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      Mamdani for Mayor (if You Want to Help the Republicans)

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      Two groups must be especially thrilled by the prospect of Zohran Mamdani becoming New York’s next mayor.The first: young, progressive-leaning voters who gave the charismatic 33-year-old State Assembly member his come-out-of-nowhere victory in last month’s Democratic primary. They want what he wants: rent freezes, free public buses, city-owned grocery stores, tax hikes for corporations and millionaires, curbs on the police, a near doubling of the minimum wage to $30 an hour and the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu.The second: Republicans who want to make sure that Democrats remain the perfect opposition party — far-left, incompetent, divided, distrusted and, on a national level, unelectable. Remember when Ronald Reagan ran against the “San Francisco Democrats” in 1984 and carried 49 states? Get ready for the G.O.P. to run against “Mamdani Democrats” for several election cycles to come.That’s a thought that ought to give moderate Democrats pause before they accept Mamdani’s mayoralty as a political fait accompli, or even think of getting behind him. Among the reasons the Democratic Party’s brand has become toxic in recent years is progressive misgovernance in places like Los Angeles; San Francisco; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; and Chicago. If Mamdani governs on the promises on which he’s campaigned, he’ll bring the same toxicity to America’s biggest city.How so?Some of Mamdani’s proposals, like the city-owned groceries, are almost too foolish to mention: Public grocery stores struggle to stock their shelves, can’t compete with private groceries, lack economies of scale and have a recent record of failure in the United States. Other ideas, like free buses, would merely exacerbate the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s shaky finances, which is one reason Kathy Hochul, New York’s Democratic governor, didn’t renew a free bus ride pilot program last year.Turns out, socialism works no better in Brooklyn than it does in Havana.But those ideas won’t be as destructive as Mamdani’s other brainstorms. “Freeze the rent,” his popular campaign slogan, applies only to rent-stabilized apartments, which account for about half of the city’s rental units. But a rent freeze would have precisely the same effects in New York as it has everywhere else: Particularly in a time of inflation, it would lead landlords to cut costs on maintenance, jack up prices on non-stabilized units, convert rental buildings to condos or co-ops and stop new developments that would require affordable housing.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Andrew Cuomo Test Drives a Warmer, Friendlier Version of Himself

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      Mr. Cuomo, the former governor of New York, has vowed to run a more energetic campaign than he did in the mayoral primary, and aimed to demonstrate that on Tuesday.There were stops at a pizzeria in Queens, a coffee shop in Harlem and a few places in the Bronx. The childhood home got a visit. Hands were shaken; smiles were exchanged.Tuesday was Day 1 of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s reimagined and reinvigorated campaign to become mayor of New York City, a corrective bid to what even his allies conceded had been a lackluster effort to win over voters.The appearances reflected the first faint signs of a different sort of Cuomo campaign taking shape — one that seemed inspired in part by the go-anywhere, talk-to-anyone strategy successfully deployed by Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and state assemblyman who captured the Democratic primary.But in Mr. Cuomo’s hands, the shift in approach served a very particular mission: portray Mr. Mamdani as a socialist enemy of New York City, and convey Mr. Cuomo’s regret for neither effectively nor energetically delivering that message during the campaign.Sitting across from his daughter Mariah at Gaby’s Pizza in Queens, Mr. Cuomo took responsibility for his lackluster primary campaign, saying, “I did not communicate my vision effectively.”“There was this ‘play it safe, make no mistakes’ attitude,” he added, as a fleet of campaign videographers recorded his every move. “That was not who I am. It’s not what New Yorkers expected from a campaign.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Mayor Adams Loses Another Round in Bid to Receive Public Matching Funds

