US NYC Mayoral Debate FULL Video: Mamdani, Cuomo, Sliwa FACE OFF Over Trump, Hamas In 1st Debate

[0:00] Two-hour debate, live on all NBC New York and Telemundo 47 streaming and digital platforms. [0:06] Politico.com, Telexitos, and YouTube. [0:10] The first hour is also live on Channel 4 and Telemundo 47. [0:14] We do have a few rules for the candidates. [0:16] For traditional question and answer, you'll have one minute to respond, [0:19] and we'll offer 30-second rebuttals at the moderator's discretion. [0:22] We'll also be asking questions where we will be looking for shorter answers. [0:26] We also reserve the right to cut off your microphone [0:29] if you ignore the rules, but candidates, you know we don't want to do that. [0:32] The goal is for you to hear each other and for New Yorkers to hear everything you have to say. [0:37] Good luck. We'll begin with Melissa Russo. [0:39] Thank you, David, and good evening, gentlemen. Thank you for being here. [0:43] We begin tonight by asking you to do what every mayor dreams of, [0:48] and that is to write your own headlines. [0:50] Imagine it's January 2027, and you have been in office for exactly one year. [0:55] We would like you to quickly give us one headline [0:58] about what you think your biggest accomplishment will have been in year number one. [1:03] We'll begin with you, Mr. Cuomo. [1:05] First, thank you very much for sponsoring the debate and having all of us. [1:10] The one headline, how many characters in the headline? [1:13] You know, you're familiar with headline length. [1:16] Rent down, comma. Crime down, comma. [1:20] Education scores up, comma. [1:24] More jobs in New York City, comma. [1:27] I'm getting maybe a little over the average headline. [1:29] But optimism high. [1:31] Thank you. Mr. Sliwa. [1:34] Curtis Sliwa is without his iconic red beret because I'm talking to the people of New York City [1:41] about the really serious issues of affordability, the cost of living, [1:46] and obviously what I spent most of my life doing, which is public safety in the streets and the subway. [1:53] We would love a headline from you. [1:54] What will your headline be, your big headline in year number one as mayor? [1:57] Curtis Sliwa exceeds. [2:00] All expectations and looks very mayoral tonight. [2:05] Mr. Mamdani, you've had some time to think about it now. [2:07] What's your headline? [2:08] It's a pleasure to be here, first of all, and I really want to thank the moderators [2:11] and the opportunity to speak directly to New Yorkers about this moment in time [2:15] and our opportunity to transform the most expensive city in the United States of America. [2:19] The headline would read, in about a year, [2:21] Mamdani continues to take on Trump, delivers on affordability agenda for New Yorkers. [2:25] Thank you, Mr. Mamdani. [2:27] Sally? [2:27] Thank you, Melissa. [2:28] We're going to talk about leadership. [2:30] Voters have reservations about all three of you as chief executive of New York City, [2:35] a city with roughly 300,000 employees and a budget bigger than many countries. [2:40] We have questions for each of you, and Mr. Cuomo, we will begin with you. [2:43] As a former governor of New York, you obviously have the management experience, [2:48] but you resigned from office amid sexual harassment and COVID-related scandals. [2:52] Why should voters now trust that you have the character to be mayor? [2:56] You have one minute. [2:57] Good. [2:57] Thank you very much, and thank you for the question. [3:00] First, you are right. [3:03] I left office. [3:04] There was a report that was done that had allegations of harassment. [3:08] I said at the time it was a political report and that there was no basis to it. [3:14] It was then sent to five district attorneys. [3:16] They all reviewed it. [3:17] They found nothing. [3:18] It was then litigated for five years. [3:21] I was dropped from the cases. [3:23] So none of that came to anything. [3:26] When it comes to executive experience, [3:28] I've run the Department of Housing and Urban Development, [3:31] built housing all across the nation. [3:33] I was governor for 11 years. [3:35] The budget is double what it is in New York City, [3:38] and I got government to work. [3:40] I passed groundbreaking laws, [3:42] minimum wage, paid family leave, [3:44] built projects that had never been built before. [3:48] This is no job for on-the-job training. [3:51] And if you look at the failed mayors, [3:53] they're ones that have no management experience. [3:56] Don't do it again. [3:57] Thank you. [3:59] Ms. Serena? [4:00] Thank you, Sally. [4:01] On the theme of leadership, Mr. Mondani, [4:03] you work as a foreclosure prevention counselor [4:06] for a winning seat in the State Assembly. [4:09] You have no substantial management experience. [4:12] How are you ready to lead the nation's largest [4:16] and greatest city in the world in one day? [4:20] You have a minute. [4:21] You know, I have the experience of having served [4:24] in the New York State Assembly for five years [4:26] and watching a broken political system, [4:28] the experience of seeing a governor in Antioch, [4:30] a governor in Andrew Cuomo, [4:32] who would rather have served his billionaire donors [4:34] and the working class New Yorkers who voted for him, [4:36] and the experience amidst all of that [4:38] of fighting and winning for working class taxi drivers [4:41] to free them from predatory debt [4:43] and delivering the first free bus lines in New York City history [4:46] and working with unions and working class New Yorkers [4:49] to finally raise taxes just that little bit [4:51] on Mr. Cuomo's donors to start to fully fund our public school. [4:55] And more than that, I have the experience of being a New Yorker, [4:58] someone who has actually paid rent in the city [5:00] before I ran for mayor, [5:02] someone who has had to wait for a bus that never came, [5:05] someone who actually buys his groceries in this same city. [5:08] And what all of that experience has shown me, [5:10] which Mr. Cuomo can't seem to understand, [5:12] is that it is far too expensive and far too hard [5:16] for New Yorkers to afford to live in this city. [5:18] And the definition of experience is not doing the same thing again and again [5:21] and hoping for a different result. [5:23] That's actually the definition of insanity. [5:25] If I can, I think I was invoked. [5:28] In other words, what the Assemblyman said is he has no experience. [5:32] And this is not a job for someone who has no management experience [5:35] to run 300,000 people, no financial experience to run $115 billion budget. [5:40] He literally has never had a job. [5:43] On his resume, it says he interned for his mother. [5:46] This is not a job for a first-timer. [5:49] Any day, you could have a hurricane, [5:51] you could have, God forbid, a 9-11, a health pandemic. [5:55] If you don't know what you're doing... [5:57] Thank you, Mr. Cuomo. [5:58] Mr. Mondani, would you want to respond? [6:00] And if we have a health pandemic, [6:01] then why would New Yorkers turn back to the governor [6:03] who sent seniors to their death in nursing homes? [6:05] That's the kind of experience that's on offer here today. [6:08] What I don't have an experience, I make up for in integrity. [6:10] And what you don't have in integrity, [6:11] you could never make up for in experience. [6:13] May I? [6:14] First, what you said was totally false, as you know. [6:17] Which part was false? [6:19] During COVID, everyone did whatever they could in this state. [6:23] And there have been numerous investigations [6:25] where they've gone through it [6:27] and they said we followed federal guidance. [6:30] But yes, people died during COVID. [6:32] And my heart breaks for everyone that died in this state [6:37] and across this nation. [6:39] But just to be clear, Mr., just to fact-check that, [6:41] there is a criminal investigation reportedly underway at the DOJ [6:46] about your testimony to Congress about your nursing home record. [6:49] Yeah, but that is a political issue with the Congress. [6:53] They made a referral, [6:55] which has gone absolutely nowhere. [6:56] But there have been multiple investigations [6:59] where the DOJ found that the nursing home investigation [7:04] was politically motivated. [7:06] Okay, we're going to move on. [7:07] We might have time to come back to it. [7:09] I do need to move on to Mr. Sliwa. [7:10] Yeah, but may I just finish my rebuttal? [7:12] But the assemblyman still says he has no experience to do the job. [7:19] Okay, thank you, Mr. Cuomo. [7:20] Mr. Sliwa, as founder of the Guardian Angels [7:23] and as a radio host, [7:25] you've been a well-known figure in New York. [7:26] Thank you. [7:27] You've been in New York City for decades. [7:29] But you also lack substantial management experience. [7:32] So how are you prepared to be the chief executive officer of New York City? [7:37] You have one minute, Mr. Sliwa. [7:40] First of all, I created the Guardian Angels [7:42] to provide public safety in the subways and streets [7:45] when government was incapable of doing so. [7:47] I didn't do it to get a title or a paycheck. [7:50] Secondarily, I don't declare myself to be all-knowing. [7:54] I will hire the very brightest and best in their fields, [7:57] who have dedicated their lives [8:00] to trying to improve the city of New York, [8:03] or the state, [8:04] or the federal government, [8:05] or the private sector. [8:07] But what I will say is, [8:08] thank God I'm not a professional politician. [8:11] We have the architect [8:13] and we have the apprentice of No Cash Fail, [8:16] which has been a disaster. [8:17] We have the architect and the apprentice here of Raise the Age. [8:21] My own son was almost killed because of that in a gang attack. [8:25] We have the architect [8:26] and we have the apprentice of Close Rikers Island, [8:29] which would just release criminals in the street. [8:32] Thank God I'm not a professional politician [8:35] because they have helped create this crime crisis [8:38] in this city that we face, [8:40] and I will resolve it. [8:41] Thank you, Mr. Sliwa. [8:42] Thank you, Mr. Sliwa. [8:43] Candidates, [8:44] President Trump has expressed intense interest [8:47] in this election and in all of you personally. [8:50] Mr. Mamdani, the president called you, quote, [8:52] my little communist. [8:55] Mr. Sliwa, he said your, quote, [8:56] not exactly prime time. [8:58] Mr. Cuomo, he has been critical of you, [9:00] but said you have always gotten along. [9:02] The president has threatened to cut federal funds to the city. [9:06] And just yesterday, he killed the Gateway Project, [9:08] the tunnel connecting New York to New Jersey. [9:11] You've all promised to resist him in some way. [9:14] What would you say in your first official call with the president [9:17] to set the tone for your relationship moving forward? [9:20] We'll give you a minute for this. [9:21] We'll start with you, Mr. Mamdani. [9:22] I would make it clear to the president [9:25] that I am willing to not only speak to him, [9:27] but to work with him if it means delivering [9:29] on lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers. [9:32] That's something that he ran his presidential campaign on. [9:34] And yet all he's been able to deliver thus far [9:36] has been prosecuting his political enemies [9:39] and trying to enact the largest deportation program [9:42] in American history. [9:44] And what distinguishes me from Andrew Cuomo [9:46] is the fact that he has gotten on the phone [9:48] with that same president, [9:49] not asking him how to work together to help New Yorkers [9:52] or not telling him that he would refuse to back down [9:54] to protect those New Yorkers, [9:56] but instead asking him how to win this race. [9:59] That's something I can do myself. [10:00] I don't need the president's assistance for. [10:02] And what I tell the president is if he ever wants to come [10:04] for New Yorkers in the way that he has been, [10:06] he's going to have to get through me [10:07] as the next mayor of this city. [10:08] All right. [10:10] Mr. Cuomo, we'll give you a little extra time, [10:12] but I'd like you to answer this question as well, [10:13] what your first conversation with the president would be like. [10:15] Okay. [10:16] First, I never had a conversation with the president [10:18] that the assembly was talking about. [10:21] But he has a distant relationship with the truth. [10:25] I would say to the president, [10:26] in the first conversation, [10:27] look, we have had many, many battles. [10:30] I fought with, we fought together every day during COVID. [10:34] And the battles were bloody. [10:37] And I'd like to avoid them. [10:39] You know, if you come after New York, [10:41] you know what I'm going to do. [10:43] You know, it's going to be ugly. [10:45] And you know, my chances are almost 50-50, [10:49] even though you're the president. [10:50] I'd like to work with you. [10:53] I think we can do good things together. [10:55] But number one, [10:56] I will fight you every step of the way [10:59] if you try to hurt New York. [11:00] Unless he weaponizes the justice system [11:02] to go after the attorney general of this state, [11:04] in which case you'll issue a statement [11:06] that doesn't even name the president. [11:08] And no matter what you think about Donald Trump, [11:10] you know that not even being able to name him [11:12] is an act of cowardice. [11:13] And that's what we would see [11:14] from Donald Trump's puppet on the right-of-way. [11:15] All right. [11:16] I do want to get into Sliwa, [11:17] but Mr. Cuomo, I'll give you a few seconds [11:18] to respond to that. [11:19] Yeah. [11:20] I did mention, I said, [11:21] political weaponization of the justice system is wrong. [11:24] Both sides do it. [11:25] It's wrong when Donald Trump does it. [11:27] It's wrong when they did it to Comey. [11:29] It's wrong when Comey did it to Hillary. [11:31] It was wrong when it happened to Tish James. [11:33] Thank you, Mr. Cuomo. [11:34] I want to give Mr. Sliwa a chance to answer this. [11:36] Mr. Sliwa, your first official conversation [11:38] with the president. [11:39] What would you say to set the tone? [11:40] Well, first of all, [11:41] there's high levels of testosterone in this room. [11:44] I've had a love-hate relationship with Donald Trump [11:46] that goes back over 30 years. [11:48] But I know one thing. [11:50] We have Andrew Cuomo. [11:52] We have John Mondami. [11:53] They want to take on Donald Trump. [11:55] Look, you can be tough, [11:57] but you can't be tough [11:59] if it's going to cost people [12:01] desperately needed federal funds. [12:03] John Mondami, the president, has already said [12:05] he's going to take $7 billion out of the budget [12:08] right from the start if you're elected mayor. [12:10] People are going to suffer in this city. [12:13] People who need those federal funds. [12:15] What I would do is sit and negotiate. [12:17] I would say, look, Mr. President, [12:19] we need that gateway tunnel. [12:21] It moves millions of people [12:22] from Washington, D.C. to Boston. [12:24] But take away [12:25] the Q-Train project. [12:27] We don't need those three stations [12:29] going from 96th Street to 125th. [12:32] It's not a necessity. [12:33] Sit with the president [12:34] and whoever he delegates [12:36] and try to negotiate. [12:37] But if you try to get tough with Trump, [12:39] the only people who are going to suffer from that [12:42] are the people of New York City. [12:43] Okay, Mr. Sliwa, thank you. [12:44] Brief response, Mr. Mondami. [12:46] You know, Mr. Trump is already suspending [12:48] infrastructure grants to this city. [12:50] And he's doing it in a blatant act [12:52] of political retribution. [12:53] And what it requires [12:54] is leadership that will stand up to him. [12:56] And I disagree with Mr. Sliwa. [12:58] We do need to extend [12:59] the Second Avenue subway [13:00] to 125th Street. [13:01] It was a promise made [13:02] to Harlemites decades ago. [13:04] It's time to actually fulfill it. [13:05] Thank you, Mr. Mondami. [13:06] Okay, quick question. [13:07] Do I get 50? [13:08] Quick question for each of you. [13:09] Mr. Cuomo, you've been asked this before. [13:11] He mentioned my name. [13:12] Don't I get a chance to respond? [13:13] Well, we got a lot of ground [13:14] to cover, Mr. Sliwa. [13:15] All right, can I respond? [13:16] When was the last time [13:17] you spoke with President Trump, Mr. Cuomo? [13:19] You've been asked this before. [13:20] And the last time you said [13:21] you couldn't remember? [13:23] I believe it was during [13:24] his assassination attempt. [13:26] So last year in 2024. [13:28] Mr. Sliwa, when was the last time [13:30] you spoke with President Trump? [13:31] Oh, many years ago. [13:33] We were receiving awards. [13:35] I was praising him for saving [13:38] the annual Veterans Day parade. [13:41] Those were the conversations [13:42] that I had with him. [13:43] Mr. Mondami, have you... [13:44] Please respond. [13:45] I was asked about the Q train. [13:46] Okay, real quick. [13:47] Mr. Mondami? [13:48] I am the mayor of mass transit. [13:50] We do not need a Q train. [13:51] I'm in the subways every day. [13:53] We