
also. And you have New Yorkers now who
are afraid in this city. They're afraid
of Donald Trump coming. They're afraid
of that anarchy. And they're afraid of
the anarchy in this city itself. We have
to provide public safety that makes New
Yorkers feel safe. Demonstration is one
thing. Violating the law is something
else. Blocking public transit is
something else. Stopping students from
going to class is something har else.
Harassment, intimidation, that's a hate
crime. That's illegal. Enforce the law.
Respect the police. They're not racists,
uh, as the assemblyman calls them.
They're not a threat to public safety,
as he says. They're not anti-quer.
Uh they are here to protect New Yorkers,
work with them, fortify them. You know,
that's that's ironic that you say that. Now,
Now,
>> I'm sorry,
>> Andrew Cuomo, because when you were
governor for 8 years, your parole board
released 43 cop killers back into the
street. Your father, when he was
governor, released none. I knew Mario
Cuomo. You're no Mario Cuomo. Andrew
Cuomo. you released. Don't say you're
respond briefly to the comments that Mr.
Cuomo raised about things you've said
about police. You can do a brief
response to that.
>> I have been clear time and time again
that as much as Andrew Cuomo wants to
bring up tweets from 2020, which is
around the same time that he was sending
seniors to their death in nursing homes.
I am looking to work with police
officers, not to defund the NYPD,
looking to ensure that officers can
actually do one job when they're signing
up to join that department. Not the many
jobs we're asking today.
>> Specifically referring to comments you
made. We will come back to that, but
we're allowed and racist. That's what
you said. Your words, your words.
>> We're moving on. Thank you.
>> Despite record low crime numbers, polls
show that crime remains a top concern
for New York City voters. The three of
you have very different approaches to
crime fighting and how to manage the
NYPD. We want to get into your plans.
So, we'll start with this question. It's
a two-part question, but it's short. How
will you make the city safer and how
will you change the NYPD? You'll have
one minute. We begin with Mr. Cuomo.
>> Uh, I would add 5,000. Well, let's take
a step back. Remember what happened. The
far left, the socialists, defund the
police. Defund the police. They took a
billion dollars out of the police. The
NYPD is now down at one of the lowest
levels in modern political history. I
would add 5,000 police, put 1,500 in the
subways. Raise the starting salary
because you can't hire them. You can't
even fill a class right now. Uh and you
have to add additional police officers
because the attrition rate is so high.
Uh part of that is going to be saying to
the NYPD, I respect you. I don't think
you're wicked. As the assemblyman said,
I don't think you're corrupt. I don't
think you're racist. I value you. I will
have your back. I'll be a mayor to work
with you. Uh that's how you're going to
get the police uh uh to apply for the
jobs. And then we have to work on the
relationship between the community and
the police.
>> The police can't police the community.
They have to police.
Next, Mr. Lewa.
>> This is amazing. I'm standing here with
my two adversaries, both of whom have
threatened to defund the police. You,
Andrew Cuomo, during the summer of 2020,
you said, "If you don't reform police
departments, I'm going to defund you."
And you certainly said that. Zorhan
Mandami, we need 7,000 police. We only
have 32,500.
The problem in recruiting police, which
neither of you are addressing, is that
their insurance was stripped from them.
The state, you did nothing when you were
governor. And here in the city 2021, the
city council and Eric Adams did nothing.
They don't have qualified immunity,
which you benefited from, Andrew Cuomo,
with the 13 lawsuits filed against you
for sexual harassment. Tom Dapoli says,
"We're paying out $60 million." Why? Cuz
you had your qualified immunity as
governor. And yet, people have stood by
as police have lost their insurance that
all civil servants have. That's why you
can't get recruits in because they're
not insured. I will return their
qualified immunity because they need to
be protected like other civil servants.
>> That is not New York State. It's New
York City underqualified insurance.
Unqualified immunity. It's not insurance
at all.
>> You are entitled to legal counsel, which
is what he's referring to. You have spent
spent
>> Yes. But it's New York City that has uh
revoke qualified immunity. It's not
insurance. It's qualified immunity. has
nothing to do with insurance.
>> Well, that protected you in all these
>> lawsuits and yes, the lawsuits because
there was a report filed. I said it was
political. It turned out to be uh
political and that's why
>> all 13 women were lying. Come on,
Andrew. All 13 women were lying. After
five years, a state trooper too. Yeah.
After 5 years, five das, 5 years of
litigation, I was dropped from the case.
>> Mr. Mandani, how are you once in a while?
while?