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      The New York City Campaign Finance Board rejected Mayor Eric Adams’s request for millions of dollars from the city’s generous matching-funds program.Mayor Eric Adams of New York City was again denied public matching funds for his re-election campaign after a panel said on Tuesday that he had once again failed to provide requested information regarding his campaign’s fund-raising efforts, including interactions with Turkish business interests.The New York City Campaign Finance Board initially denied Mr. Adams’s request for public funds following his indictment on corruption-related charges last year, blocking him from the city’s generous program that gives qualifying candidates an eight-for-one match of small-dollar donations.In May, Mr. Adams sued the board in an effort to overturn the ruling, arguing that the decision to withhold $3.4 million was based on an indictment that had been dropped by the Justice Department. The mayor’s lawsuit was dismissed last week, with a federal judge in Brooklyn, Nicholas G. Garaufis, noting that Mr. Adams had been late to provide information regarding conflicts of interest and that more information was still outstanding.In its denial on Tuesday, the Campaign Finance Board said that the mayor’s team still had not provided the necessary documents, some of which were requested in November. The board’s chairman, Frederick P. Schaffer, said that Mr. Adams’s campaign had requested an extension until Aug. 1.A spokesman for Mr. Adams’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.The board’s denial comes as its investigation into the Adams campaign’s financing practices appears to be expanding, with its lawyers indicating in court filings that the board had requested more information from the campaign to explain potential improper behavior. Some of the requested correspondence is connected to an Uzbek businessman, according to court documents.The board’s decision is yet another blow to the mayor’s effort to defeat the Democratic nominee, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who won a decisive victory in last month’s primary, handily outpacing his closest rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, by 12 points.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Mamdani Prepares to Meet With New York City’s Wary Business Leaders

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      On Tuesday, Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist running for mayor, will meet with the who’s who of the corporate world as he prepares for the general election.In the weeks since Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory in the Democratic mayoral primary, some corporate and finance leaders have predicted an exodus of wealthy investors from New York City. They have called him a Marxist and an out of touch idealist, and have warned of rough times ahead for the city if Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, wins the general election in November.On Tuesday and Wednesday, leaders on Wall Street and across the business world will have an opportunity to confront Mr. Mamdani directly in meetings with the Partnership for New York City, a consortium of 350 members representing banks, law firms and corporations.The meetings were requested by Mr. Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman who says he wants to work with the business community. Mr. Mamdani has recently moderated some of his stances that have generated the most controversy as he shifts his focus to the general election. Tuesday’s meeting will take place behind closed doors with no news media present, and more than 100 executives are expected to attend.The Partnership’s board is a who’s who of powerful business leaders including Henry Kravis of KKR, Rob Speyer of Tishman Speyer and J.P. Morgan’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, who last week publicly criticized Democrats for “falling all over themselves” to support Mr. Mamdani’s policies including city-run grocery stores and a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments. “There’s the same ideological mush that means nothing in the real world,” Mr. Dimon said at an event in Europe.But as much as corporate leaders express reservations about Mr. Mamdani’s left-leaning policies, some of them are taking a pragmatic approach to the upstart candidate, who is leading in polls.Kathryn Wylde, the Partnership’s chief executive who had a frosty relationship with the city’s last progressive mayor, Bill de Blasio, has been open to working with Mr. Mamdani.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Cuomo to Fight On in Mayor’s Race After Bruising Primary Loss to Mamdani

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      Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced he would run as a third-party candidate against Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor.Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has decided to run in the general election for mayor, urged on by supporters anxious that his withdrawal would nearly guarantee Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s victory and put New York City in the hands of the far left.The decision by Mr. Cuomo, who had been questioning whether to run after his crushing Democratic primary defeat by Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and a democratic socialist, was announced Monday afternoon in a 90-second video.“I am truly sorry that I let you down. But as my grandfather used to say, when you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game. And that is what I’m going to do,” Mr. Cuomo said. “The fight to save our city isn’t over.”Mr. Cuomo has pledged that if the polls show that he is not the highest-ranked challenger to Mr. Mamdani by mid-September, he will drop out of the race, according to a letter he sent to supporters.He will encourage Mr. Mamdani’s other challengers — Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent; Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee; and Jim Walden, an independent — to do the same. Mr. Walden hatched the plan recently, and former Gov. David A. Paterson endorsed the idea last week.Mr. Cuomo was the prohibitive favorite for much of the Democratic primary for mayor, leading in most polls until the very end. A super PAC spent more than $22 million to promote his candidacy and launch a late-stage attack on Mr. Mamdani, once it became clear that he posed a threat to Mr. Cuomo.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Climate Law Could Shape the Race for New York City’s Next Mayor

