With the city’s mayoral election racing into the home stretch, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo on Sunday held rallies in Queens to make pitches to voters ahead of the November general election — each making a case for their strength and their opponent’s weakness.
Cuomo, a former New York governor, held a “rally to support the Jewish state of Israel” in Kew Gardens, appealing to the neighborhood’s large Jewish community. About 300 people attended the rally, held at the Kew Gardens Hills Library on Vleigh Place.
Cuomo’s message to the crowd was simple — that he stands with the Jewish people of New York and that Mamdani, if elected, will present a threat to Jewish New Yorkers.
“We fundamentally resent the idea that a mayor of New York would be a divisive force. What [Mamdani] has done, the offense he has shown to the Jewish community, he should be ashamed of himself,” Cuomo said to the crowd.
Rebecca White / New York Daily News
Andrew Cuomo speaks to an audience in Flushing, Queens on Sunday. (Rebecca White / New York Daily News)
Cuomo zeroed in on the Democratic candidate’s youth and comparative lack of experience — a stance he’s taken throughout the race.
“You need a mayor who knows how to make government work, and I have done that all my life,” he said, distinguishing himself from Mamdani, “who’s never worked a real job in his life.”
Cuomo also addressed the city’s affordability and housing crises, and reiterated his plan to hire 5,000 more police officers.
“I think he came out very strong for pro-Jewish values. I really appreciate that and respect that,” said rally attendee Hershel Peiser, 23. Peiser, a student at Touro University, said public safety is “easily” his top priority — and that he intends to vote for Cuomo.
“I think he is the best candidate for the city for the Jewish community,” Peiser said.
Attendee Rabbi Gary Moskowitz, 68, also said his No. 1 issue is public safety. “You have a fiduciary responsibility … to protect your citizens,” Moskowitz said. “If you can’t do that, there’s nothing left.”
Moskowitz, a former NYC police officer who once received an award from Cuomo’s father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, said he is supporting Cuomo “for two reasons.”
“He has a lot of experience with the government, and if he does some bad things, OK. No one’s going to have a perfect record. That’s the first thing,” Moskowitz said. Cuomo resigned from the governorship in 2021 after several women accused him of sexual harassment. He has also received criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Second one, Mamdani’s an absolute danger to the Jewish community,” Moskowitz charged. He expressed dismay at the rally’s low attendance.
Julian Roberts-Grmela / New York Daily News
Zohran Mamdani holds a rally at Forest Hills Stadium on Sunday. (Julian Roberts-Grmela / New York Daily News)
In Forest Hills, Mamdani supporters packed Forest Hills Stadium for a 5 p.m. “New York is Not For Sale,” rally. By the time Mamdani took the stage at 8:30 p.m., he said about 13,000 people had shown up.
“New York is not for sale,” Mamdani told the crowd.
“And now, as we stand on the precipice of taking this city back, from corrupt politicians and the billionaires that fund them, let our words ring out so loud tonight that Andrew Cuomo can hear them at his $8,000 a month apartment,” he said. “Let them ring so loud so that he can hear us even if he’s in Westchester this evening. Let them ring so loud that his puppet master in the White House hears us. New York is not for sale.”
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also spoke at the rally, as did Gov. Hochul and other New York politicians. Multiple times attendees interrupted Hochul’s remarks in particular, chanting “Tax the rich!” prompting Hochul to respond: “We hear you.”
Sanders urged attendees to ignore the size of the rally — and polling.
“Do not underestimate our opponents,” Sander warned. “Forget about the polls,” and go in “assuming that you are five points behind,” he told the crowd.
AP Photo/Heather Khalifa
Zohran Mamdani is joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on stage during a rally in Queens on Sunday night. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Mamdani struck a similar chord in his remarks.
“We cannot allow complacency to infiltrate this movement,” he told the crowd. “So over these nine final days, I ask for only one thing from each of you: More. I ask for more because that is the only way that we win a future of more.”
City Comptroller Brad Lander circulated amongst the crowd, stopping to talk to The Daily News in a designated press area. “There’s so much energy out in the streets,” Lander said, “The set of people is hungry to go win this race.”
Lander, speaking to the crowd, recounted that “on primary night, Zohran made a commitment to reach out to people who disagree with them, and since then, I have seen him keep that promise in dozens of meetings with rabbis and Jewish leaders in house parties, in synagogues, at town halls, at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services.”
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Senator Bernie Sanders (left) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (right) speak at a campaign rally for Zohran Mamdani at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens on Sunday night. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Jesse Sachs, 36, attended the rally after casting his ballot for Mamdani during early voting, which opened Saturday.
“I love the energy here,” he said.
Sachs, who is Jewish, said he felt a responsibility to turn up for Mamdani, whose positions on Israel have come under fire as antisemitic. “I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that … you have a responsibility to be here, to kind of show people that, look, Zohran has a lot of Jewish support.”