>> Okay. Mr. Mr. Mandani, how will you make
the city safer and how will you change
the NYPD?
>> Thank you. This is the concern for so
many New Yorkers and I'm proud to have a
comprehensive plan to bring new ideas to
this city. 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. That
is something that has been hailed by
experts as addressing so many of the
pieces of why New Yorkers are not
feeling safe today. We will ensure that
no longer are police officers asked to
do the job of both policing and
responding to the mental health crisis.
We will have dedicated teams of mental
health outreach workers in the top 100
subway stations with the highest levels
of the mental health crisis and
homelessness. We will ensure that cops
can finally go back to the response
times they used to have in 2020, closer
to 11 minutes, as opposed to the closer
to 16 minutes today, because they won't
be asked to respond to the 200,000
mental health calls that are coming in
through 911 every year. This is
evidence-based. It's been successful
elsewhere in the country. It's time we
deliver it right here in New York City.
It's time for
>> Thank you, Mr. Mandani.
>> Mandami, we already had the homeless
outreach unit of cops and mental health.
Another question for Mr. >> Mi
>> Mi
funded them by billion dollar.
>> Thank you.
>> Excuse me, Mr. Manny. We're going to
talk about disciplining police officers.
The civilian watchdog that investigates
police misconduct regularly recommends
discipline for cops accused of
wrongdoing, but the police commissioner
often overrides them. You want to change
that policy so that the board has final
say. Please explain to viewers in 30
seconds why you believe the police
commissioner should no longer have that
final say. What I've said is that I
think it's time to remove much of the
politics out of the question of
accountability. We have the civilian
complaint review board which as you said
studies, assesses and investigates into
complaints of abuse and the violation of
the law and often times those
recommendations are then subject to
political pressures and not followed
through on. I think New Yorkers deserve
a system where they know it won't then
be assessed once again that there's
actually more to the recommendation in
the investigation that's being done by
the CCR. We're wrapping up. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mandani. Mr. Cuomo, do
you believe changes are needed for how
officers are disciplined and are there
any powers that you would give up as
mayor? You have 30 seconds.
>> Yeah, I would uh not remove the police
commissioner from the CCB. Uh I'd leave
it with the police commissioner. I think
Commissioner Tish is doing a very good
job. I would trust her. Uh the
difference between me and the
assemblyman is he doesn't like the
police. That's why he won't hire more
police when everyone else says we need
more police. He wants to use social
workers on domestic violence calls which
are very dangerous. Uh and he's told you
what he thinks. He thinks the police are
racist, wicked, corrupt, and a threat to
public safety. Those are his words.
>> Very quick, Mr. Mr. Mumdani. Very quick.
>> Look, Andrew Cuomo is a politician of
the past, and all he can speak about are
the tweets of the past in 2020. 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. You're incapable of
actually speaking about the platform
that we have here which is one that will
keep New Yorkers safe.
>> Can we just quickly ask you because I
think what some people feel they haven't
heard from you. We hear you saying that
you don't believe that anymore and
you've apologized. People have not heard
you sort of describe the evolution of
your thought, how you got from there to
here. You know, growing up in this city,
I would think often about safety and
justice and the ways in which that that
relationship has been irrevocably harmed
when I learned about the exonerated
five, when I learned about Shawn Bell,
when I learned about Eric Garner, when I
learned about Michael Brown, and then in
2020 when I wrote these tweets, learning
about the death of George Floyd. And
that was a moment where it felt as if
the distance between these two ideals
had never been further. And in becoming
an assembly member and serving and
representing more than 100,000 people in
Queens, learning that to deliver justice
means to also deliver safety. And that
means leading a city where you recognize
the bravery of the men and women who
joined the NYPD and put their lives on
the line. It means representing the
Muslims who were illegally surveiled in
my district and the black and brown New
Yorkers who've been victims of police brutality.
brutality.
>> So So Mr. ly you've been out there,
you've been on the trains and I would
like to know if you believe changes are
needed of how officers are disciplined.
>> Let me just suggest Zorhan what you've suggested.
suggested.
>> Zoran, Curtis, >> Zoran,
>> Zoran,
>> excuse me.
>> Let me just suggest what you have
proposed with this new police outrage
unit will endanger women and children in
domestic violence situations. I know
I've been involved in so many of them
with the Guardian Angels. They will be
killed. They will be maimed. Number two,
in dealing with emotionally disturbed
persons that I have dealt with for all
my years as a guardian angels, you need
trained professional police officers.
