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NEW YORK, N.Y. – The three men running to be the next mayor of New York City, the largest city in the United States, clashed on multiple occasions on the debate stage Thursday night on issues ranging from the war in Gaza to public safety to housing costs.
Public safety was discussed throughout the debate, with Mamdani’s past disparaging comments about police and his calls to defund the New York City Police Department taking center stage.
“He believes in defunding the police, disarming the police, disbanding the police,” Cuomo said. “That’s who he is.”
Mamdani attempted to distance himself from his past tweets, pointing out that they were from 2020.
HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU MISSED FROM ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S FIRST FOX NEWS INTERVIEW
From left, Mayoral candidates Independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani participate in a mayoral debate, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in New York. (Angelina Katsanis, Pool/ AP Photo)
All three candidates discussed their plans to address the housing crisis in New York City with Mamdani’s plan to “freeze the rent” drawing sharp criticism from Cuomo and Sliwa.
“Freeze the rent only postpones the rent,” Cuomo said about Mamdani’s plan, making the case that many of Mamdani’s opponents have made that rent freezes would do more harm than good to housing stock.
Mamdani attempted to distance himself from his past support of legislation to decriminalize prostitution and faced criticism from both his opponents on that subject.
Mamdani’s past statements on Israel were another flashpoint during the debate. At one point, Mamdani said, “of course” he supports calling on Hamas to disarm, despite dodging questions on that subject the previous day in an interview with Fox News Channel.
“I have denounced Hamas time and time again and it will never be enough,” Mamdani said.
Republican Curtis Sliwa told Mamdani, “Jews don’t trust…
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