have more than a capable system [13:55] of transporting people. [13:56] Thank you, Mr. Sliwa. [13:57] The infrastructure needs to be fixed [13:59] in the system that we have. [14:00] Mr. Mondami, have you ever spoken [14:02] with President Trump? [14:03] No. [14:04] Okay, there you go. [14:06] Sally. [14:07] Thank you. [14:08] Mr. Cuomo, a follow-up to that. [14:09] President Trump has spoken positively [14:11] about you and your candidacy, [14:13] even as his Justice Department, [14:14] as we've noted, [14:15] is reportedly investigating you [14:17] for allegations you lied to Congress [14:19] over your COVID record. [14:20] Given that dynamic, [14:22] how would you be able to stand up [14:23] to this White House? [14:24] How are you not compromised? [14:26] And just take into account [14:27] the New Yorkers are troubled [14:28] by what they view [14:29] as a compromised relationship [14:30] the current outgoing mayor [14:31] has with the president. [14:32] Yeah. [14:33] First, you're wrong when you say [14:34] there's any investigation of me. [14:37] That's not true. [14:38] Do you have evidence [14:39] there is no investigation? [14:40] I've heard absolutely nothing. [14:41] Congress did a press release. [14:43] They said they sent the letter [14:44] to the Department of Justice, [14:46] which they do routinely [14:48] to generate press, [14:49] and that's what that is. [14:52] I have been... [14:53] I fought Donald Trump. [14:55] He investigated me repeatedly [14:57] with the Department of Justice. [14:59] The Department of Justice [15:01] Inspector General said that [15:03] it was actually politically motivated. [15:05] That does not back me up. [15:07] When I'm fighting for New York, [15:09] I am not going to stop. [15:10] And I'll tell you something else. [15:11] If the Assemblyman is elected mayor, [15:14] Donald Trump will take over [15:15] New York City, [15:16] and it will be Mayor Trump [15:18] who runs New York City. [15:19] We have to move on. [15:20] Just a very quick follow-up. [15:21] Yes or no? [15:22] You're saying unequivocally [15:23] the Justice Department [15:24] is not investigating you, correct? [15:26] I have one... [15:27] I've heard absolutely nothing. [15:29] They could be, [15:30] and you might not have heard it, [15:31] but okay, we'll move on. [15:32] David? [15:33] Okay. [15:35] Thank you, Sally. [15:36] That is virtually impossible, [15:37] by the way. [15:38] Okay. [15:39] So, Mr. Conway, [15:40] you did put out an ad [15:41] the day after the news first broke [15:42] in the New York Times [15:43] that you were under investigation, [15:44] calling it a political investigation, [15:45] saying they were coming after you [15:46] as they had to, you know, [15:48] after other Democratic politicians. [15:50] You haven't denied this previously. [15:51] That the Republican Congress was. [15:52] Yes. [15:53] I believe they play politics [15:54] with the justice system. [15:55] Okay. [15:56] I believe [15:57] the Republican Congress does it. [15:58] Okay. [15:59] I believe Donald Trump does it. [16:00] Okay. [16:01] I believe the Democrats do it. [16:02] And that's why I think people [16:03] are sick and tired... [16:04] Thank you, Mr. Conway. [16:05] ...of the justice system [16:06] and the politics. [16:07] Thank you, Mr. Conway. [16:08] If you think that there's no difference [16:09] between the Democratic Party [16:10] and the Republican Party, [16:11] then that's the candidate for you. [16:12] If you think it's time [16:13] to have a Democratic Party [16:14] that actually stands up [16:15] to Donald Trump [16:16] and his billionaire-backed [16:17] assault on working people... [16:18] All right. [16:19] Thank you. [16:20] Thank you, Mr. Conway. [16:21] Candidates, we have to... [16:22] You're not a Democrat. [16:23] You're a Democratic socialist. [16:24] All right. [16:25] Candidates, we have other... [16:26] You did vote for Kamala Harris, right? [16:27] No. [16:28] We have other ground to cover. [16:29] No, no. [16:30] We have other ground to cover. [16:31] That's an incendiary charge. [16:32] I want to be very... [16:33] You may have a chance [16:34] to address it, but we do... [16:35] I'll be very quick. [16:36] We have a lot of issues [16:37] to get to with New Yorkers, [16:38] Mr. Van Damme. [16:39] I'll be very quick. [16:40] You didn't say leave it blank [16:41] in the Kamala campaign? [16:42] I'll be very quick. [16:43] I said leave it blank [16:44] in the presidential primary [16:45] because primaries are a place [16:46] to air dissent. [16:47] Okay. [16:48] And like many Americans, [16:49] I was horrified [16:50] to hear this. [16:51] Now, if you're going to [16:52] turn me on the ballot, [16:53] you'll find me as the Democrat. [16:54] Okay, Mr. Van Damme, [16:55] thank you. [16:56] General, we have to move on. [16:57] This week, the world is reacting [16:58] to President Trump's [16:59] Israel-Hamas peace deal [17:00] and the release of the hostages. [17:01] And many are cautiously optimistic [17:03] about a lasting peace. [17:04] Of course, the mayor has [17:06] no direct role in foreign affairs. [17:08] And we certainly have [17:09] a lot of questions for you [17:10] about city matters. [17:11] But this war has been [17:13] a major topic in the campaign. [17:15] And there are criticisms [17:16] about your positions in the past [17:18] and how you envision leading [17:19] on these issues as mayor. [17:21] So we have questions for all of you, but first for Mr. Mamdani, because of something you [17:26] said that's been generating headlines in the news today as we come into the debate yesterday [17:30] on Fox News. [17:32] You were asked if Hamas should lay down its weapons, key to the peace plan, and ceasefire. [17:37] And some say they found your answer confusing. [17:39] You said, quote, I don't really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond [17:44] the question of justice and safety and the fact that anything has to abide by international [17:49] law. [17:51] That applies to Hamas and that applies to the Israeli military. [17:54] So for the voters tuning in tonight, Mr. Mamdani, what do you believe about Hamas and how lasting [17:59] peace will be achieved? [18:02] We know it's a complicated matter, but we'd like you to keep your answer to a minute if [18:05] you could. [18:06] Of course, I believe that they should lay down their arms. [18:08] I'm proud to be one of the first elected officials in the state who called for a ceasefire. [18:13] And calling for a ceasefire means seizing fire. [18:16] That means all parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons. [18:20] And the reason that we call for that. [18:22] Is not only for the end of the genocide, but also an unimpeded access of humanitarian [18:27] aid. [18:28] I, like many New Yorkers, am hopeful that this ceasefire will hold. [18:32] I'm hopeful that it is durable. [18:34] I'm hopeful that it is just. [18:35] And for it to be just, we also have to ensure that it addresses the conditions that preceded [18:41] this. [18:42] Conditions like occupation, like the siege and apartheid. [18:45] And that is what I'm hopeful for. [18:46] Yeah. [18:47] If I may. [18:48] That means from the river to the sea. [18:50] Excuse me. [18:51] I want to rationalize out of this. [18:53] I'm sorry. [18:54] Excuse me, Andrew. [18:55] It's a debate of three. [18:56] Do we acknowledge that? [18:58] Three people? [18:59] Mr. Sleeper, go ahead. [19:00] And we'll give you a second. [19:01] Go ahead, Mr. Sleeper. [19:02] The president of the United States should have been applauded by you, Zohar Mandami, [19:06] and you, Andrew Cuomo, on the day that he brought together that international coalition [19:10] that met in Egypt, that came from the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. [19:14] I certainly applauded him for bringing peace to Gaza and trying to end the hostilities in [19:20] the war. [19:21] But I also applauded him for bringing peace between the Israelis and Hamas, so there can [19:24] be peace between the Israelis and peace between the Palestinians. [19:28] But you seem, Zohar, to be incapable of praising our president and, Andrew, you were incapable [19:34] of praising our president. [19:35] Gentlemen, we have... [19:36] Give credit where credit is due. [19:37] He's brought peace to Gaza. [19:39] Gentlemen, we want to hear everything you have to say. [19:41] We have other questions as a matter. [19:42] Mr. Cuomo, please, brief response, because you do have other questions on this issue [19:45] that you may be able to address. [19:46] Yes. [19:47] Go ahead. [19:48] I did applaud President Trump and his administration. [19:50] I think it was a great accomplishment. [19:51] I hope the peace holds. [19:53] The Assemblyman will not denounce Hamas. [19:55] The Assemblyman will not denounce Hasan Piker, who said America deserved 9-11. [20:01] The Assemblyman just said in his response, well, it depends on occupation. [20:07] That is code, meaning that Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state, which [20:14] he has never acknowledged. [20:16] That is from the river to the sea. [20:18] That's why he won't denounce globalize the Intifada. [20:21] Which means kill all Jews. [20:23] Let's give Mr. Mamdani a chance to respond to that. [20:25] I want to be very clear. [20:26] The occupation is a reference to international law and the violation of it, which Mr. Cuomo [20:32] has no regard for since he signed up to be Benjamin Netanyahu's legal defense team during [20:37] the course of this genocide. [20:39] And I find the comments that Hasan made on 9-11 to be objectionable and reprehensible. [20:45] And I also think that part of the reason why Democrats are in the situation that we are [20:49] in of being a permanent minority in this country. [20:51] Is we are looking only to speak to journalists and streamers and Americans with whom we agree [20:56] of every single thing that they say. [20:58] We need to take the case to every person and I'm happy to do that, which is why I was on [21:03] Fox News yesterday talking about how I wish it was more like NASCAR so we could see all [21:06] the billionaires who are sponsoring you right on your suit jacket. [21:09] And Melissa has another question. [21:10] We're going to turn it to Sally, actually. [21:11] Yeah, actually, this kind of flows and then we'll go back to Melissa. [21:14] Mr. Mamdani, you told NBC's Meet the Press that you don't believe it's the role of the [21:18] mayor to police speech. [21:20] Your words about this war. [21:21] Have comforted many New Yorkers, but they've troubled others. [21:24] And I want to ask about some of this. [21:27] There is your recent refusal, as we just discussed, to condemn the slogan, Globalize the Intifada, [21:31] which many view as a call to arms. [21:33] In 2017, you wrapped lyrics praising the Holy Land Five. [21:37] These are men who were convicted of supporting terrorism. [21:41] How would you assure New Yorkers, especially Jewish residents who might be concerned about [21:45] this, that you would be a mayor for all? [21:47] You have one minute to answer this. [21:49] Thank you for this opportunity. [21:52] When I am speaking about the responsibility of leading this city, I mean leading not just [21:58] those who voted for me, leading not just those who vote, but leading every single person [22:03] who calls the city home. [22:05] And that includes Jewish New Yorkers. [22:07] And I have been so thankful for the opportunity I've had to sit with so many Jewish New Yorkers [22:11] over the course of the primary and through the general. [22:14] And it's in those conversations that I learned that this phrase evokes many painful memories, [22:19] memories of bus attacks in Haifa. [22:21] Restaurant attacks. [22:22] Bus attacks in Jerusalem. [22:24] And I heard from a rabbi about their roommate who was killed on one of those buses. [22:28] And in hearing that and the distance between that impact and the rationale that some use [22:33] of saying it, of speaking about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, is why I said [22:37] that I would discourage this language, language that I do not use. [22:40] And what I'm looking to do as the first Muslim mayor of this city is to ensure that we bring [22:44] every New Yorker together, Jewish New Yorkers, Muslim New Yorkers, every single person that [22:49] calls the city home, that they understand they won't just be protected, but they will [22:52] belong. [22:53] Where is that? [22:54] Mr. Sliwa, we will get to you first. [22:55] I'm going to ask a question of Mr. Cuomo. [22:56] While you are a strong supporter of Israel, you have also been slow to develop a relationship [23:02] with the city's Muslim community. [23:05] You have called Mr. Mamdani a terrorist sympathizer. [23:08] How do you assure those New Yorkers, especially Muslims and Arabic New Yorkers, that you will [23:14] be a mayor for all? [23:16] You'll have one minute. [23:17] Yeah. [23:18] Well, first, I think the assemblymen created the perception himself. [23:22] Why wouldn't he condemn Hamas? [23:24] Why wouldn't he condemn Hassan Piker? [23:26] Why did it take us here tonight for the first time for him to say it? [23:30] He still won't denounce, globalize the Intifada, which means kill all Jews. [23:35] Just say, I denounce it. [23:37] He won't do it. [23:39] That's the issue. [23:40] And his divisiveness is chronic. [23:41] Mr. Cuomo, can you address the question that we're bringing to you? [23:42] I think you've made the point, but can you please answer about your own relationship [23:46] with the Muslim community? [23:47] You did not visit mosques for many years. [23:49] More recently, you have been. [23:50] Yeah. [23:51] I don't think in any way the assemblymen is representative of the Muslim community, [23:57] which is a vital community in New York City. [24:01] And I am very fond of and I've been working with. [24:05] I think he's playing his own politics. [24:08] Many of his positions don't even follow the Muslim faith. [24:12] So I see them as two totally separate things. [24:15] Mr. Mamdani, you want to respond? [24:17] You know, it took Andrew Cuomo being beaten by a Muslim candidate in the Democratic primary [24:21] for him to set foot in a mosque. [24:23] He had more than 10 years and he couldn't name a single mosque at the last debate we [24:27] had that he visited. [24:28] And what Muslims want in this city is what every community wants and deserves. [24:32] They want equality and they want respect. [24:34] And it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city. [24:39] And that, frankly, is something that is shameful and is why so many New Yorkers have lost faith [24:43] in this politics. [24:44] Yeah. [24:45] Except, you know, I worked with the Muslim community for many, many years. [24:49] Name. [24:50] Can you name a single mosque you went to when you were the governor? [24:53] Can you name a single mosque you went to in 10 years? [24:54] Before you were ever here. [24:57] Before I was here. [24:58] Before you were even in the state government, I worked with the Muslim community. [25:01] Imams presided over state of the states. [25:05] We worked in religious working groups, tolerance groups, anti-Semitic groups, etc. [25:10] All right, gentlemen. [25:11] Mr. Sliwa, Rosarito has a specific question for you, but I'll give you a second. [25:15] This is what disturbs me about you. [25:18] You will be celebrating your birthday this weekend. [25:20] In 1991, I was in the streets of Crown Heights with the Guardian Angels for 30 days and 30 [25:27] nights when the first democratic socialist mayor of New York City. [25:31] That's right. [25:32] David Dinkins was a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America abandoned the Jews for [25:37] three days. [25:38] They were left to their own means, and we protected them for 30 days and 30 nights. [25:43] Then your favorite mayor Bill de Blasio in 2019 abandoned the Jews again when they were [25:49] being attacked. [25:50] Williamsburg and Pearl Park and Crown Heights. [25:52] And I had to bring the guardian angels in for 30 days, 30 nights. [25:55] Jews don't trust that you are going to be there for them when they are victims of anti-Semitic attacks. [26:02] OK, brief response, Mr. Mamdani. [26:04] We have a specific question for you from Rosarito. [26:07] But Mr. Mamdani, please. [26:07] I agree, by the way. [26:09] 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. [26:17] Jewish New Yorkers who've told me about the door that they've had to lock that they had kept open for 40 years. [26:23] 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. [26:31] Jewish New Yorkers who've told me about their fear in living in this city. [26:35] And I will be a mayor who finally addresses that, not through the theatrics of the politics on this stage, but through action. [26:41] I'll do that by ensuring that we have police officers outside of synagogues in the high holy days. [26:46] Gentlemen, we have a lot to do. [26:47] And we do have a specific question for Mr. Sliwa. [26:50] Rosarito. [26:51] Thank you, David. [26:51] Mr. Sliwa, you've called for tougher policing of pro-Palestinian protests. [26:56] And you've suggested that Mr. Mamdani uses languages that is