Yes, you can have mental health workers
with them. Thank you, Mr. But that has
been suggested. It was done before by
the homeless outreach and the guy you
thought was the best Delasio disbanded.
>> Mr. Lewood, thank you. Brief response.
To be very clear, the Department of
Community Safety is not about responding
to calls of domestic violence. We are
speaking about mental health crisis and
the homelessness crisis. These are the
focuses of the work that they will do.
>> All right, we we we have other questions
for that a little later in the debate,
but we want to just change the pace a
little bit, candidates, switching gears
to the high cost of living in New York
City. Uh to kick us off, we have a few
quick pocketbook questions that New
Yorkers wrestle with daily. So, we want
to know how much you spend a week on
groceries. We'll begin with you, Mr. Cuomo.
Cuomo.
Uh, depends how many times my daughters
come over. Uh, but probably about $150.
>> Okay, Mr. Sa.
>> Oh, I'd say about $175
with a gallon of milk. Now $5 and always
rising up. Loaf of bread. Simple loaf of
bread. It used to be 99 cent $3 now.
>> Price is too costly.
>> A brief answer. Thank you, Mr. Mani.
>> Yeah, I actually agree with Curtis on
that. It is too costly. Now that eggs
are down to less than four bucks though,
my average spend every week is about
1251 150.
>> All right. Do you carry credit card debt
or do you pay it off every month? Mr. Mandani,
Mandani,
>> I pay it off every month.
>> Mr. Cuomo,
>> pay it off.
>> Mr. SWA,
>> I don't have a credit card. I have a
debit card.
>> And for the record, what is your monthly
rent or mortgage, Mr. SWA?
>> Uh, about 3,900.
Uh, it's not uh subsidized as
>> Mr. Mani, what is your monthly rent or mortgage?
mortgage? >> $2,300.
>> $2,300.
>> Mr. Qu,
>> he has a rent stabilized apartment that
a poor person supposed to have. Uh, mine
is about $7,800. Okay,
>> we are actually getting to that.
>> We're going to we're going to cover that
subject. Sal,
>> thank you. Uh, we're going to talk a
little bit more about the runaway rent
in this city. Mr. Mdani, you're pledging
to freeze rent for nearly 1 million rent
stabilized apartments. That really
affects less than half of all rentals in
the city. What is your plan for those
who aren't in stabilized apartments but
are struggling to pay the rent? What are
you going to do for them?
>> Well, I'm proud to say that I yes will
freeze the rent for more than 2 million
rentstabilized tenants. And I will also
build 200,000 truly affordable homes
across the five buraus over the next 10
years to ensure that tenants, whether
rent stabilized or market rate, can
actually have more housing such that
they are not being priced out of this
city. And finally, I'm also going to
make it easier for the private sector to
build housing in this city because what
we see today is that it's not labor,
it's not materials, it's the weight that
is often costing so many so much to
actually build the housing we need in
this city.
>> Thank you. And a followup for you, Mr.
Mandani. The cost of maintaining a
building change yeartoear for landlords.
The rent guidelines board is legally
required to consider those costs when
deciding whether to freeze rents. So,
how can you promise a rent freeze today
before ever seeing that data next year?
You know, we've seen the data time and
again. It's data data. It's been data
that's been overruled by mayors again
and again. The last rent guidelines
board study showed that profits were up
12% for landlords of those units. And
what did they do? They raised the rent,
adding to more than 12% under Eric Adams
administration. What I am speaking about
is actually reflecting the needs of
these New Yorkers and the state of the
market today. These are New Yorkers who
have a median household income of
$60,000. We do not need to be pushing
them further out of the city. We need to
keep them in their homes.
>> Aren't you saying in that answer that
you are going to prejudge? You will not
have seen the data for next year and
you're making a determination based on
data you haven't seen.
>> I've seen the data year after year of
the fact that salaries are stagnating,
costs are up. New Yorkers can't actually
afford their apartments. And I will also
take action to actually ensure that the
landlords of those buildings can better
handle their costs by taking on their
insurance, their property taxes, and
their I didn't see
I do have a question for you on this
subject. You have proposed something
that you're calling Zoron's law. You
think that Mr. Mandani earns too much to
live in his rentstabilized apartment.
Though I should note that there are no
income tests for rent stabilized
apartments. But critics say your plan
would force people to pay too much of
their income towards the rent. So if you
think Mr. M Donnie is gaming the system.
What about the other New Yorkers?
Thousands of them just like him who earn
similar salaries who are living in
similar apartments.
