“Who’s going to apply to be a police officer when that’s what the mayor thinks of them?” Cuomo asked in a New York Daily News interview.
Mayor Adams, a former NYPD officer, emphasized unity with law enforcement and recalled the emotional impact the shooting had on him:
“It made me think about losing my own son,” he said.
Both Adams and Cuomo have kept public safety at the core of their campaigns, with Cuomo pledging to hire thousands more police officers.
Past Statements Resurface
In a resurfaced 2020 post during the George Floyd protests, Mamdani wrote:
“We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety… What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD.”
Although Mamdani has since tempered his message, he maintains plans to cut NYPD overtime and dismantle certain units, while proposing a new agency focused on mental health and violence prevention.
Mamdani was also arrested 3 years ago while protesting NYC eviction laws.
Will Crime Reclaim Center Stage?
Violent crime has declined citywide, with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch recently noting 2024 marked the lowest number of shooting victims in NYC history for the first half of the year. Still, experts warn that this recent attack could shift voter concerns.