anti-Semitic. [27:01] How do you assure New Yorkers that you'll be the mayor for all? [27:07] Well, I've been there for all people at all times for 46 years as leader of the Guardian Angels here and around the world. [27:13] Whether it is a religious violation of people's rights to worship. [27:18] Yes. [27:19] Whether they choose in a mosque, in a church, in a synagogue or a shul, whether it's because of racial identity. [27:26] Remember, in the summer of 2020, Asians were under constant attack because of the lockdown and pandemic. [27:34] I don't remember Governor Cuomo coming to their aid. [27:36] You were the governor then. [27:38] I was out there going into all the neighborhoods, Flushing, Bayside. [27:42] We were in down in Bensonhurst. [27:46] We were in Chinatown itself. [27:49] And the Asians were being attacked indiscriminately because they were thought to be carrying COVID. [27:54] We protected them then. [27:55] Governor, you were not there for them. [27:58] De Blasio was not there for them. [28:00] We understand hate. [28:02] 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. [28:09] Jews are under attack now more than ever before. [28:13] And I don't believe either of you have the capability of protecting them with increased anti-Semitism. [28:19] That is pure fiction. [28:20] I passed the no hate in our state, the strongest hate crime law in the United States of America. [28:27] We tolerate no hatred, no discrimination. [28:30] We are from every place on this globe. [28:34] Unless it's you that's perpetrating it. [28:35] Excuse me. And we're tolerant and we accept. [28:39] If you notice, the assemblyman still won't say he believes that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. [28:45] He is a divisive personality all across the board. [28:49] He is a racist. [28:50] Barack Obama is evil liar. [28:52] And he gave the finger to the Christopher Columbus. [28:55] By the way, by the way, your laws with no cash [28:59] bail, turn the haters right back in the streets to violate and attack again and again and again. [29:04] Thank you. You're the reason for that. [29:06] No cash. Thank you. [29:07] You don't know. I just thank you. [29:09] There have been a number of absolutely [29:11] unfounded lies that have been said by Andrew Komar, just like a moment to address them directly. [29:16] I've said time and again that I recognize Israel's [29:18] right to exist. I've said that I will not recognize. [29:21] And I said that I will not have a Jewish state if I would be allowed to finish, [29:25] that I would not recognize any states right to exist with a system of hierarchy [29:30] on the basis of race, of religion. I have made that very clear. [29:33] And part of that is because I'm an American who believes in the importance [29:36] of equal rights being enshrined in every single country, whether we're speaking [29:40] about Israel or whether we're speaking about Saudi Arabia. [29:42] You can stand here and you can lie all you want. [29:44] But New York, we have a question. [29:46] We want to address some issues. [29:48] All right. And we have another polarizing [29:50] issue that we would love to discuss with you candidates. [29:53] And let's talk about the National Guard here in the city of New York. [29:57] Now, let's go back to Mr. President Donald Trump. [30:00] One threat hanging over the city is the deployment of the National Guard troops [30:05] like he has done, as you all know, in other cities. [30:08] The NYPD commissioner has rejected the idea as unnecessary. [30:13] But the president ordered troops to hit the streets of New York. [30:17] Now, how would you respond? [30:19] Mr. [30:20] Sliwa, you have a minute. [30:22] There's no need for the National Guard in New York. [30:25] Kathy Hochul, the governor, when we had a crime crisis in the subway, [30:29] said, I'm well familiar with being down there all the time. [30:32] Unlike my two adversaries, [30:34] she sent 750 National Guardsmen down into the subways in twenty twenty four. [30:39] Remember the horrible case of Dabrina Kawar? [30:43] Does anybody even say her name anymore? [30:45] That woman was set on fire by that migrant. [30:48] As a result of that, [30:49] the worst crime I've ever seen committed in the subway system. [30:54] The governor did the right thing. [30:55] She sent an additional two hundred and fifty National Guardsmen, [30:58] giving us a total of a thousand National Guardsmen in the subway system. [31:02] While our mayor, Eric Adams, was telling us it was all a perception. [31:06] So Governor Hochul has responded. [31:09] I would tell the president of the United States, since I'm familiar with cities [31:13] all across America, having guardian angels there. [31:16] If you were going to send the National Guard, you don't need to send them [31:19] to New York City. There are other cities that could [31:21] desperately use their help in dealing with their crime crisis. [31:24] Thank you, Mr. Sliwa. [31:26] Mr. Mamdani, how would you respond? [31:28] You know, I agree with Police Commissioner [31:30] Tish and that we do not need the National Guard here in New York City. [31:33] We do not need them for the purpose of safety, because if it was safety [31:37] that President Trump was so concerned about, he would send them to the eight [31:40] out of 10 states that have the highest levels of crime in this country. [31:43] But he won't because they're all run by Republicans. [31:46] What New Yorkers need is a mayor who can [31:49] stand up to Donald Trump and actually deliver on that safety. [31:52] When Donald Trump sent ICE agents on people in Los Angeles, [31:55] Andrew Cuomo said that New Yorkers need not overreact. [31:59] That is the furthest answer that New Yorkers are looking for. [32:02] They are looking for someone who will lead, someone who will say that they will [32:05] have their back, someone who will actually fight for the people of the city. [32:08] And that's who I am, because I'm not funded by the same donors that gave us [32:12] Donald Trump's second term, which isn't something that Andrew Cuomo can say. [32:15] Thank you, Mr. Mamdani. [32:16] First, the answer in the subways is not more national. [32:19] Guard. I put National Guard in the subways. [32:21] Also, it's more NYPD is the answer. [32:23] But the National Guard is not he's not [32:26] sending in the National Guard to do any real function. [32:30] It's control. It's power. [32:32] He's trying to say these Democrats don't know how to run these cities. [32:35] And it's a political gesture by sending in the National Guard. [32:38] He has said if the Assemblyman is elected, he will take over New York. [32:44] Forget the National Guard. [32:45] But this is the question. [32:46] The question is, if they order the troops to come [32:48] back, what will they do? [32:50] The well, I went through this with him. [32:53] He sent the National Guard to 20 cities when I was governor. [32:57] You know what city he didn't he didn't send them to New York. [33:00] Why? Because I said to him, don't you dare. [33:03] We don't need it. [33:04] And he backed down and he will again. [33:06] So that proves a good relationship. [33:08] The president is going to back down to you, Andrew Cuomo. [33:11] I know you think you're the toughest guy alive. [33:15] But let me tell you something. [33:17] You lost your own primary. Right. [33:19] You were rejected by your Democrats. [33:21] Why do you have a difficult understanding of that? [33:25] What the term is, you're not going to stand up to Donald Trump. [33:29] And I agree with Curtis. [33:30] You're not going to stand up to Donald Trump. [33:32] OK, and he can't stand up to Donald Trump. [33:35] Who knocked him right out of this? [33:36] We have to negotiate with him. [33:38] You don't fight with only the people of New York City. [33:41] We will have to negotiate with a follow up. [33:45] I'd like to see a show of hands. [33:47] Are there any circumstances where [33:49] you would allow the NYPD to cooperate with the National Guard if Trump sent them [33:54] to New York? Show of hands. Yes. [33:57] No takers. OK, moving on. [33:59] If history is a guide, National Guard troops in the city could trigger protests. [34:04] And we have questions for each of you about how you would handle that. [34:07] So, Mr. Sliwa, you have been arrested [34:10] for protesting migrant housing and for trying to serve Mayor Bill de Blasio [34:15] with court papers. How would your NYPD handle protests? [34:19] And would you continue participating in protests as mayor? [34:22] You have one minute. [34:24] Well, I have been arrested oftentimes in civil disobedience. [34:28] That is a great American right. [34:30] But demonstrations have a time and a place. [34:33] And it used to be before Bill de Blasio. [34:35] I know he was your favorite mayor. [34:37] So I'm on dummy. You'd have to get a permit. [34:39] There's a time period. [34:40] You were in a structured area. [34:42] You get a sound permit to be turned around in a day. [34:45] If there was going to be civil disobedience, you discussed it with the police department. [34:49] And obviously you had an opportunity [34:51] of expressing your anger or your outrage at whatever it was that motivated you [34:57] to sit down in the street to block traffic or block an egress. [35:01] Now we have rampaging groups to go running through the streets that enter all kinds [35:07] of facilities and violate other people's rights. [35:09] And there's no one who's willing to stop it. [35:12] When I'm the mayor, there are rules and regulations. [35:15] Everybody has the right to demonstrate, but you can't violate other people's rights. [35:19] Or you yourself must be arrested. [35:22] And I would remove the face coverings. [35:25] Remove those face coverings. [35:27] Why are you afraid of identifying who you are as a demonstrator? [35:31] Unless maybe you're an agent provocateur who's been sent in here to cause chaos. [35:36] Thank you, Rosarino. [35:37] The next question goes to you, Mr. Mamdani. [35:39] You were arrested for blocking traffic in a pro-Palestinian protest. [35:43] And you participated in a sit-in at Grand Central. [35:47] Protesters offered block streets, [35:49] bridges, and hubs like Grand Central. [35:53] How much of that would you allow as mayor? [35:55] And what's your line in having the NYPD arrest protesters? [36:00] You have a minute. [36:01] Protest is a part of what makes this city's history what it is. [36:07] It is a part of the First Amendment. [36:08] We deserve to have a mayor who stands up [36:10] for that First Amendment, especially as we have a president [36:13] that's looking to shred it at each and every opportunity. [36:16] And we will continue to have protests in this city, as we should, no matter who is [36:20] the mayor. And the line will be on the question of breaking the law. [36:24] What we have today, however, is an attempt to intimidate so many who are [36:28] looking to use that freedom of expression to share their opinions about the city [36:33] and the world around them. And to be frank with you, [36:35] what New Yorkers are looking for is someone who can show leadership in City Hall. [36:41] Because when they don't see that leadership, that's when so many take to the streets. [36:44] And if you had a leader like Andrew Cuomo, who was telling people not to overreact [36:49] when they see ICE agents [36:50] abducting girls as young as six years old to deport them, many New Yorkers will [36:54] take to the streets. We deserve to have a leader who will [36:57] actually be following through on the values of the city. [37:00] That's the leader that I'll be. [37:01] Mr. Mandani, just a quick follow up. [37:03] If you're elected, would you still participate in protests? [37:06] If I'm elected, I'll be the mayor and I'll be leading the city from City Hall. [37:09] But no participation in protests, right? [37:12] The important thing is to lead from City Hall. [37:14] That's what I'll be doing. [37:15] Yeah. If I may respond, because I believe my name was invoked. [37:18] A very brief response and then a question. [37:20] Yeah, I dealt with ICE. [37:22] I stood up with ICE. [37:23] I had a war with ICE when I was governor and I stood them down and they moved out. [37:30] What the assemblymen are saying is he doesn't believe in law and order. [37:34] He believes in defunding the police, disarming the police, disbanding the police. [37:38] That's who he is. [37:39] Abolish jails. [37:40] So I have a question for you. [37:42] Fifteen seconds. Very quickly. [37:44] And then we do just 15 seconds because we have a question for Mr. [37:46] Mr. Cuomo lies again and again and again. [37:49] I am not running to defund the police. [37:51] I am running to actually work with the police to deliver public safety. [37:54] Andrew Cuomo says that he has stood up to ICE. [37:57] He has not said a word about the abductions that are happening right now. [37:59] He's referring to a previous comment you made, and we will get back to this. [38:02] But, Mr. Cuomo, a question for you. [38:04] It's a comment he made. [38:05] I said that. Yes, I understand. [38:07] I said that as governor, you put the National Guard on standby during the George Floyd protest. [38:12] You didn't deploy them as mayor. [38:14] Talk about how you would balance the right to protest with maintaining order in the streets. [38:18] The right. [38:19] The right to protest is a sacred right. [38:22] There is no doubt about that. [38:24] But the law is the law also. [38:26] And you have New Yorkers now who are afraid in this city. [38:30] They're afraid of Donald Trump coming. [38:32] They're afraid of that anarchy and they're afraid of the anarchy in this city itself. [38:38] We have to provide public safety that makes New Yorkers feel safe. [38:42] Demonstration is one thing. [38:44] Violating the law is something else. [38:46] Blocking public transit is something else. [38:48] Stopping students from going to class is something else. [38:52] Harassment, intimidation, that's a hate crime. [38:55] That's illegal. Enforce the law. [38:57] Respect the police. [38:59] They're not racists, as the assemblyman calls them. [39:04] They're not a threat to public safety, as he says. [39:07] They're not anti queer. [39:09] They are here to protect New Yorkers, work with them, fortify them. [39:14] You know, that's that's ironic that you say that now. [39:17] I'm sorry, Andrew Cuomo, because when you were governor for eight years, [39:22] your parole board released forty three cop killers back into the street. [39:27] Your father, when he was governor, released none. [39:30] I knew Mario Cuomo moving on. [39:33] You're no Mario Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo. [39:35] You released cop killers. [39:37] Don't say your problem is now. [39:39] Do you want to respond briefly to the comments [39:41] that Mr. Cuomo raised about things you've said about police? [39:44] You can do a brief response to that. [39:47] I have been clear. [39:48] Time. [39:48] I want to point out again that as much as Andrew Cuomo wants to bring up tweets [39:52] from twenty twenty, which is around the same time that he was sending seniors [39:55] to their deaths in nursing homes, I am looking to work with police officers not [40:00] to defund the NYPD, looking to ensure that officers can actually do one job when [40:05] they're signing up to join that department, not the many jobs harassed. [40:08] And he was specifically referring to comments you made. [40:10] We will come back to that. [40:11] But you said there are candidates and racists are moving. [40:15] That's what you said. Your words, your words. [40:17] We're moving on. Thank you. [40:18] Despite record low crime numbers, [40:21] polls show that crime remains a top concern for New York City voters. [40:25] The three of you have very different [40:27] approaches to crime fighting and how to manage the NYPD. [40:30] We want to get into your plans. [40:31] So we'll start with this question. [40:33] It's a two part question, but it's short. [40:35] How will you make the city safer and how you change the NYPD? [40:39] You'll have one minute. [40:40] We begin with Mr. Cuomo. [40:42] I would add five thousand. [40:44] Well, let's take a step back. Remember what happened? [40:46] The far left, the socialists that defund [40:48] the police, defund the police, they took a billion dollars out of the police. [40:51] The NYPD is now down at one of the lowest levels in modern political history. [40:55] I would add five thousand police, put fifteen hundred in the subways, [41:00] raise the starting salary because you can't hire them. [41:04] You can't even fill a class right now. [41:07] And you have to add additional police [41:09] officers because the attrition rate is so high. [41:13] Part of that is going to be saying to the NYPD, I respect you. [41:17] I don't think you're wicked. [41:18] As the assemblyman said, I don't think you're corrupt. [41:21] I don't think you're racist. [41:22] I value you. [41:24] I will have your back. [41:26] I'll be a mayor to work with you. [41:29] That's how you're going to get the police to apply for the jobs. [41:34] And then we have to work on the relationship between the community and the police. [41:38] It's the police can't