>> Okay, just to follow up on what Sally
was saying because she's right. Uh this
is not a new plan that the assemblyman
is talking about. It's Bill Delasio's
plan. It was called freeze the rent.
Bill Delasio says uh the mayor can't say
legally he's going to freeze the rent.
There's a rent guidelines board. There
are certain uh considerations that have
to be looked at. You're right, Sally.
You can't say today what it's going to
be in four years. Uh, also freeze the
rent uh only postpones the rent because
then you have to have an increase to
cover the costs otherwise the building
is going to go bankrupt and it does
nothing for the majority of renters who
aren't in these rent stabilized units.
Does nothing for NICHA does nothing for
homeowners. There does nothing for
people in black brown communities who
are getting priced out. I was the HUD
secretary. I built affordable housing
all across this nation. I built
affordable housing in this city when I
was in my 20s. I know how to get it
done. I will get it done on the
rentstabilized units. What I'm saying is
those are the precious units and we
should keep them for the most part. We
have to move on. But I have a question
for you.
>> No, sorry. He invoked me for much of
that question. Just a very brief
response here.
>> Very brief.
>> You know, you've heard it from Andrew
Cuomo that the number one crisis in this
city, the housing crisis, the answer is
to evict my wife and I. He thinks you
address this crisis by unleashing my
landlord's ability to raise my rent. If
you think that the problem in this city
is that my rent is too low, vote for
him. If you know the problem in this
city is that your rent is too high, vote
for me.
>> If I understand it correctly, sons of
millionaires need subsidized housing.
>> It would not evict.
>> It would apply to people applying for
the tenant but the tenants. It would
affect it would evict no one. This this
this income limitation
for Mrs. Ros fat in the schoolyard. Let
me Mr. Rosary has a specific question
for you on this.
>> Yeah. Well, I wanted to talk about
affordability obviously address that issue.
issue.
>> So, you've proposed Mr. Leewa plans that
would made a point of talking about the
struggle of renters and property owners.
Describe your plan to help renters and
landlords. Well, first off, we have
6,000 available apartments that a mayor
controls in Nicha and they've been empty
for years. That you address number one.
Then we talk about senior citizens who
are living here. My whole goal is to
improve and not to move. I'm concerned
about the seniors, especially those that
own homes. If they're 65 and make less
than $250,000,
no property tax, cuz the property tax is
way too high. We need to cut it in half
to keep people who are here. And then in
terms of rentals, we have affordable
housing that can be built in these huge
skyscrapers. You see them all throughout
Manhattan and in Northern Brooklyn and
in Long Island City, which we have 25
Empire State buildings full of
commercial space that will never be
occupied for office space. We should be
converting them into affordable
apartments. They're in dense areas. the
infrastructure can support it. I'm the
only candidate here who's against the
city of that would destroy residential.
>> I have to interrupt you because we have
a programming moment right now. We're
about halfway through the mayoral
debate. Channel 4 and Telmundo 47 will
return to regular programming, but we
got a lot to get to and you can continue
watching live on NBC New York and
Telmundo 47 streaming and digital
platforms, Texos, Politico.com and
[Music]
Gentlemen, gentlemen, thank you. That
was kind of a natural point for us to
transition and we want to talk now about
transportation and getting around town.
And we have a few quick questions about
how you get around town. Show of hands.
Even though they're in their waning
days, who has a metro card or maybe uses Omnipay?
Omnipay?
>> Uses Omnipay.
>> The Omnipay.
Metro card. I mean, I have one, but you
know, I know I'm hanging on to the last one.
one.
>> So, you're on the subways, Mr. Well,
what do you use? I'm just curious if you
>> Omni card. In fact, I got a whole batch.
I'm in the subways. I mean, the buses,
the express buses. The only candidate
who rides mass transit every day.
>> When you need to get somewhere fast and
you can't take the train, do you hail a
taxi? Do you use ride share? Mr. Leo,
what do you do?
>> I try to avoid yellow cabs. As you know,
I was shot in the back of a yellow cab
in 1992 by the Gottis and Gambinos. Uh,
but I find my way around if I have to. I
I Uber if I can't get there by mass track.
track.
>> What do you do, Mr. Ramdan, if you can't
take the train?
>> I would either take a cab or ride a bike.
bike.
>> Mr. Cuomo,
>> uh, I would take a cab, Uber.
>> Okay. All right. Thanks, Miss Ali.
>> Thank you, David. Uh, let's talk about
free buses. Um, Mr. Mum Donnie, this is
a centerpiece of your campaign. Can you
explain how you will make buses free?