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      Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, has vowed to strictly enforce the measure, Local Law 97, which calls for potentially expensive upgrades to buildings to curb greenhouse emissions.Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor has focused on the high cost of living in New York City and the lack of affordable housing.But Mr. Mamdani’s embrace of an ambitious climate law — called Local Law 97 — could have as much impact on the real estate sector as his better-known plan to freeze the rent on about a million apartments.Local Law 97, which was approved in 2019, calls for potentially expensive upgrades to the city’s largest buildings in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman, has said he intends to tighten enforcement of the measure. Some critics, however, warn that his approach would create a heavy financial burden on property owners.“Thousands of buildings are in trouble here, and Local Law 97 and rent freezes will be the end,” said Kenny Burgos, the chief executive of the New York Apartment Association, a landlord advocacy group.Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist who recently said that he didn’t believe there should be billionaires, has not been shy about asking the city’s affluent to subsidize his platform, which includes free buses and a $30 minimum wage. Mr. Mamdani has also called for freezing the rent on all rent-stabilized apartments, which has sent a chill through some corners of the real estate sector.He has promised to take the same approach in enforcing Local Law 97, saying in a mayoral forum earlier this year that he would back the measure by “taking on the real estate industry” in the pursuit of “climate justice.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Espaillat Endorses Mamdani for Mayor, After Backing Cuomo and Adams

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      Representative Adriano Espaillat, the most powerful Latino leader in New York City, will back Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor.Zohran Mamdani, the front-runner in the New York City mayor’s race, will be endorsed on Thursday by Representative Adriano Espaillat, the city’s most powerful Latino leader and one of the most influential among voters.His support follows endorsements for Mr. Mamdani from other prominent New York Democrats, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and major unions as he seeks to broaden his coalition ahead of the general election in November.Mr. Espaillat said in a statement that Mr. Mamdani brought “clarity, discipline and a deep commitment to tackling the stubborn issues facing New York City,” including affordability.“He has a strong vision of how to make New York serve those working to realize the American dream,” he said. “I’m proud to endorse him because New Yorkers deserve a mayor who will wake up every day and fight for them.”Landing the backing of Mr. Espaillat, who is the first Dominican American member of Congress and who represents northern Manhattan and the Bronx, is significant for symbolic and practical reasons.He is the latest member of the New York congressional delegation to back Mr. Mamdani, joining Representatives Nydia Velázquez and Jerrold Nadler and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Others, most notably Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, and Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, have not endorsed anyone in the race.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Mamdani, Urged to Keep Tisch as Police Commissioner, Is Considering It

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      As Zohran Mamdani runs for mayor in the general election, some leaders are encouraging him to keep Jessica Tisch as New York City’s police commissioner.Zohran Mamdani, the front-runner to be the next mayor of New York, and Jessica Tisch, the city’s police commissioner, might not seem like natural allies.He is a democratic socialist who has questioned whether billionaires should exist. She is a billionaire heiress who has called for stricter criminal justice laws.But if Mr. Mamdani wins November’s general election, both appear open to working together — a potential partnership being pushed by influential business leaders and some of Mr. Mamdani’s more powerful Democratic allies.Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman who decisively won the Democratic primary last month, has said he would consider keeping Commissioner Tisch, and has praised her on the campaign trail and in private for improving public safety and running the Police Department more responsibly after the tumult of Mayor Eric Adams’s first term.Ms. Tisch, in turn, believes that she has made progress in making the city safer since taking command of the department seven months ago, and would want to stay in the job regardless of the outcome of the November election, according to two people familiar with her thinking.The leaders who have encouraged Mr. Mamdani to keep the commissioner include Letitia James, the state attorney general, according to a person familiar with the matter. Ms. James has enthusiastically endorsed Mr. Mamdani.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More