police the community. [41:41] They have to police with the community. [41:44] This is amazing. [41:45] I'm standing here with my two adversaries. [41:49] Both of whom have threatened to defund the police. [41:51] You, Andrew Cuomo, during the summer of 2020, you said, [41:54] if you don't reform police departments, I'm going to defund you. [41:58] And you certainly said that Zorhan Mondavi. [42:01] We need seven thousand police. [42:03] We only have thirty two thousand five hundred. [42:05] The problem in recruiting police, [42:07] which neither of you are addressing, is that their insurance was stripped from them. [42:12] The state, you did nothing when you were governor. [42:15] And here in the city, 2021, the city council and Eric Adams did nothing. [42:19] They don't have qualified immunity, which you benefited from. [42:23] Andrew Cuomo, with the 13 lawsuits filed against you for sexual harassment. [42:28] Tom DiNapoli says we're paying out 60 million dollars. [42:32] Why? Because you had your qualified immunity as governor. [42:36] And yet people have stood by as police have lost the insurance that all civil [42:42] servants have. That's why you can't get recruits in because they're not insured. [42:46] I will return their qualified immunity. [42:49] Because they need to be protected like other civil servants. [42:52] That is not New York state. [42:53] It's New York City on the qualified insurance, our qualified immunity. [42:58] It's not insurance at all. [42:59] You are entitled to free legal counsel, which is what he's referring to. [43:02] Yes, you have spent. [43:03] Yes, but it's New York City that has revoked qualified immunity. [43:09] It's not insurance. [43:10] It's qualified immunity. [43:11] It's nothing to do with insurance. [43:13] That protected you in all these lawsuits. [43:15] And yes, the lawsuits, because there was a report [43:19] filed, I said it was political. [43:21] It turned out to be political. [43:23] And that's why all 13 women were lying. [43:26] Come on, Andrew. [43:27] All 13 women were lying. [43:29] Five years. [43:30] A state trooper, too. [43:32] Yeah. After five years, five years, five years of litigation. [43:36] I was dropped from the case. [43:37] Mr. Mamdani, how will you make a while? [43:39] OK, Mr. Mamdani, how will you make the city safer? [43:43] And how will you change the NYPD? [43:45] Thank you. This is the concern for so many New Yorkers. [43:49] And I'm proud to have [43:50] a comprehensive plan to bring new ideas to this city. [43:53] If you want more of the same vote for Andrew Cuomo, if you want an actual [43:57] approach to lower crime, look at our Department of Community Safety. [44:00] That is something that has been hailed [44:02] by experts as addressing so many of the pieces of why New Yorkers are not feeling [44:06] safe today, we will ensure that no longer are police officers asked to do the job [44:11] of both policing and responding to the mental health crisis. [44:14] We will have dedicated teams of mental health outreach workers in the top 100 [44:19] subway stations. [44:20] We will ensure that police officers are at the highest levels of the mental health [44:23] crisis and homelessness, we will ensure that cops can finally go back to the [44:28] response times they used to have in 2020, closer to 11 minutes as opposed to the [44:32] closer to 16 minutes today because they won't be asked to respond to the 200,000 [44:37] mental health calls that are coming in through 911 every year. [44:40] This is evidence based. [44:42] It's been successful elsewhere in the country. [44:44] It's time we deliver it right here in New York City. [44:47] It's time for a change. [44:48] Thank you, Mr. Mamdani. [44:49] I'm sorry, this is not free for all. [44:51] We have another question for Mr. Mamdani. [44:53] Bill de Blasio has funded them by a billion dollars out of the budget. [44:57] Thank you. Excuse me, Mr. Mamdani. [44:59] We're going to talk about disciplining police officers. [45:01] The civilian watchdog that investigates police misconduct regularly recommends [45:06] discipline for cops accused of wrongdoing, but the police commissioner often overrides [45:10] them. You want to change that policy so that the board has final say. [45:14] Please explain to viewers in 30 seconds why you believe the police commissioner [45:18] should no longer have that final say. [45:21] What I've said is that I think it's time [45:23] to remove much of the politics out of the question of accountability. [45:26] We have the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which, as you said, [45:30] studies, assesses and investigates into complaints of abuse and the violation [45:35] of the law, and oftentimes those recommendations are then subject [45:38] to political pressures and not followed through on. [45:41] I think New Yorkers deserve a system where they know it won't then be assessed once [45:45] again, that there's actually more to the recommendation in the investigation. [45:49] That's being done by the CC. [45:50] OK, we're wrapping up. Thank you. [45:51] Thank you, Mr. Mamdani. [45:52] Mr. Cuomo, do you believe changes are needed for how officers are disciplined? [45:57] And are there any powers that you would give up as mayor? [46:00] You have 30 seconds. [46:02] Yeah, I would not remove the police commissioner from the CCRB. [46:07] I'd leave it with the police commissioner. [46:08] I think Commissioner Tish is doing a very good job. [46:11] I would trust her. [46:12] The difference between me and the assemblyman is he doesn't like the police. [46:16] That's why he won't hire more police. [46:19] And everyone else says we need more police. [46:21] He wants to use social workers on domestic [46:24] violence calls, which are very dangerous. [46:27] And he's told you what he thinks. [46:29] He thinks the police are racist, wicked, corrupt and a threat to public safety. [46:34] Thank you. Those are his words. [46:36] Very quick, Mr. Mamdani. [46:38] Very quick. [46:38] Andrew Cuomo is a politician of the past, [46:41] and all he can speak about are the tweets of the past in 2020. [46:44] Those are tweets which I have apologized for to New Yorkers and police officers [46:48] directly, and they are not what I am actually running on capable of actually [46:53] speaking about the platform that we have here, which is one that will keep New Yorkers safe. [46:56] Can we just quickly ask you, [46:57] because I think what some people feel they haven't heard from you, [47:00] we hear you saying that you don't believe that anymore and you've apologized. [47:04] People have not heard you sort of describe [47:06] the evolution of your thought, how you got from there to here. [47:10] You know, growing up in this city, I would think often about safety and justice [47:15] and the ways in which that that relationship has been irrevocably [47:19] formed when I learned about the exonerated five, when I learned about Sean Bell, [47:23] when I learned about Eric Garner, when I learned about Michael Brown. [47:26] And then in 2020, when I wrote these tweets, learning about the death of George [47:30] Floyd, and that was a moment where it felt as if the distance between these two [47:34] ideals had never been further and in becoming an assembly member and serving [47:38] and representing more than one hundred thousand people in Queens, [47:41] learning that to deliver justice means to also deliver safety. [47:44] And that means leading a city where you recognize the bravery of the men and women [47:48] who joined the N.Y.P.D. and put their lives on the line. [47:51] It means representing the Muslims who were [47:53] illegally surveilled in my district and the black and brown New Yorkers who have [47:56] been victims of police brutality. So, Mr. [47:58] Sliwa, you've been out there, you've been on the trains. [48:00] And I would like to know if you believe [48:03] changes are needed of how officers are disciplined. [48:06] Let me just suggest, Zoran, what you've suggested. [48:10] Zoran Curtis. Zoran, thank you. [48:12] Excuse me. [48:13] Let me just suggest what you have proposed with this new police [48:19] state unit will endanger women and children in domestic violence situations. [48:24] I know I've been involved in so many of them with the guardian angel. [48:27] They will be killed. [48:29] They will be made number two in dealing with emotionally disturbed persons [48:33] that I have dealt with for all my years as a guardian angel. [48:37] You need trained professional police officers. [48:39] Yes, you can have mental health workers with that. [48:41] Thank you, Mr. [48:42] But that has been suggested. [48:43] It was done before by the homeless out. [48:46] We have other grounds. [48:46] And the guy you thought was the best, Mr. [48:48] Sliwa, thank you. [48:49] Mr. [48:50] Sliwa, thank you. [48:51] Brief response to be very clear. [48:54] The Department of Community Safety is not about responding to calls of domestic [48:57] violence. We are speaking about mental health crisis and the homelessness crisis. [49:01] These are the focuses of the work. [49:03] All right. [49:03] We have other questions for that a little later in the debate. [49:06] But we want to just change the pace a little bit. [49:07] Candidates switching gears to the high cost of living in New York City to kick us off. [49:13] We have a few quick pocketbook questions that New Yorkers wrestle with daily. [49:16] So we want to know how much you spend a week on groceries. [49:20] We'll begin with you, Mr. [49:20] Cuomo. [49:23] Depends how many times my daughters come over, but probably about one hundred and fifty dollars. [49:30] OK, Mr. [49:31] Sliwa. [49:32] Oh, I'd say about one hundred and seventy five dollars with a gallon of milk. [49:36] Now, five dollars and always rising up loaf of bread. [49:39] Simple loaf of bread. [49:40] Thank you. [49:41] Ninety nine percent. [49:42] Mr. [49:42] Mike, three dollars now. [49:43] Thank you. [49:44] Price is too. [49:45] Mr. [49:45] Sliwa, the brief answer. [49:47] Thank you, Mr. [49:47] Mamdani. [49:48] I actually agree with Curtis on that. [49:49] It is too costly. [49:51] Now that. [49:51] Prices are down to less than four bucks, though. [49:53] My average spend every week is about one twenty five. [49:56] One fifty. All right. [49:57] Do you carry credit card debt or do you pay it off every month? [50:00] Mr. Mamdani. [50:01] I pay it off every month. [50:02] Mr. Cuomo paid off. [50:04] Mr. Sliwa, I don't have a credit card. [50:06] I have a debit card. [50:08] And for the record, what is your monthly rent or mortgage, Mr. [50:12] Sliwa? About three thousand nine hundred. [50:15] It's not subsidized. [50:18] So, Mr. Mamdani, what is your monthly rent or mortgage? [50:20] Twenty three hundred dollars. [50:21] Mr. Cuomo. [50:22] He has a rent stabilized apartment that a poor person is supposed to have. [50:26] Mine is about seventy eight hundred dollars. [50:29] We are actually getting to. [50:30] We're going to we're going to cover that subject. [50:31] Sally. [50:32] Thank you. [50:33] We're going to talk a little bit more about the runaway rent in this city. [50:37] Mr. Mamdani, you're pledging to freeze rent for nearly one million rent [50:40] stabilized apartments that really affects less than half of all rentals in the city. [50:45] What is your plan for those who aren't [50:47] in stabilized apartments but are struggling to pay the rent? [50:49] What are you going to do for them? [50:51] Well, I'm proud to say. [50:52] That I, yes, will freeze the rent for more than two million rent stabilized tenants. [50:55] And I will also build two hundred thousand truly affordable homes across the five [51:00] boroughs over the next 10 years to ensure the tenants, whether rent stabilized or [51:04] market rate, can actually have more housing such that they are not being priced out [51:08] of this city. And finally, I'm also going to make it easier [51:11] for the private sector to build housing in the city, because what we see today is [51:15] that it's not labor, it's not materials, it's the weight that is often costing so [51:19] many so much to actually build the housing. [51:22] We need in this city. [51:23] Thank you. And a follow up for you, Mr. [51:24] Mamdani, the cost of maintaining a building change year to year for landlords. [51:28] The Rent Guidelines Board is legally [51:30] required to consider those costs when deciding whether to freeze rents. [51:34] So how can you promise a rent freeze today before ever seeing that data next year? [51:38] You know, we've seen the data time and again. [51:40] It's not a year's data. [51:41] It's been data that's been overruled by mayors again and again. [51:44] The last Rent Guidelines Board study showed [51:47] that profits were up 12 percent for landlords of those units. [51:50] And what did they do? [51:51] They raised the rent, adding to more than 12 percent under Eric Adams administration. [51:55] What I am speaking about is actually [51:57] reflecting the needs of these New Yorkers and the state of the market today. [52:01] These are New Yorkers have a median household income of sixty thousand dollars. [52:05] We do not need to be pushing them further out of the city. [52:08] We need to keep them in there. [52:09] Aren't you saying in that answer that you are going to prejudge? [52:12] You will not have seen the data for next [52:14] year and you're making a determination based on data you haven't seen. [52:17] I've seen the data year after year of the [52:20] fact that salaries are stagnating, the costs are up. [52:23] New Yorkers can't actually afford their apartments. [52:25] And I will also take action to actually ensure that the landlords of those [52:29] buildings can better handle their costs by taking on their insurance, their property [52:33] taxes and their water bills. [52:35] Mr. Cuomo, I do have a question for you on this subject. [52:38] You have proposed something that you're calling Zoran's law. [52:41] You think that Mr. [52:42] Mamdani earns too much to live in his rent stabilized apartment, though I should note [52:46] that there are no income tests for rent stabilized apartments. [52:49] But critics say your plan would force [52:52] people to pay too much of their income towards the rent. [52:55] So if you think Mr. [52:56] Mamdani is gaming the system, what about the other New Yorkers, thousands of them [53:00] just like him who earn similar salaries, who are living in similar apartments? [53:05] OK, just to follow up on what Sally was saying, because she's right. [53:09] This is not a new plan that the assemblyman is talking about. [53:12] It's Bill de Blasio's plan. [53:13] It was called freeze the rent. [53:15] Bill de Blasio says the mayor can't say legally he's going to [53:19] freeze the rent. There's a rent guidelines board. [53:21] There are certain considerations that have to be looked at. [53:24] You're right, Sally. [53:25] You can't say today what it's going to be in four years. [53:29] Also, freeze the rent only postpones the rent because then you [53:34] have to have an increase to cover the costs. [53:36] Otherwise, the building is going to go bankrupt. [53:38] And it does nothing for the majority [53:41] of renters who aren't in these rent stabilized units. [53:43] There's nothing for NYCHA. [53:45] There's nothing for homeowners. [53:46] There's nothing for people in black, brown communities who are getting priced [53:49] out. I was the HUD secretary. [53:51] I built affordable housing all across this nation. [53:54] I built affordable housing in this city when I was in my 20s. [53:57] I know how to get it done. [53:59] I will get it done on the rent stabilized units. [54:02] What I'm saying is those are the precious units. [54:05] And we're out of time. [54:07] I'm sorry to keep them for the most rents. [54:10] We have to move on. But I have a question for you. [54:12] Sorry. He invoked me for much of that question. [54:14] Just a very brief response here. [54:16] You know, you've heard it from Andrew Cuomo that the number one [54:19] problem in this city, the housing crisis, the answer is to evict my wife and I. [54:23] He thinks you address this crisis by [54:25] unleashing my landlord's ability to raise my rent. [54:28] If you think that the problem in this city is that my rent is too low, vote for him. [54:32] If you know the problem in this city is that your rent is too high, vote for me. [54:36] If I understand it correctly, Mr. Cuomo, your program, Zoran's Law, [54:40] would not evict Mr. Mamdani. [54:41] It would not evict him. [54:42] It would apply to people applying for apartments. [54:45] He's making it up. [54:47] But the tenant advocates. [54:48] He made it up. [54:49] It would evict no one. [54:51] This this this does not have to move on. [54:54] I have a question for Mrs. [54:55] This is like a spat in the schoolyard. [54:57] Let me see. [54:58] Mrs. Rosary has a specific question for you. [55:01] Yeah, well, I wanted to talk about affordability and obviously address that issue. [55:05] So you've proposed, Mr. [55:06] Sliwa, plans that would made a point of talking about the struggle of renters [55:11] and property owners. Describe your plan to help renters and landowners. [55:15] Well, first off, we have six thousand