You have 30 seconds to answer.
>> Absolutely. We will make buses free by
replacing the revenue that the MTA
currently gets from buses. This is
revenue that's around $700 million or
so. That's less money than Andrew Cuomo
gave to Elon Musk and $959 million in
tax credits when he was the governor.
And the reason that we will do so is
that making buses free doesn't just
provide economic relief, but also public
safety. Because what we've seen is that
it decreases assaults on bus drivers by 38.9%.
38.9%.
New Yorkers deserve more than the
slowest buses in the country. I know
that because I was on the M57 not too
long ago and its average speed is 4.9 miles.
miles.
>> We're at time though. But the question
is how you'll make them free.
>> We will fund the revenue that would have
otherwise been brought in from fairs and
that's something that we would do in
partnership with Albany and I've put
forward two proposals. The first is to
raise taxes on the top 1% of New Yorkers
by 2%. That would raise $4 billion. The
second is to raise the state's top
corporate tax rate to match that of New
Jersey, which would raise $5 billion.
We're going to move along, but I just
want to point out to viewers that
Governor Hokll has opposed raising the
income tax.
>> But Melissa, we'll move on to your question.
question.
>> Could I address that on the buses
because half the people don't pay this
their bus fair to begin with? Uh, Zorhot
and so
>> Zoron Curtis Zoron.
>> Zor, it's a complete disaster if you
have free bus fair and the Citizens
Budget Commission said just last year
2024, a billion dollars of fair evasion
in all different forms. This MTA system
will collapse. There's not enough money
out there to make up for fair evasion.
Pay your fair. If you don't pay your
fair, they have fair fair programs for
the poor and the indigent, but everybody
should be forced to pay their fair.
>> Mr. Cuomo, you had both praise and some
criticism for Mr. Mandani's free bus
pilots. So, you're sort of in the middle
on this issue. What's your plan to make
subways and buses more affordable?
>> I think I think free buses is a mistake.
cost about $700 million just to give you
an idea that we only raised about 500
from congestion pricing. It's been done
before in other cities. It was a disaster. They stopped. They basically
disaster. They stopped. They basically became mobile homeless
became mobile homeless uh uh gathering places. What I say is
uh uh gathering places. What I say is free buses for working families who
free buses for working families who can't afford it and free subways for
can't afford it and free subways for working families, but don't subsidize
working families, but don't subsidize rich people uh on a bus. uh and uh it's
rich people uh on a bus. uh and uh it's been tried and it failed.
been tried and it failed. >> Mr. Mandani, can you just respond
>> Mr. Mandani, can you just respond quickly on the point about the uh mobile
quickly on the point about the uh mobile homeless gathering places?
homeless gathering places? >> You know, this is something that we
>> You know, this is something that we heard when we were fighting to make
heard when we were fighting to make buses free in Albany when we delivered
buses free in Albany when we delivered the first fair free bus lines in New
the first fair free bus lines in New York City history. And what we saw is
York City history. And what we saw is when we made one bus route free in each
when we made one bus route free in each burrow of New York City, there was no
burrow of New York City, there was no increase in homelessness on those buses.
increase in homelessness on those buses. There was no increase in fair evasion in
There was no increase in fair evasion in the surrounding area. What there was was
the surrounding area. What there was was an increase in ridership of up to 38.
an increase in ridership of up to 38. Can maybe we can dig deeper on this and
Can maybe we can dig deeper on this and get a sense of how all of you would pay
get a sense of how all of you would pay for your big ideas. Mr. Roman Donnie,
for your big ideas. Mr. Roman Donnie, we'll start with you. We've obviously
we'll start with you. We've obviously been talking about free buses. You've
been talking about free buses. You've talked about free child care, cityrun
talked about free child care, cityrun grocery stores. So essentially, you're
grocery stores. So essentially, you're proposing about $10 billion in new
proposing about $10 billion in new spending. And as you've indicated, you
spending. And as you've indicated, you want to pay for it with tax increases,
want to pay for it with tax increases, but as Sally pointed out, Governor Hokll
but as Sally pointed out, Governor Hokll said no to raising income tax on
said no to raising income tax on millionaires. So tell New Yorkers
millionaires. So tell New Yorkers tonight how you're going to pay for all
tonight how you're going to pay for all of this in one minute if you can. Look,
of this in one minute if you can. Look, a lot of people have called even my
a lot of people have called even my campaign a non-starter when we first
campaign a non-starter when we first began. And now I stand before you proud
began. And now I stand before you proud to be the Democratic nominee who got the
to be the Democratic nominee who got the most votes in city primary history. And
most votes in city primary history. And I believe we will see the same thing
I believe we will see the same thing with our push to ensure that we are
with our push to ensure that we are taxing the wealthiest and the most
taxing the wealthiest and the most profitable corporations the fair amount
profitable corporations the fair amount that they should pay. Now, there are
that they should pay. Now, there are those who will say that because it will
those who will say that because it will be hard, you should give up. We saw what
be hard, you should give up. We saw what giving up looked like when Andrew Cuomo
giving up looked like when Andrew Cuomo was the governor. He gave up on fighting
was the governor. He gave up on fighting for working-class New Yorkers and
for working-class New Yorkers and instead caved in to his billionaire
instead caved in to his billionaire donors. And what did we get? We have the
donors. And what did we get? We have the fastest and most frequent helicopter
fastest and most frequent helicopter service to the Hamptons and we have the
service to the Hamptons and we have the slowest and more expensive bus service
slowest and more expensive bus service across the five burrows.
across the five burrows. >> But again, Mr. Rodan, I know Governor
>> But again, Mr. Rodan, I know Governor Hokll indicated this week there may be
Hokll indicated this week there may be some some open windows, but more or less
some some open windows, but more or less income tax on millionaires is off the
income tax on millionaires is off the table according to the governor.
table according to the governor. >> Look, I've said very clearly making
>> Look, I've said very clearly making buses fast and free costs about $700
buses fast and free costs about $700 million a year. Making universal child
million a year. Making universal child care a reality costs about five or six
care a reality costs about five or six billion dollars a year. If you raise the
billion dollars a year. If you raise the state's top corporate tax rate to match
state's top corporate tax rate to match that of New Jersey, you'd be raising
that of New Jersey, you'd be raising five billion in of itself.
five billion in of itself. >> I have I have a couple, you're next, but
>> I have I have a couple, you're next, but I have a couple followers.
I have a couple followers. >> I would just want to add one additional
>> I would just want to add one additional thing.
thing. >> We have also put forward a plan to save
>> We have also put forward a plan to save money here in New York City with a
money here in New York City with a billion dollars in savings through
billion dollars in savings through procurement reform, through following
procurement reform, through following the independent budget offic's
the independent budget offic's assessment about hiring more fiscal
assessment about hiring more fiscal auditors, and in actually collecting the
auditors, and in actually collecting the fines and fees from bad landlords across
fines and fees from bad landlords across >> and just a quick couple of follow-ups.
>> and just a quick couple of follow-ups. If you could find some of the funding
If you could find some of the funding but not all of it, which of your
but not all of it, which of your priorities would come first? What would
priorities would come first? What would be the first among equals that you would
be the first among equals that you would try to get done?
try to get done? >> Well, freezing the rent doesn't require
>> Well, freezing the rent doesn't require any fiscal infusion. So, that will be
any fiscal infusion. So, that will be something we'll be pursuing immediately.
something we'll be pursuing immediately. And universal childare after housing is
And universal childare after housing is the second cost. Childare is the second
the second cost. Childare is the second cost pushing New Yorkers out of this
cost pushing New Yorkers out of this city. $225,000 a year is the estimate
city. $225,000 a year is the estimate we've seen. That will be a priority for
we've seen. That will be a priority for us.
us. >> And I just want to know if uh you could
>> And I just want to know if uh you could get the money and funding elsewhere,
get the money and funding elsewhere, would you drop the call for the tax
would you drop the call for the tax increase?
increase? >> Absolutely. The most important thing is
>> Absolutely. The most important thing is funding these agenda items. I think
funding these agenda items. I think these are the two most important and
these are the two most important and straightforward direct ways to do so.
straightforward direct ways to do so. But if the money comes from elsewhere,
But if the money comes from elsewhere, the most important thing has a question
the most important thing has a question for Mr. Lew.
for Mr. Lew. >> Mr. Sway, you've been talking about
>> Mr. Sway, you've been talking about cutting taxes and spending. So, what is
cutting taxes and spending. So, what is your plan and how would you pay for your
your plan and how would you pay for your programs like 7,000 more cops?
programs like 7,000 more cops? >> Well, Zoron, uh, boy, your fantasies
>> Well, Zoron, uh, boy, your fantasies are never going to come about in terms
are never going to come about in terms of funding everything you want that's
of funding everything you want that's going to be free, free, free. It's a
going to be free, free, free. It's a fantasy. Let's deal with the reality.