available [55:18] apartments that are made of controls in NYCHA and they've been empty for years. [55:23] That you address number one. [55:25] Then we talk about senior citizens who are living here. [55:28] My whole goal is to improve and not to move. [55:31] I'm concerned about the seniors, especially those that own homes. [55:35] If they're sixty five and make less than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. [55:38] No property tax because the property tax is way too high. [55:42] We need to cut it in half to keep people who are here. [55:45] And then in terms of rentals, we have [55:48] affordable housing that can be built in these huge skyscrapers. [55:52] You see them all throughout Manhattan and in northern Brooklyn and in Long Island [55:56] City, which we have twenty five Empire State buildings full of commercial space [56:02] that will never be occupied for office space. [56:05] We should be converting them into affordable apartments. [56:09] They're in dense areas. [56:10] The infrastructure can support it. [56:12] I'm the only candidate against a city that would destroy residential. [56:17] I have to interrupt you. [56:18] Because we have a programing moment right now. [56:20] We're about halfway through the mayoral debate. [56:22] Channel four and Telemundo forty seven will return to regular programing. [56:25] But we've got a lot to get to. [56:27] And you can continue watching live on NBC New York, Telemundo forty seven [56:31] streaming and digital platforms to Lexito's political dot com and YouTube. [56:35] Stay with us. [56:36] But this gentleman, gentlemen, thank you. [56:52] That was kind of a natural point for us to transition. [56:54] And we want to talk now about transportation and getting around town. [56:58] And we have a few quick questions about how you get around town. [57:00] Show of hands. [57:01] Even though they're in their waning days, who has a MetroCard or maybe uses OmniPay? [57:06] Uses OmniPay? [57:07] OmniPay, yeah. MetroCard. [57:09] I mean, I have one, but, you know, I know I'm hanging on to the last. [57:11] So you're on the subways, Mr. Sliwa. [57:13] What do you use? I'm just curious. [57:15] OmniCard. In fact, I got a whole batch. [57:17] I'm in the subways, I'm in the buses, the express buses. [57:21] The only candidate who rides mass transit every day. [57:24] When you need to get somewhere fast and you can't take the train. [57:27] Do you hail a taxi? Do you use ride share? [57:29] Mr. Sliwa, what do you do? [57:30] I try to avoid yellow cabs. [57:32] As you know, I was shot in the back [57:33] of a yellow cab in 1992 by the Gottis and Gambino's. [57:38] But I find my way around. [57:39] If I have to, I Uber if I can't get there by mass transit. [57:42] What do you do, Mr. Mamdani, if you can't take the train? [57:44] I would either take a cab or ride a bike. [57:47] Mr. Cuomo? [57:48] I would take a cab, Uber. [57:51] OK. All right. Thanks, gentlemen. Sally. [57:52] Thank you, David. [57:54] Let's talk about free buses. [57:56] Mr. Mamdani, this is a centerpiece of your campaign. [57:59] Can you explain how you will make buses free? [58:01] You have 30 seconds to answer. [58:03] Absolutely. [58:04] We will make buses free by replacing the revenue that the MTA currently gets [58:08] from buses. This is revenue that's around $700 million or so. [58:12] That's less money than Andrew Cuomo gave [58:13] to Elon Musk and $959 million in tax credits when he was the governor. [58:17] And the reason that we will do so is [58:19] that making buses free doesn't just provide economic relief, but also public [58:23] safety, because what we've seen is that it decreases assaults on bus drivers by 38.9%. [58:28] New Yorkers deserve more than the slowest buses in the country. [58:31] I know that because I was [58:33] in New Jersey in 1967, not too long ago, and its average speed is 4.9 miles an hour. [58:36] But the question is how you'll make them free. [58:38] We will fund the revenue that would have otherwise been brought in from fares. [58:42] And that's something that we would do in partnership with Albany. [58:44] And I put forward two proposals. [58:46] The first is to raise taxes on the top 1% of New Yorkers by 2%. [58:50] That would raise $4 billion. [58:51] The second is to raise the state's top [58:53] corporate tax rate to match that of New Jersey, which would raise $5 billion. [58:56] We're going to move along. [58:56] But I just want to point out to viewers that Governor Hochul has opposed raising [59:00] the income tax, but Melissa, we'll move on to your question. [59:03] Could I address that on the bus just [59:05] because half the people don't pay their bus fare to begin with, Zoran. [59:10] And so it's a complete disaster. [59:14] If you have free bus fare and the Citizens [59:17] Budget Commission said just last year, 2024, a billion dollars of fare evasion [59:23] in all different forms, this MTA system will collapse. [59:27] There's not enough money out there to make up for fare evasion. [59:31] Pay your fare. If you don't pay your fare, [59:33] you have fair, fair programs for the poor and the indigent. [59:36] But everybody should be forced to pay their fare. [59:39] Mr. Cuomo, you had both praise and some [59:41] criticism for Mr. Mamdani's free bus pilots. [59:44] You're sort of in the middle on this issue. [59:46] What's your plan to make subways and buses more affordable? [59:49] I think free buses is a mistake. [59:51] Of course, about $700 million, just to give you an idea that we only [59:55] raise about $500 million from congestion pricing. [59:58] It's been done before in other cities. [1:00:00] It was a disaster. They stopped. [1:00:02] They basically, [1:00:03] became mobile homeless [1:00:07] gathering places. [1:00:08] What I say is free buses for working families who can't afford it and free [1:00:14] subways for working families, but don't subsidize rich people on a bus. [1:00:20] And it's been tried and it's failed. [1:00:23] Mr. Mamdani, can you just respond quickly [1:00:25] on the point about the mobile homeless gathering places? [1:00:29] You know, this is something that we heard [1:00:31] when we were fighting to make buses free in Albany when [1:00:32] we delivered the first fare free bus lines in New York City history. [1:00:36] And what we saw is when we made one bus [1:00:38] route free in each borough of New York City, there was no increase in homelessness [1:00:42] on those buses, there was no increase in fare evasion in the surrounding area. [1:00:46] What there was, was an increase in ridership of up to 38 percent. [1:00:48] Thank you, Mr. Mamdani. [1:00:50] Candidates, maybe we can dig deeper on this and get a sense of how all of you [1:00:53] would pay for your big ideas. Mr. Mamdani, we'll start with you. [1:00:56] We've obviously been talking about free buses. [1:00:58] You've talked about free child care, city run grocery stores. [1:01:01] So essentially, you're proposing, [1:01:02] I think, about ten billion dollars in new spending. [1:01:05] And as you've indicated, you want to pay for it with tax increases. [1:01:08] But as Sally pointed out, [1:01:10] Governor Hochul said no to raising income tax on millionaires. [1:01:13] So tell New Yorkers tonight how you're [1:01:15] going to pay for all of this in one minute, if you can. [1:01:18] Look, a lot of people have called even my [1:01:20] campaign a nonstarter when we first began. [1:01:22] And now I stand before you proud to be [1:01:24] the Democratic nominee who got the most votes in city primary history. [1:01:28] And I believe we will see the same thing with our push to ensure that we are [1:01:33] taxing the wealthiest and the most profitable corporations the fair amount [1:01:36] that they should pay. Now, there are those who will say that [1:01:39] because it will be hard, you should give up. [1:01:41] We saw what giving up looked like when Andrew Cuomo was the governor. [1:01:44] He gave up on fighting for working class [1:01:46] New Yorkers and instead caved in to his billionaire donors. [1:01:49] And what did we get? [1:01:50] We have the fastest and most frequent helicopter service to the Hamptons and we [1:01:53] have the slowest and more expensive bus service across the five boroughs. [1:01:57] But again, Mr. Mamdani, I know Governor Hochul indicated this week there may be [1:02:00] some some open windows, but more or less income. [1:02:03] Tax on millionaires is off the table, according to the governor. [1:02:06] Look, I've said very clearly making buses [1:02:08] fast and free costs about seven hundred million dollars a year. [1:02:11] Making universal child care a reality costs about five or six billion dollars a year. [1:02:15] If you raise the state's top corporate tax rate to match that of New Jersey, [1:02:18] you'd be raising five billion in and of itself. [1:02:20] I have a couple of and that's where you're next. [1:02:22] But I have a couple of I would just want to add one additional thing. [1:02:25] We have also put forward a plan to save money here in New York City with a billion [1:02:29] dollars in savings through procurement reform, through following the independent [1:02:33] assessment about hiring more fiscal auditors and actually collecting the [1:02:37] fines and fees from bad landlords across just a quick couple of follow ups. [1:02:40] If you could find some of the funding, [1:02:41] but not all of it, which of your priorities would come first? [1:02:44] Would it be the first among equals that you would try to get done? [1:02:47] Well, freezing the rent doesn't require any fiscal infusion. [1:02:49] So that will be something we'll be pursuing immediately. [1:02:52] And universal child care after housing is the second cost. [1:02:55] Child care is the second cost pushing New Yorkers out of this city. [1:02:58] Twenty two and a half thousand dollars a year is the estimate we've seen. [1:03:01] OK, that will be a priority for. [1:03:02] And I just wanted. [1:03:03] You know, if you could get the money and funding elsewhere, [1:03:06] would you drop the call for the tax increase? [1:03:08] Absolutely. [1:03:09] The most important thing is funding these agenda items. [1:03:11] I think these are the two most important [1:03:13] and straightforward, direct ways to do so. [1:03:15] But if the money comes from elsewhere. [1:03:16] OK, most important thing is. [1:03:17] Melissa has a question for Mr. [1:03:18] Sliwa. [1:03:18] Mr. Sliwa, you've been talking about cutting taxes and spending. [1:03:22] So what is your plan and how would you pay for your programs like seven thousand more [1:03:27] cops? Well, Zoran, boy, your fantasies are never going to come about [1:03:33] in terms of funding everything you want. [1:03:36] That's going to be free, free, free. [1:03:37] It's a fantasy. [1:03:38] Let's deal with the reality. [1:03:39] Seven thousand cops. [1:03:41] You already have a plan in Boston where you pay for taxes in the future. [1:03:46] This is a great plan in which universities and others who have bought [1:03:51] our properties that are now taken from the real estate [1:03:55] market and taken from property tax pay, we could raise a billion dollars [1:03:59] from Columbia University and why you that are in the real estate business. [1:04:03] And Madison Square Garden, your friends, [1:04:06] Andrew Cuomo, Jimmy Dolan, who pays no property taxes. [1:04:09] That's how you raise a billion dollars to get 700 police officers trained, [1:04:13] vetted and out into the streets in the five boroughs. [1:04:17] And then the police will be on the subways and they will be patrolling [1:04:21] the old fashioned way where they need it, going up and down the moving subway cars [1:04:26] where people want to see the visual protection, especially women who are [1:04:30] being assaulted, perved and like we saw this morning on [1:04:33] 26th Street, a woman with a gun to a head, an armed robbery because you don't have [1:04:38] enough cops. I have a question for you in this topic. [1:04:41] And let's talk about history, because as governor, you raised and cut taxes. [1:04:45] Now you're proposing some tax release. [1:04:48] What's the price tag for your proposals? [1:04:50] And where will you get the money for, for example, five thousand new police officers? [1:04:55] You have a minute to answer. Yeah. [1:04:58] I think Sally's question was very well taken. [1:05:01] The Assemblyman's whole plan is based [1:05:03] on a myth. He's going to raise taxes. [1:05:06] Albany is going to raise taxes statewide on corporations. [1:05:09] But the money is only going to go to New York City. [1:05:12] That could never happen. [1:05:13] It's not just that the governor wouldn't support it. [1:05:15] It's impossible. [1:05:17] He said he's going to raise the taxes the same as New Jersey corporate tax. [1:05:20] No, it would be double the tax. [1:05:22] You would see New Yorkers on nine ninety five fleeing to Florida. [1:05:27] We would be alone. [1:05:29] So you have to be realistic with revenue. [1:05:32] You have one hundred and fifteen [1:05:33] billion dollar budget. [1:05:34] You have to go through that city budget and find savings. [1:05:38] I started the state it had, [1:05:40] which is double the budget of the city at a ten billion dollar deficit. [1:05:44] I closed it and added services and we can do the same with New York City. [1:05:50] Governor, as mayor, you would not increase [1:05:52] spending in the New York City budget, yes or no? [1:05:55] There would be whatever additional spending would be revenue neutral. [1:06:00] So is it possible you got to you got to cut taxes for people that stay here? [1:06:04] Thank you. [1:06:05] Corporations are not going to stay here. [1:06:06] They're being lured south. [1:06:08] The city said it's all corporate. [1:06:10] We want to get to you got to cut the tax income tax for those who are 19 to 28. [1:06:15] With a skill level, if they go to school here. [1:06:17] Thank you. [1:06:18] Andrew Cuomo thinks it's all right to spend 60 million dollars to fund his [1:06:23] legal defense from accusations of more than a dozen women of sexual harassment. [1:06:27] But if I say we should spend the same [1:06:29] amount of money on delivering cheaper groceries in the city of a pilot program. [1:06:33] That is unfathomable. [1:06:35] David, I have a right to respond quickly. [1:06:37] First, I did not bring those lawsuits that was brought against by the attorney general, [1:06:43] which I said was political, that's what generated the legal women. [1:06:48] And some of them have still been making their way through the courts this year. [1:06:51] And yes, and I've been dropped from the cases. [1:06:53] Not all of them. Yeah. [1:06:55] And the what the assemblyman doesn't say is all this money that he wants to pass. [1:07:00] The one thing he did do is he voted for a [1:07:03] high raise from self, the highest paid legislation in the United States. [1:07:08] I did. [1:07:09] And he has the worst record this week. [1:07:11] I did ask the state comptroller's office this week. [1:07:13] The total was above 60 million. [1:07:16] But just those sexual harassment cases to [1:07:18] defend Governor Cuomo and his staff was about twenty one. [1:07:22] So it was the sexual harassment. [1:07:24] And I want to clarify because you said 60. [1:07:26] But on those cases, it was 21. [1:07:28] Thank you. [1:07:28] We have to talk about quality of life in the city. [1:07:31] Let's turn to everyday life in the city and some issues. [1:07:33] The mayor can directly impact. [1:07:35] We start with a couple of questions about three one one. [1:07:38] The number New Yorkers call or text for non-emergency help. [1:07:42] First off, have you ever called three one one? [1:07:44] And if so, for what, Mr. [1:07:45] Mondani, I called three one one for issues with my heating in my apartment. [1:07:49] And I've spoken to New Yorkers time and time again who are frustrated by the fact [1:07:54] that they can track their Uber eats block by block. [1:07:57] But when they call three one one for them to come to their apartment, it's just [1:08:00] a question of hoping and praying that they do. [1:08:02] There's no actual appointment. [1:08:04] That's something that we would change. [1:08:05] All right, Mr. [1:08:05] Sliwa, have you ever called three one one? [1:08:07] You know, there used to be that song. [1:08:08] Nine one one is a joke by public enemy. [1:08:11] Three one one is a joke. [1:08:12] You can call it over and over and over again. [1:08:16] Have you ever have you? [1:08:18] The analytics are when the operators talk to you, I talk to them. [1:08:21] Have you called? Yes. [1:08:22] I've called them many times and got no response. [1:08:25] Mr. Paul, citizens, I talk about subways and streets. [1:08:28] Never get good responses. [1:08:30] We're looking for short answer. Mr. [1:08:31] Cuomo, I've heard a lot of complaints about three one one. [1:08:33] So I actually made a call to three one one myself to see if the complaints were [1:08:39] bona fide and I was dropped twice. [1:08:45] Then they were going to send someone to [1:08:47] find help of homeless woman in distress and no one showed up. [1:08:52] You're all expressing frustration. [1:08:53] Last year, three one one received thirty [1:08:55] eight million contacts