fantasy. Let's deal with the reality. 7,000 cops. You already have a plan in
7,000 cops. You already have a plan in Boston where you pay for taxes in the
Boston where you pay for taxes in the future. This is a great plan in which
future. This is a great plan in which universities and others who have bought
universities and others who have bought up properties uh that are now uh taken
up properties uh that are now uh taken from the real estate market and taken
from the real estate market and taken from property tax pay. We could raise a
from property tax pay. We could raise a billion dollars from Columbia
billion dollars from Columbia University, NYU that are in the real
University, NYU that are in the real estate business and Madison Square
estate business and Madison Square Garden, your friends, Andrew Cuomo,
Garden, your friends, Andrew Cuomo, Jimmy Dolan, who pays no property taxes.
Jimmy Dolan, who pays no property taxes. That's how you raise a billion dollars
That's how you raise a billion dollars to get 700 police officers trained,
to get 700 police officers trained, vetted, and out into the streets in the
vetted, and out into the streets in the five burrows. And then the police will
five burrows. And then the police will be on the subways and they will be
be on the subways and they will be patrolling the oldfashioned way where
patrolling the oldfashioned way where they're needed going up and down the
they're needed going up and down the moving subway cars where people want to
moving subway cars where people want to see the visual protection especially
see the visual protection especially women who are being assaulted perved and
women who are being assaulted perved and like we saw this morning on 86th Street
like we saw this morning on 86th Street a woman with a gun to her head an armed
a woman with a gun to her head an armed robbery because you don't have enough
robbery because you don't have enough cops.
cops. >> I have a question for you in this topic
>> I have a question for you in this topic and let's talk about history because as
and let's talk about history because as governor you raised and cut taxes. Now,
governor you raised and cut taxes. Now, you're proposing some tax relief. What's
you're proposing some tax relief. What's the price tag for your proposals? And
the price tag for your proposals? And where will you get the money for, for
where will you get the money for, for example, 5,000 new police officers? You
example, 5,000 new police officers? You have a minute to answer.
have a minute to answer. >> Yeah. Uh, I think Sally's question was
>> Yeah. Uh, I think Sally's question was very well taken. Uh, the assemblyman's
very well taken. Uh, the assemblyman's whole plan is based on a myth. Uh, he's
whole plan is based on a myth. Uh, he's going to raise taxes. Albony is going to
going to raise taxes. Albony is going to raise taxes statewide on corporations,
raise taxes statewide on corporations, but the money is only going to go to New
but the money is only going to go to New York City. That could never happen. It's
York City. That could never happen. It's not just that the governor wouldn't
not just that the governor wouldn't support it. It's impossible. He said
support it. It's impossible. He said he's going to raise the taxes the same
he's going to raise the taxes the same as New Jersey corporate tax. No, it
as New Jersey corporate tax. No, it would be double the tax. You would see
would be double the tax. You would see New Yorkers on 995 fleeing to Florida.
New Yorkers on 995 fleeing to Florida. We would be alone. Uh so you have to be
We would be alone. Uh so you have to be realistic with revenue. You have $15
realistic with revenue. You have $15 billion budget. You have to go through
billion budget. You have to go through that city budget and find savings. I
that city budget and find savings. I started the state. It had which is
started the state. It had which is double the budget of the city. at a $10
double the budget of the city. at a $10 billion deficit. I closed it and added
billion deficit. I closed it and added services. And we can do the same with
services. And we can do the same with New York City.
New York City. >> Governor, as mayor, you would not
>> Governor, as mayor, you would not increase spending in the New York City
increase spending in the New York City budget. Yes or no?
budget. Yes or no? >> There would be whatever additional
>> There would be whatever additional spending would be revenue neutral.
spending would be revenue neutral. >> So, is it possible? You got to cut you
>> So, is it possible? You got to cut you got to cut taxes for people to stay
got to cut taxes for people to stay here.
here. >> The corporations are not going to stay
>> The corporations are not going to stay here. They're being lured south. The
here. They're being lured south. The cities that are more corporate friendly.
cities that are more corporate friendly. We got to cut the property tax income
We got to cut the property tax income tax for those who are 19 to 28 skill
tax for those who are 19 to 28 skill levels if they go to school here.
levels if they go to school here. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Andrew Cuomo thinks it's all right to
>> Andrew Cuomo thinks it's all right to spend $60 million to fund his legal
spend $60 million to fund his legal defense from accusations of more than a
defense from accusations of more than a dozen women of sexual harassment. But if
dozen women of sexual harassment. But if I say we should spend the same amount of
I say we should spend the same amount of money on delivering cheaper groceries in
money on delivering cheaper groceries in this city through a pilot program, that
this city through a pilot program, that is unfathomable.