from New Yorkers from calls to the website. [1:09:00] Wanted to know if you had a sense across five boroughs what the top two categories. [1:09:04] of complaints were. [1:09:05] What do you think they were, Mr. [1:09:06] Sliwa? Potholes, constantly potholes. [1:09:10] People's undercarriages ripped out, pole bearings, alignments. [1:09:14] Second one. Top two. [1:09:15] Rats. Rats. [1:09:17] OK, the city is flooded with rats. [1:09:19] Mr. Cuomo, what do you think the top two complaints were? [1:09:21] Homeless and trash rats. [1:09:25] All right, Mr. [1:09:26] Mondani. There was housing and noise. [1:09:28] OK, so the answer is noise and illegal parking. [1:09:31] And we're going to stick with quality of life. [1:09:33] Rosarina. That's right. [1:09:34] And let's talk about. [1:09:35] Noise candidates because they fall into these two categories. [1:09:39] First of all, is the residential one does the neighbors and the loud music. [1:09:44] And the second one is the street or [1:09:46] sidewalk, everything with a loud construction and workers outside. [1:09:50] So, Mr. Cuomo, as mayor, what can you do to help the city that never sleeps? [1:09:56] Get a little bit of rest, Mr. Cuomo. [1:09:58] Yeah, look, I think if the three one one system worked well, if it [1:10:04] was actually contact with people, I think New Yorkers would get it. [1:10:09] I think New Yorkers would be responsive. [1:10:12] I think we have to change the the ethos in this city, the ethic in this city. [1:10:16] Right now, it's toxic. [1:10:18] It's divisive. [1:10:20] Everyone's angry at everyone. [1:10:22] I think when we have public safety that's functional again [1:10:26] and New Yorkers are part of that system, I think they would be more cooperative. [1:10:32] Thank you. Thank you very much. [1:10:33] There's no. [1:10:33] I mean, Mr. [1:10:35] Sliwa, how would you quiet a little bit the city that never sleeps? [1:10:39] In the outer boroughs, I see problems all the time. [1:10:42] Quality of life issues, 18 wheel tractor, [1:10:45] trailers, RVs, past parked everywhere, garbage that's not picked up and collected [1:10:51] in the city. We've seen trash cans taken away by the sanitation department. [1:10:56] Jessica Tisch, when she was the commissioner, [1:10:58] the quality of life has diminished noticeably. [1:11:02] So naturally, people are going to reverse. [1:11:03] They're going to put it to three one one. [1:11:05] But it's important that a mayor be able [1:11:08] to provide services to all the people and they believe if quality of life is [1:11:14] diminished, the next stop is to sell your house and leave the city. [1:11:18] And my goal is to improve and not move. [1:11:21] Miss Mr. [1:11:22] Mamdani, your turn. [1:11:23] What we've seen is one of the biggest [1:11:25] sources of noise in the city is from congestion. [1:11:27] And with the implementation of congestion [1:11:29] pricing, we've actually seen noise complaints drop in the congestion zone. [1:11:33] And so I would continue to find ways to ensure that we have reduced congestion [1:11:37] across the city in one of the ways is by making the slowest buses in America, [1:11:41] ones that are fast and free so that New Yorkers can not only live a life [1:11:45] of excellent quality of life, but also be able to get around the city [1:11:49] without having to worry if they have two dollars and ninety cents or soon to be [1:11:52] three dollars in their pocket, which is already out of reach for one in five [1:11:55] New Yorkers. We have here the author of congestion pricing. [1:11:59] We have the apprentice of congestion. [1:12:02] We might be the only candidate who's [1:12:03] opposed to congestion pricing. [1:12:05] OK, thank you. [1:12:06] Storefronts closing because they don't have enough food for other people to move on. [1:12:11] Otherwise, I'd have to place a call to 311 [1:12:14] about candidates going over there a lot of time. [1:12:16] OK, so we're going to move on. [1:12:18] Don't worry, we're going to move on to [1:12:20] illegal parking plaques in many neighborhoods. [1:12:22] Recently, council member Lincoln Ressler [1:12:25] released a study that found 450 vehicles parked illegally during the day in [1:12:30] downtown Brooklyn, many with fake or government placards. [1:12:33] That's just one snapshot of the city. [1:12:35] But you hear similar complaints everywhere. [1:12:38] So how would you fix this specific situation? [1:12:40] You'll have 30 seconds. [1:12:41] Mr. Sliwa, we'll begin with you. [1:12:43] Well, obviously, placards have been abused consistently. [1:12:46] You have people who have created fake placards. [1:12:49] Not not only that, you have people with fake license plates, paper plates. [1:12:53] There's all violations against the Department of Transportation rules [1:12:58] and regulations of where you can park a vehicle. [1:13:00] There's just no enforcement. [1:13:02] And that's because we don't have [1:13:03] the police. We have these e-bikes going up and down. [1:13:07] We have the motorbikes. [1:13:09] They're not following rules and regulations. [1:13:11] They should be licensed. [1:13:12] They should have a way of being identified. [1:13:16] This way, enforcement can take place because people are terrified walking out into the streets. [1:13:20] Mr. Mamdani, your plan for illegal parking? [1:13:23] We have to showcase that accountability is true, whether for New Yorkers who are [1:13:27] just living in this city or those who are working for this city. [1:13:29] And the violation of traffic laws are violations no matter who is doing it. [1:13:33] And to show that that accountability is [1:13:34] something my city government is actually going to pursue. [1:13:36] OK, Mr. Cuomo. [1:13:38] On the quality of life, you're right, is very, very important. [1:13:42] On the on the placards, I would make it simple. [1:13:45] I would recall all the city placards and reissue only those that are bona fide, [1:13:51] period, on day one on the quality of life issues. [1:13:55] The worst thing that could happen is if [1:13:57] the Assemblyman's proposal for legalizing prostitution went through, that would be [1:14:03] against the quality of life. He also doesn't want to enforce misdemeanors. [1:14:06] Getting to that assault, larceny, et cetera. [1:14:09] That would have time to address. [1:14:11] I want to be very clear. [1:14:12] Not only have I never called for the legalization of prostitution, [1:14:15] I'm not calling for that today either. [1:14:17] And I also have never said anything about not enforcing misdemeanors. [1:14:21] This is just yet another figment of Andrew Cuomo's imagination. [1:14:24] The DSA, which you give your part of your salary to, that's their position. [1:14:29] Abolish jails, no new carceral facilities. [1:14:32] Don't. [1:14:33] Disdemeanors. [1:14:33] And you're on the bill in Albany as a sponsor to decriminalize prostitution. [1:14:41] The difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo, of which there are many, is that [1:14:45] there is no one that is actually telling me what to do other than the eight and a [1:14:48] half million people who call this city home. [1:14:50] You want my policies, you'll find them on my website. [1:14:53] Who told you to legalize prostitution? [1:14:54] OK, wait, wait, wait, we actually have a question. [1:14:57] Andrew, you can't escape this. [1:14:58] You signed the law doing away with loitering for prostitution. [1:15:03] OK, all right, gentlemen, you started the prostitution. [1:15:07] All right, gentlemen, [1:15:09] Mr. Sliver, Mr. Jackson Heights and Flushing. [1:15:12] Mr. Sliver, we have. [1:15:13] And you want to add to it, which diminishes the quality of life. [1:15:17] Mr. Sliver, when I talk over you, nobody's hearing you. [1:15:19] We actually have a question on that. [1:15:20] So we let Rosarito ask. [1:15:22] And for this question, candidates, we want to come to Queens, [1:15:25] where we know that prostitution has been an ongoing complaint. [1:15:29] Mayor Adams force form a task force and order [1:15:33] by the NYPD, but the situation continues, especially around the very popular [1:15:39] Roosevelt Avenue as mayor, Mr. Mandani, how would you handle this situation? [1:15:43] You have 30 seconds. [1:15:45] I want to first be clear that I am not [1:15:47] and nor have I ever called for the legalization of prostitution. [1:15:50] And if you are happy with what's happening [1:15:52] on Roosevelt Avenue, then you should vote for Andrew Cuomo [1:15:55] because his policy is to continue the exact same ones we've seen under Eric Adams. [1:15:59] My policy is to actually take on sex trafficking, [1:16:03] to have a zero tolerance for violence against women and to follow the advice [1:16:07] of district attorneys that we have here in New York City. [1:16:09] The current Manhattan D.A., the former Manhattan D.A., [1:16:12] the current Brooklyn D.A., the former Manhattan D.A., [1:16:14] having said that prosecuting women for prostitution is something that actually [1:16:19] leads to less safety and what we need to do is provide an economy. [1:16:23] Just a quick just a quick clarification. [1:16:25] So no legalization about decriminalization. [1:16:30] I do not think that we should be prosecuting women [1:16:33] who are struggling, who are currently being thrown in jail [1:16:35] and then being offered job opportunities. [1:16:38] I think we should be actually providing [1:16:39] those kinds of opportunities at the first point of interaction. [1:16:42] Mr. Cuomo. [1:16:43] Yeah, yeah. [1:16:45] Look, Bill de Blasio, the assemblyman is a mini me BDB. [1:16:51] OK, he's Bill de Blasio like he proposed the legalizing prostitution. [1:16:56] He didn't get it. [1:16:57] And he just told the cops, don't arrest any more prostitutes. [1:17:00] There is a bill in Albany that he signed [1:17:02] that says the prostitution that a woman who is a prostitute, [1:17:09] that would be decriminalized, that is what the bill says. [1:17:14] And that's what he said. [1:17:15] If you listen very carefully, that would take Roosevelt Avenue and [1:17:19] explode it because it would make it legal for prostitutes. [1:17:24] Real quick, how would you handle this situation? [1:17:26] You have to enforce the law. It's illegal. [1:17:28] I went to Roosevelt Avenue. [1:17:29] I talked to the store owners. [1:17:30] I talked to the neighbors. [1:17:32] I walked down. [1:17:32] Roosevelt Avenue. [1:17:33] Thank you. [1:17:34] I have to move on to Mr. Siwa. [1:17:35] Your turn, Mr. Siwa. [1:17:36] I've dealt with this back in the 80s and 90s in Hell's Kitchen in Chelsea when [1:17:41] they were overrun with open air prostitution and Times Square. [1:17:46] You don't go after the women. [1:17:48] The women are the victims here. [1:17:49] You lock up the Johns. [1:17:51] You shame the Johns. [1:17:52] You let everybody know about the Johns. [1:17:54] The madams and the pimps need to be [1:17:56] prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. [1:17:58] And these absentee landlords who knowingly rent their [1:18:03] rooms, their apartments out for the use of prostitution. [1:18:06] The Department of Buildings should come [1:18:08] in, padlock the building, seize the building. [1:18:10] Because many of these landlords live in Delray, Florida. [1:18:13] They did back in the 80s and 90s when we [1:18:16] did it in Chelsea and Times Square and Hell's Kitchen. [1:18:19] And they're doing it again and there's no enforcement. [1:18:23] That's why the prostitution. [1:18:25] We're going to go to Sally now. [1:18:26] Thank you, David. [1:18:27] We're going to talk a bit about experience and beliefs. [1:18:29] We've covered a lot of ground tonight, but we want to probe a bit deeper. [1:18:33] We want to hear each of your mindsets and how you'll approach governing as mayor. [1:18:37] Mr. Cuomo, you have touted your experience on the campaign trail time and again, [1:18:41] but you pretty squarely lost the Democratic primary to Mr. [1:18:44] Mamdani, forcing you, a lifelong Democrat, to run as an independent. [1:18:48] When you announced that decision, you said, quote, when you get knocked down, [1:18:51] learn the lesson and pick yourself back up. [1:18:54] What lesson did you learn and what do you feel it said about you? [1:18:57] Something you did wrong, something that you need to change about yourself? [1:19:01] Yeah, I think in the primary [1:19:03] campaign, I did not do enough on social media, which is a very effective medium now. [1:19:10] I think the Assemblyman did do a better job on TikTok and social media than I did [1:19:15] during the campaign, and that has changed now. [1:19:20] I've also increased my activity significantly, but my my agenda is exactly the same. [1:19:29] I am the Democrat, although I'm not on the Democratic line. [1:19:34] Uh, he is a Democratic socialist called Barack Obama, evil and a liar. [1:19:40] Didn't vote for Kamala Harris. [1:19:42] Fight and deliver is I will fight for people. [1:19:45] I will fight the bureaucracy and I will deliver results. [1:19:49] New Yorkers need the mayor to get something done. [1:19:52] This is all words and theories. [1:19:55] And I am a manager who can ask a question about self-reflection. [1:19:59] Is the thing you're reflecting on the most that you need to be on social media more? [1:20:02] Was there any other deeper lesson? [1:20:04] Between the two campaigns, social media, more accessibility. [1:20:09] OK, I just have to say it's been an hour and 20 minutes of this debate and we [1:20:14] haven't heard Governor Cuomo say the word affordability. [1:20:17] That's why he lost the primary. [1:20:19] That's why he'll lose the general election. [1:20:21] And you can lie all you want. [1:20:22] But the truth is, I voted for Kamala Harris. [1:20:25] I'm the only candidate on the stage to have the endorsement of Kamala Harris. [1:20:28] And I'm not the one who's funded by Bill [1:20:30] Ackman, who called Kamala Harris unqualified to be the vice president of this [1:20:34] country. OK, may I respond? [1:20:36] Yes. Brief response, please. [1:20:37] There are a lot of New Yorkers who who support me. [1:20:41] And there are a lot of Jewish New Yorkers [1:20:42] who support me because they think you're anti-Semitic. [1:20:47] So it's not about Trump or Republican. [1:20:50] It's about you. [1:20:52] Do you think he's anti-Semitic, Mr. Cuomo? [1:20:55] I don't make those judgments about people. [1:20:57] Are you a racist? Are you an anti-Semite? [1:20:59] I know there are many Jewish people who believe he is anti-Semitic. [1:21:03] I believe not condemning. [1:21:05] The globalized intifada, what he has said about Hamas. [1:21:09] But I can see where they are. [1:21:12] Sorry, I mean, to interrupt, I covered your speech in an Upper West Side [1:21:15] synagogue where you said anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. [1:21:19] There is no difference. [1:21:20] And you were talking about Mr. [1:21:22] Mamdani. Is that not an allegation? [1:21:24] No, I make that statement all the time. [1:21:26] I was referring to Mamdani. [1:21:28] OK, all right. [1:21:29] Mr. Mamdani, a brief response and then we have to move on. [1:21:31] I have denounced Hamas again and again, and it will never be enough for Andrew [1:21:35] because what he is willing to say, even though not on this stage, is to call me [1:21:39] the first Muslim on the precipice of leading this city, a terrorist sympathizer, [1:21:43] is to send mailers that artificially lengthen my beard, is to say to New Yorkers [1:21:48] that they should be fearful, but what I will do is... [1:21:51] Melissa has a specific question for you. [1:21:54] You are the Democratic nominee and you're also a member, as we've been discussing, [1:21:58] of a political organization that may be less familiar to New Yorkers, [1:22:01] the Democratic Socialists of America, which believes in dismantling [1:22:05] capitalism. New York City is the global headquarters of the finance industry. [1:22:10] So how would you be the mayor of Wall Street and the DSA? [1:22:14] You have one minute. [1:22:15] I would be the mayor of this entire city. [1:22:17] And that means ensuring that the wealth that we generate in this city is also [1:22:21] wealth that every single New Yorker can actually feel in their pockets. [1:22:24] Because what we have today is a system [1:22:26] that has generated the most wealth in the wealthiest country in the history [1:22:29] of the world, where one in four of our neighbors are living in poverty. [1:22:33] That's unacceptable. We can't look at five hundred [1:22:35] thousand kids hungry every single night as just the cost of doing business in the city. [1:22:39] That's something we have to actually change. [1:22:41] And I'm going to do that by fighting for my neighbors in Queens that I've come [1:22:45] to know who are not only the ones who own teapots and toy stores, who own diners [1:22:50] and dry cleaners, but also the ones who work there. [1:22:53] Because right now, all of them are being pushed out of this city by corporate [1:22:56] greed, by private equity and by a politics that refuses to fight for them. [1:23:00] I will finally follow up, Mr. Mamdani. [1:23:03] A lot of Hispanic, deaf, [1:23:05] and hard of hearing people in the city who are afraid of