is unfathomable. >> Quick, I got a right to respond to that
>> Quick, I got a right to respond to that quickly. first uh I did not bring those
quickly. first uh I did not bring those lawsuits that was brought by by the
lawsuits that was brought by by the attorney general which I said was
attorney general which I said was political that were generated by
political that were generated by individual women and some of them have
individual women and some of them have still been making their way through the
still been making their way through the courts this year and
courts this year and >> yes and have been dropped from the cases
>> yes and have been dropped from the cases >> not all of them yeah and the what the
>> not all of them yeah and the what the assemblyman doesn't say is all this
assemblyman doesn't say is all this money that he wants to pass uh the one
money that he wants to pass uh the one thing he did do is he voted for a pay
thing he did do is he voted for a pay raise for himself they're the highest
raise for himself they're the highest paid legislator in
paid legislator in I did I did ask the state controllers
I did I did ask the state controllers office this week I did ask the state
office this week I did ask the state controllers's office this week the total
controllers's office this week the total was above 60 million but just those
was above 60 million but just those sexual harassment cases to defend
sexual harassment cases to defend Governor Cuomo and his staff was about
Governor Cuomo and his staff was about 21
21 >> sorry it was the sexual harassment and
>> sorry it was the sexual harassment and >> I just want to clarify because you said
>> I just want to clarify because you said 60 but on those it was 21.
60 but on those it was 21. >> Thank you. We have to talk about quality
>> Thank you. We have to talk about quality of life in the city. Let's turn to
of life in the city. Let's turn to everyday life in the city and some
everyday life in the city and some issues a mayor can directly impact. We
issues a mayor can directly impact. We start with a couple of questions about
start with a couple of questions about 311, the number New Yorkers call or text
311, the number New Yorkers call or text for non-emergency help. First off, have
for non-emergency help. First off, have you ever called 311? And if so, for
you ever called 311? And if so, for what, Mr. Mumdonni?
what, Mr. Mumdonni? >> I called 311 uh for issues with my
>> I called 311 uh for issues with my heating in my apartment, and I've spoken
heating in my apartment, and I've spoken to New Yorkers time and time again who
to New Yorkers time and time again who are frustrated by the fact that they can
are frustrated by the fact that they can track their Uber Eats block by block,
track their Uber Eats block by block, but when they call 311 for them to come
but when they call 311 for them to come to their apartment, it's just a question
to their apartment, it's just a question of hoping and praying that they do.
of hoping and praying that they do. There's no actual appointment. That's
There's no actual appointment. That's something that we would change.
something that we would change. >> All right, Mr. SWA, have you ever called
>> All right, Mr. SWA, have you ever called 311?
311? >> You know, there used to be that song 911
>> You know, there used to be that song 911 is a joke by Public Enemy. 311 is a
is a joke by Public Enemy. 311 is a joke.
joke. >> You can call it over and over and over
>> You can call it over and over and over again. And you never get the analytics
again. And you never get the analytics are when the operators talk to you, I
are when the operators talk to you, I talk to them.
talk to them. >> Have you called?
>> Have you called? >> Yes, I've called them many times and
>> Yes, I've called them many times and gotten no response. Most citizens I talk
gotten no response. Most citizens I talk to on the subways and streets never get
to on the subways and streets never get good responses from answer. Mr.
good responses from answer. Mr. I've heard a lot of complaints about
I've heard a lot of complaints about 311. So I actually made a call to 311
311. So I actually made a call to 311 myself to see if the complaints were
myself to see if the complaints were bonafidey. Uh and uh I was uh dropped
bonafidey. Uh and uh I was uh dropped twice. Uh then they were going to send
twice. Uh then they were going to send someone to uh find help a homeless woman
someone to uh find help a homeless woman in distress. All right. Uh and no one
in distress. All right. Uh and no one showed up.
showed up. >> You're all expressing frustration. Last
>> You're all expressing frustration. Last year 311 received 38 million contacts
year 311 received 38 million contacts from New Yorkers from calls to the
from New Yorkers from calls to the website. wanted to know if you had a
website. wanted to know if you had a sense across five burrows what the top
sense across five burrows what the top two categories of complaints were. What
two categories of complaints were. What do you think they were Mr. Selma?
do you think they were Mr. Selma? >> Uh potholes constantly potholes,