socialism and are a little [1:23:09] bit scared to hear your policies, what would you tell them? [1:23:12] Well, I would first say that I wouldn't be here without the support of Latino [1:23:15] New Yorkers, because it was the majority of their support that helped to make me [1:23:18] the Democratic nominee and what democratic socialism means is a belief in the [1:23:22] dignity of each and every New Yorker and the responsibility city government has [1:23:26] to deliver that dignity. That's why I'm speaking about child care, [1:23:29] because it's pricing out New Yorkers from the city. [1:23:31] That's why I'm speaking about freezing the rent, because housing isn't a human right [1:23:33] in the way that we practice our politics in the city. [1:23:35] I'm talking about making buses fast and [1:23:37] free because one in five New Yorkers are being priced out of public transit today. [1:23:41] Rosalina. So, Mr. [1:23:42] Sliwano, I would like to talk to you because you were here with us four years [1:23:46] ago in the same stage for the general election debate and you lost it. [1:23:52] Why do you believe in New York is ready to elect a Republican this time around? [1:23:57] First off, did I not warn you four years [1:24:00] ago that Eric Adams would be corrupt and we would have chaos? [1:24:04] Did I not? Of course. [1:24:06] I did. And I get praise for that. [1:24:08] Now I'm trying to get people to vote for me, not just on the Republican line, [1:24:12] but also my wife, Nancy, was the best thing that ever happened to me. [1:24:17] Created the first ever independent protect animals line, [1:24:21] which calls for no kill shelters and putting animal abusers in jail. [1:24:25] But the other thing that differentiates me from both of my adversaries is that I [1:24:30] am opposed to this city of yes, which will destroy the residential neighborhoods. [1:24:35] Both of them. [1:24:36] They are for the city of yes. [1:24:38] So when you vote for me, whether on the Republican line or the protect [1:24:41] animal side, turn your ballot over and vote no on all those initiative and referendums. [1:24:47] Imagine they've said, how can you, Curtis, [1:24:49] a Republican work with a Democratic majority in the council? [1:24:52] Adrian Adams is in agreement with me. [1:24:55] The Democratic city council people are in agreement with me. [1:24:58] No to the city of yes, which will take your home and provide [1:25:02] you instead with lithium ion battery warehouses. [1:25:05] Thank you. [1:25:06] I'm the only candidate who is opposed to the city of yes. [1:25:11] Thank you. [1:25:13] I have a quick follow to that, Mr. [1:25:15] Sliwa. How do you bring down costs if you don't build more housing? [1:25:19] Oh, it's very simple to build housing. [1:25:22] You just look in New York City. [1:25:24] We have so many dense areas where you no longer can use the commercial space. [1:25:30] They used to be office space and you just convert it into residential housing. [1:25:34] You don't need to go into the out of your house. [1:25:37] You don't need to use wetlands. [1:25:39] OK, thank you. [1:25:40] If you build a new building, it takes five years. [1:25:44] If you convert. [1:25:45] All right, Mr. Sliwa, thank you. [1:25:46] I want to change the pace a little bit. [1:25:48] I want to change the pace and just get a sense of what you think about political leadership. [1:25:52] We're curious about who you admire. [1:25:54] Who is the best modern day U.S. president, Mr. Cuomo? [1:25:59] Modern day. [1:26:01] Well, I'm partial. [1:26:02] I was Bill Clinton's housing and urban development secretary. [1:26:06] We built affordable housing all across [1:26:08] the United States, Bill Clinton empowerment zones. [1:26:11] I would say Bill Clinton. [1:26:13] OK, Mr. Mamdani, I would say FDR. [1:26:19] Mr. Sliwa is modern day modern man. [1:26:23] I'd say FDR also if that's modern day. [1:26:26] Mr. Sliwa, a man that ended up being loved by Democrats and Republicans alike. [1:26:31] The greatest governor we've ever had in my lifetime. [1:26:34] George Pataki, three terms, no chaos, no corruption. [1:26:38] I was actually the president, the president. [1:26:41] The president, the president, the governor and this modern day U.S. [1:26:44] president. [1:26:45] Who's the who you thought the best modern president in our lifetime? [1:26:50] I would say the best president in our lifetime that I've experienced. [1:26:54] I would go back to Ronald Reagan. [1:26:56] OK, how about the best New York City mayor, Mr. Sliwa? [1:27:02] Best New York City mayor, Mr. [1:27:04] Rudy Giuliani, who endorsed me last week. [1:27:07] And I'd have a little bit of Michael Bloomberg thrown in because he liked responsibility. [1:27:12] I think the best New York City mayor of all [1:27:13] time is Fiorella LaGuardia, Mr. Cuomo. [1:27:16] It was Bill de Blasio last debate. [1:27:19] No, I've always said Fiorella is the best mayor of all time. [1:27:21] Who's yours, Mr. Cuomo? [1:27:23] Is it of all time or modern time? [1:27:25] Best New York City mayor of all time. [1:27:27] It is Fiorella LaGuardia. We agree. [1:27:31] Recently, I would say Mayor Dinkins and Mayor Bloomberg. [1:27:34] OK, how about the political leader dead or alive? [1:27:37] You most admire Mr. Mamdani. [1:27:40] I would say I admire Bernie Sanders, Mr. Cuomo, my father, Mr. Sliwa. [1:27:47] You said it already. [1:27:48] George Pataki was loved by Democrats and Republicans and the greatest mayor [1:27:52] in our lifetime, the greatest governor in our lifetime. [1:27:54] I just have one more before Sally starts [1:27:56] to ask you about schools, a show of hands. [1:27:58] Who supports Kathy Hochul for reelection? [1:28:01] It's a decision that should be made after this general election. [1:28:04] So no decision. [1:28:05] Mr. Cuomo, you handpicked her as your [1:28:08] lieutenant governor. You have to know who's running. [1:28:12] Yeah, OK. [1:28:12] So and I would add that I do think that Kathy Hochul, our governor, has been doing [1:28:16] a good job in not only serving. [1:28:18] Do you support her for reelection? [1:28:19] Not only delivering for New Yorkers, but also standing up to Donald Trump. [1:28:21] Just what do you support for reelection? [1:28:23] I'm an endorser. I'm focusing on November. [1:28:25] Why don't you endorse her? I appreciate her support and I appreciate her work. [1:28:27] But you don't endorse her. [1:28:29] I'm about to shout out for Elise Stefanik to take out Kathy Hochul. [1:28:32] You have a Republican mayor, Curtis, a Republican governor, Stefanik, [1:28:36] like Giuliani and Pataki who saved this city and state. [1:28:39] You want to talk about schools, Sally? [1:28:40] OK, thank you, David. [1:28:41] Let's turn to education. [1:28:43] There are a number of issues facing public schools. [1:28:45] One that's been controversial in the campaign is the gifted [1:28:48] and talented program, which offers accelerated instruction to elementary [1:28:52] school children. Mr. Mamdani, you have said that you want [1:28:55] to phase out the gifted and talented program while Mr. [1:28:57] Cuomo and Mr. Sliwa want to expand it. [1:29:00] Mr. Sliwa, we will start with you. [1:29:02] What is your plan for the program? [1:29:03] You have one minute. Gifted and talented. [1:29:06] Yes, gifted and talented. [1:29:07] I have two younger sons with Melinda Katz, the Queens DA. [1:29:11] They both attempted to get into gifted and talented as four year old. [1:29:16] They failed. [1:29:17] It did not. [1:29:18] It was a great performance and it was a great time. [1:29:21] They didn't bring much of it. [1:29:22] I don't think they have the ability to [1:29:25] present a problem with their future education. [1:29:29] We don't have enough slots right now. [1:29:30] The one thousand nine hundred. [1:29:32] We need to have at least 5000 slots around the city. [1:29:35] Well, they have not done at the Department [1:29:37] of Education is make these tests available in Black and Hispanic communities. [1:29:43] So for instance, you have seventy seven thousand children who are [1:29:48] the test to all 77,000. And even if a gifted and talented class only has three or four in a [1:29:54] minority school, give these children an opportunity to excel, too. That would make it fair for [1:30:00] everybody. Thank you. Mr. Cuomo, how does your plan differ from Mr. Sliwa's? You also have one [1:30:05] minute. First, I support mayoral control. I think it would be a terrible mistake to roll back mayoral [1:30:11] control. That's probably been the most dramatic educational reform in 40 years. We'd go back to [1:30:18] the old system that had local school boards which were corrupt, patronage mills, etc. So who runs [1:30:25] the system is number one. I would expand gifted and talented programs, accessibility. I'd offer [1:30:32] preparatory courses to any student parent that wanted to take them. I'd double the number of [1:30:38] specialized high schools from 9 to 18. And I would keep the SHSAT as it is. Thank you. [1:30:48] Could I add one thing? There's been no discussion about vocational high schools which save so many [1:30:55] young men and women. We need to expand vocational training for those who are not going to achieve [1:31:00] academic excellence. We're going to keep going here with Mr. Mamdani. Why should the gifted and [1:31:03] talented program be phased out, in your opinion? You have a minute to answer. So I want to be very [1:31:07] clear. I have spoken solely of gifted and talented for kindergartners. I do not believe that [1:31:13] kindergartners should be subject to a singular assessment. I have not spoken of any gifted and [1:31:18] talented programs older than for kindergarten. I'm solely speaking about kindergarten. And I [1:31:22] believe that we should be delivering the best education across the country here in this city. [1:31:28] We will do that by following through on the proposals I've put forward to hire a thousand [1:31:32] more teachers every single year through our community to classroom program. One that will [1:31:37] ensure that we're providing each student, whether they be in high school or someone who is an adult [1:31:42] looking to become a teacher, with $12,000 in tuition subsidies so that they can start to [1:31:47] fulfill the $7,000 to $9,000 that they need to fulfill the $7,000 to $9,000 that they need to [1:31:48] to fulfill the $7,000 to $9,000 that they need to fulfill the $7,000 to $9,000 that they need to [1:31:48] fulfill the $7,000 to $9,000 that they need to fulfill the $7,000 additional teachers we need [1:31:50] so that we can actually deliver on the Class Size Reduction Act, which I was proud to pass in [1:31:54] Albany, that will ensure that children and teachers actually have a manageable ratio in that classroom [1:31:59] so that they can learn. Because today, that learning is being rendered impossible by the [1:32:03] number of kids in that same classroom. It's time to make sure that that number is lower. [1:32:08] But you don't believe the mayor should run this system? [1:32:11] I've been critical of mayoral control because of the ways in which it's been used [1:32:15] to take away the voice of parents, of educators, of students. I think it's [1:32:19] important that those same voices be a part of how we lead the system. [1:32:22] So are you for or against mayoral control? [1:32:25] I've been critical of it. I'm against mayoral control, and I think that there's an importance [1:32:28] of developing something that actually enshrines all of those voices together. [1:32:32] Mr. Cuomo, you also tried to curtail it when Mayor de Blasio was mayor. [1:32:36] I'm sorry. [1:32:38] Did you hear what she said? [1:32:39] No. [1:32:40] You proposed a curtailment of mayoral control when Mayor de Blasio was mayor. [1:32:44] There's been multiple modifications of mayoral control. [1:32:47] Some proposed curtailment at your hand. [1:32:49] And so if you're such a champion of it tonight, I think it's worth pointing out. [1:32:53] I never proposed reversing mayoral control. [1:32:55] No, shortening the duration of time he would have control of schools. [1:32:58] Yes, for renewal. [1:33:00] Mr. Mamdani, how much control of schools would you be giving up? [1:33:06] Is it just a sharing arrangement? [1:33:07] I know you want to share with the districts and with parents. [1:33:10] Or would you be giving up full control? [1:33:12] And is that an accountability problem if the buck doesn't stop with you? [1:33:15] I think the mayor needs to retain the accountability so that New Yorkers [1:33:19] know exactly who they can come to when they have critiques. [1:33:22] And I think we also have to develop a system where we don't have what we saw just recently, [1:33:26] where you have hours and hours of parents and teachers and students testifying [1:33:31] only to be overruled without any consideration by the panel. [1:33:34] Thank you, Mr. Mamdani. [1:33:35] I have to move on. [1:33:36] Switching now. [1:33:37] It's a question for all three of you. [1:33:39] Switching to students with learning challenges. [1:33:41] Parents of students with dyslexia, ADHD, and autism are very well aware of the fact that [1:33:48] the school system. [1:33:49] New York City is not doing enough to meet their children's educational needs. [1:33:53] How will you help these parents and students? [1:33:56] We know that Mayor Adams has expanded evaluations specifically for children with dyslexia. [1:34:01] It was an issue close to his heart. [1:34:02] But what would you do more broadly, Mr. Mamdani? [1:34:06] You know, I think some of the initiatives that Mayor Adams has launched, especially with this [1:34:09] chancellor, have been showing positive signs, especially for literacy and for preparedness, [1:34:15] especially as we're in a national crisis on reading and mathematical comprehension. [1:34:19] And I think those are programs that should be furthered, should be invested in, all while [1:34:24] also ensuring that we're giving teachers greater flexibility in the curriculum that they're [1:34:28] actually teaching. [1:34:29] Because what I've heard from many of those teachers is that too often the curriculum [1:34:33] that's being procured in the $10 billion a year in DOE contracts is one that has little [1:34:37] relation to the classroom. [1:34:38] Thank you, Mr. Mamdani. [1:34:39] Mr. Sleely, you have 30 seconds. [1:34:40] Yes. [1:34:41] We have $41,000 that we're spending on each student now. [1:34:45] By fourth grade, two-thirds of these children cannot read, write, or do math. [1:34:47] They can't do math. [1:34:48] They can't do math. [1:34:49] They can't do math at grade level. [1:34:52] We should be ashamed of ourselves for that. [1:34:54] 100,000 less students than we had last year. [1:34:57] One-third are truants. [1:34:59] We have 200 schools with 200 students or less, and Michael Mogul determines which schools [1:35:05] stay open. [1:35:06] Eric Adams is not exhibiting mayoral control. [1:35:09] The mayor should run the Board of Education, the old Board of Education that is now the [1:35:13] Department of Education. [1:35:14] Okay. [1:35:15] The bureaucracy. [1:35:16] Hi, Mr. Sleely. [1:35:17] You have 13 deputy chancellors. [1:35:18] You have 50 department heads. [1:35:20] They suck up all the money, and teachers are still reaching into their pockets to pay [1:35:25] for badly needed supplies for the children in the class. [1:35:28] The money should be going to the teachers and the children and young adults, and it's [1:35:32] not. [1:35:33] Mr. Cuomo, what is your specific plan to deal with the challenges of students who have learning [1:35:37] differences? [1:35:38] We are losing young families. [1:35:40] When their child becomes of school age, they leave the city. [1:35:43] They go to the suburbs. [1:35:44] They go to New Jersey. [1:35:45] They're not going to sacrifice their child on what they think is the secondary education [1:35:49] system. [1:35:50] The core competency, reading and math, below 50% is a disgrace. [1:35:56] The gifted and talented programs gives people hope. [1:35:59] I do believe Mayor Adams has made progress on the evaluations and services for children [1:36:05] who require special needs and assistance, but obviously we have to do more. [1:36:10] So we have another question about improving schools, and in the last year, the schools [1:36:15] enrolled more than 36,000 migrant students. [1:36:18] Many learned English. [1:36:19] That's amazing. [1:36:20] That's a lot of English for the first time, from class size to bilingual teachers. [1:36:24] That was a big strain in the system. [1:36:26] Mr. Cuomo, what can you do to help migrant students, but also the staff? [1:36:31] You have 30 seconds. [1:36:32] Well, first, I think it was wrong of the state to put so many migrants in New York City. [1:36:40] New York City had the overwhelming majority of migrants, but they're already here close [1:36:45] to about 80%. [1:36:46] The state should have put them all across the state. [1:36:49] Nassau, Suffolk, Upstate. [1:36:52] So other governments could have also- [1:36:55] Well, they were bused here from Texas, right? [1:36:57] Yes, but if they're bused from Texas, you could have brought some to Nassau, 20 miles, [1:37:00] Westchester. [1:37:01] Yeah, but they're here right now, and we're asking for the current problem. [1:37:04] Yes, well, that's how the problem was created. [1:37:06] Okay, we understand that. [1:37:07] The state put them here. [1:37:08] The state gave the city the bill. [1:37:11] It has now increased the challenge in our education system. [1:37:14] The state is going to have to help financially. [1:37:17] So you didn't answer the question, Mr. Mamdani. [1:37:19] Is your team here? [1:37:19] Mamdani is your chance. [1:37:20] You know, when I spoke about our community to classroom program, the importance of it [1:37:24] is not just bringing in a thousand more teachers every year. [1:37:28] It's also that we would bring in a number of more bilingual educators because what we've [1:37:32] heard from a number of adults who have taught in other countries now live in New York City [1:37:36] is the process by which they get their certification approved to teach here is one that is onerous [1:37:41] and one that is actually pricing many of them out. [1:37:43] That's why this is a program that will directly address that to increase that bilingual capacity [1:37:48] in our school system so that we can teach every single child no matter when they got [1:37:52] here. [1:37:53] But Mr. Mamdani, this certification has been offered and it hasn't been successful. [1:37:57] So how can you make more teachers to be, you know, like they want to do this? [1:38:03] Part of what I've heard is that the tuition costs as part of the same certification exams [1:38:07] are onerous for many of these adults looking to switch careers. [1:38:10] That's why this program is built upon providing $12,000 in tuition assistance that would lead [1:38:15] to a thousand more teachers every year. [1:38:17] And also salaries will be a good. [1:38:18] We have not yet. [1:38:18] Not just migrant children. [1:38:20] We have the children of the homeless over one hundred and twenty thousand. [1:38:24] We haven't yet discussed charter schools, parochial schools that are closing. [1:38:29] Normally parochial schools would have been able to take some of these children. [1:38:32] We need to expand the number of charter schools that are doing an amazing job, especially [1:38:37] in the inner cities. [1:38:38] And why not make that available to migrant children and to the homeless children who [1:38:42] are coming from shelters all across the city who need the special teaching skills that [1:38:48] have lifted. [1:38:48] The children in the charter schools, we need to give choice because that's our most precious [1:38:54] resource. [1:38:55] Our children. [1:38:56] So allow me to now move on into this. [1:38:57] I agree on the charter schools. [1:38:58] Thank you, Mr. [1:38:59] Como. [1:39:00] So allow me now to enter into the sanctuary city situation and let's talk about also undocumented [1:39:05] immigrants. [1:39:06] Twenty six Federal Plaza has become a flagship in federal immigration crackdown. [1:39:12] We reported that asylum seekers are showing up for like those routine appointments, not [1:39:16] facing any criminal charges. [1:39:17] That's right. [1:39:18] And they're not facing any criminal charges. [1:39:19] They're facing a lot of challenges and they end up being deported. [1:39:21] So by the show of hands, we would like to know if you believe that you any of you could [1:39:28] do something to stop this. [1:39:32] Okay. [1:39:33] So Mr. Como, you have a minute to explain us. [1:39:35] What would you do? [1:39:36] The law is the law. [1:39:37] And I would have an attorney assigned to every person who is undergoing any review by the [1:39:44] federal government or any legal proceeding. [1:39:47] And put the full weight of the city government behind it. [1:39:49] And I would have an attorney assigned to every person who is undergoing any review by the [1:39:50] federal government. [1:39:51] And put the full weight of the city government behind it. [1:39:52] And make sure they are legally protected. [1:40:09] Mr. Slee what's your plan? [1:40:16] Look. [1:40:16] Going after the criminals. [1:40:17] and hospitality businesses which have hired these migrants and they are essential workers now i can [1:40:24] tell you i have three sons none of them are going to do that work some americans will but most won't [1:40:29] we need to protect the migrants who are workers who are essential workers and use ice to go after [1:40:35] the drug dealers the gangbangers the sexual uh predators and those who are sex trafficking [1:40:42] and involved in narco-terrorism mr ramdani now i'd be proud to be the first immigrant mayor of [1:40:49] this city in generations and it's a 26 federal plaza that i've seen what used to be moments [1:40:54] when new yorkers would be getting their citizenship turn into moments of tragedy [1:40:57] where judges are asking new yorkers who are there for a routine immigration check-in [1:41:01] whether they're prepared to leave in the very same clothes that they arrived to that courthouse [1:41:05] i agree that we need more legal representation i also think we need to actually be able to stand [1:41:11] up to donald trump because i heard [1:41:12] from pastor in east flatbush pastor galbraith who told me how he accompanied a member of his [1:41:18] congregation to 26 federal plaza he sat there as a judge was determining her fate they managed [1:41:24] to convince the judge to replace the deportation order with a tps order but they knew that ice [1:41:29] would not care about that change and they had to sprint her out of the building smuggling her into [1:41:35] the elevator in order to get her back to berkeley thank you candidates uh want to talk about new [1:41:41] york city's economy uh and change the [1:41:42] picture [1:41:42] face a little bit everyone supports growing new york city's economy the mayor is our chief [1:41:48] salesman to the business world so we want to mix it up test your persuasive power so [1:41:53] we're calling it an elevator pitch and we'll start with you mr ramdani in this scenario [1:41:56] imagine you're talking to the ceo of a big tech company deciding to move its headquarters [1:42:01] to new york city or to dallas the ceo is concerned new york just raised its corporate taxes and [1:42:07] employees will pay more for everything look into the camera and make your pitch to that [1:42:11] ceo to come here and not there [1:42:14] do it in 30 seconds new york city has something that dallas or no other city across this country [1:42:19] could actually offer and that is the quality of life that is the arts and the culture that is the [1:42:23] people that make the city so special and i as the mayor of this city will deliver that quality of [1:42:28] life will deliver the safety that is the cornerstone of an affordability agenda and will [1:42:32] ensure that companies choose to come to this city and also choose to stay in this city because so [1:42:38] much of what drives the tech sector is a hunger for innovation a unrepenting desire to [1:42:44] actually innovate and those are the very things that are going to characterize my city government [1:42:48] in this but what do you say to ceo about the corporate taxes and also the staggering costs [1:42:52] for the workers we are going to make this city more affordable so that workers who want to work [1:42:57] at those companies can actually be able to do so and we're going to ensure that this city continues [1:43:02] to be one where we see businesses opening and also staying all right thank you sally mr quinn was [1:43:07] something of a reverse scenario for you the ceo of a similar company with 1000 good jobs tells you [1:43:14] her headquarters out of New York City. She cites everything from taxes to the crushing cost of [1:43:20] living for her employees in New York City. How do you convince that CEO to stay? Please look into [1:43:25] the camera and make your elevator pitch. You have 30 seconds. We know that the other companies [1:43:32] I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The question is to me in this camera. Yes. The question is how you would [1:43:44] convince the CEO of a company with a thousand good jobs who's looking to move out of New York [1:43:49] City because of the high cost of living for her employees and taxes. How you would convince her [1:43:54] to stay in New York City in 15 seconds. 30. OK. 30 seconds. OK. I get it. I understand your [1:44:04] frustration. I understand that the far left has been raising taxes and making businesses feel [1:44:10] like the enemy. We get it. That's gone. The DSA, the socialist orientation, [1:44:16] we're not socialists. It didn't work in Venezuela, didn't work in Cuba, didn't work here. We know [1:44:23] that we have to work with business. We want to be your partner. We want to have taxes that help us [1:44:28] grow our city, but are competitive for you. We're at time. And we want a partner to grow your [1:44:34] business and our city together. Thank you. Mr. Sliwa, let's talk about business because let's [1:44:39] assume the big tech company that we pitched to Mr. Mamdani earlier has decided to move to New York. [1:44:46] And it's a thousand good paying jobs. And the CEO wants to be based in Astoria, Queens. But there's [1:44:54] a loud pushback of residents who don't want the noise and the traffic. How can you convince the [1:45:00] residents to accept the new neighbor? You're speaking to a very powerful community. How can [1:45:05] you convince them? Well, we saw that with Amazon. Amazon wanted to come in and AOC led the charge [1:45:11] and local elected officials to say no to Amazon. That was a big mistake. [1:45:16] I would say this. Our companies are being recruited away by the day. We have young people who are going [1:45:23] to school here who could fill their needs in these high tech industries, who also are being lured [1:45:29] away. We need to cut their income taxes for five years. Tell them if you go to school here, graduate [1:45:35] here, no income taxes for five years. It's an income tax holiday. And the most important thing we [1:45:40] have to be able to assure the executives that this will be a city where we don't lock up toothpaste [1:45:46] any longer, but lock up the criminals who make it intolerable to have a good quality of life. [1:45:51] Thank you. We need to move on to a subject that is [1:45:54] Democratic Socialists of America that stopped Amazon and cost us 25,000 jobs. [1:45:58] So thank you, Mr. Cuomo. We need to move on to a crisis that is very important to a lot of voters, [1:46:03] and that is people struggling with mental health problems. Roughly 500 times a day, [1:46:10] someone calls 911 about an emotionally disturbed person. And in a limited number [1:46:16] of those [1:46:16] cases, [1:46:16] when the person is not believed to be violent, social workers are dispatched instead of police. [1:46:22] Mr. Mamdani, you want to do that on a much larger scale. So we want to know, [1:46:28] how will this work? When will you send police versus social workers? You have one minute. [1:46:34] You know, we have a program here in New York City called Be Heard that is attempting [1:46:40] to do this kind of work. But we've had a mayor who has ensured that it's been unsuccessful, [1:46:44] to the extent that even when there was an assessment, [1:46:47] of about 60% of calls that could have been addressed by Be Heard instead of the NYPD, [1:46:52] Be Heard was not actually responsive to it. And that's because we haven't had the political will [1:46:56] to deliver on what is a crisis that affects so many New Yorkers, which is the mental health [1:47:01] crisis. What my plan will do, an innovative plan of the Department of Community Safety, [1:47:06] will take what has worked elsewhere in the country, a program in Eugene, Oregon, where they [1:47:10] took 24,000 911 mental health calls out of the police department. They were able to respond to [1:47:16] all but [1:47:17] 911 without police assistance. When there is a concern for safety or of violence, [1:47:22] absolutely, you would have the police there. But what we are doing today is actually ensuring that [1:47:27] every single call is going to the police and not allowing them to do the work that they signed up [1:47:32] to do. How will you determine whether there is a concern for safety or violence? What is the line [1:47:37] between the calls in which police will be dispatched and the calls to which social [1:47:42] workers will be dispatched? The line is also going to be one focused on violence, and the [1:47:47] threat of violence. And I also trust the operators who will be receiving those calls to make that [1:47:52] determination as they do every day today for so many emergency services. And just two really quick [1:47:57] points, please. There has been a lot of discussion that you would send social workers to domestic [1:48:02] violence calls, which police are concerned about. So you're saying no. Okay. And then the other [1:48:07] question is, how can you be sure that a situation that does not sound violent when someone calls 9-1-1 [1:48:14] does not become violent in the moment? Would police be [1:48:17] assigned as backup? I think what you do is you actually follow the experts that have shown us [1:48:22] this can work when you're willing to ensure that you're trusting the mental health experts who have [1:48:27] been doing this work elsewhere in the country, where they call for the police when they need [1:48:31] the police, but their initial impulse when there's no violence in that call is to actually address [1:48:36] the mental health at the heart of it. Okay, Mr. Sliwa, you have encountered plenty of these types [1:48:40] of situations in your decades of work with the Guardian Angels. So do you see this approach [1:48:45] working? You're not a police officer. [1:48:47] But you've helped out in situations. [1:48:49] All right. Boy, another fantasy that's not reality. Eugene, Oregon. Have you ever been to [1:48:55] Eugene? I've been to Eugene. Come on. This is New York City. We have so many emotionally disturbed [1:49:02] persons that are in need of help. I will tell you this, Andrew, you closed the mental health beds [1:49:09] that were taking care of them. 40,000 when you came into office, down to 4,000 because of your [1:49:15] cuts, which forced these people to live in the street. [1:49:17] In the parks and the subways. These people need to be removed. They need mental health care. We [1:49:23] need to make our shelters safe. I've been in one third of the 300 shelters run by the Department [1:49:29] of Homeless Services. It's Darwinian there. Survival of the fittest. If we can make our [1:49:34] shelter system safe, we can get men and women who are homeless in there, especially veterans who [1:49:40] are not giving any attention to, who we put out in Ward's Island at 10 o'clock at night, released [1:49:46] during the day. [1:49:47] Have any training, have them roam about. And obviously, when you have nothing to do, [1:49:52] you end up getting into trouble. This is a disastrous, homeless and emotionally disturbed [1:49:57] plan that we have in New York City. And I'm the mayor that can change it because I deal with them [1:50:02] every day in the streets, in the parks and the subways. [1:50:04] Okay. Mr. Cuomo, do you think that the NYPD handles these calls for emotionally [1:50:09] disturbed people in distress well? Is there room for something in the middle? [1:50:13] Yeah. I think the Assemblyman deals in theory, [1:50:17] there's an advantage when you actually have experience. I've run homeless programs. I ran [1:50:22] the homeless programs for the federal government. I've worked with cities all across the nation. [1:50:25] When you get a call on a telephone about a mentally ill person who may be violent, [1:50:34] it is a very dangerous situation. And I think you should have a mental health worker accompanied [1:50:41] with a police officer, because these can be explosive situations. I have been in situations [1:50:47] that seemed apparently calm and fine, and then erupted into violence very quickly. And it got [1:50:55] very dangerous very quickly. So I would have a social worker with a police officer and get the [1:51:01] people off the streets. That's the humane thing and get them the care they need. Not institutionalized [1:51:09] 40,000 people again. We have supportive housing now, which is what we use and forensic beds for [1:51:15] people who need them. Mr. Cuomo. Let me get this straight. A [1:51:17] police officer is there first. He has to wait for the arrival of a mental health. [1:51:21] No, I would send them as a team. [1:51:23] As a team. That's not realistic. You're dealing with fantasy also. The police officers are going [1:51:30] to be the first one on the scene, and they're always going to have to deal with it first and [1:51:34] foremost. Mr. Cuomo says that he has experience running homeless programs. What he has experience [1:51:39] doing is cutting funding for the very programs that prevented homelessness here in New York City. [1:51:43] As the governor, he cut funding for the Advantage program, [1:51:47] which was putting [1:51:48] New Yorkers who had otherwise been in shelters, otherwise been homeless into apartments. I met [1:51:52] one of those New Yorkers, and she told me how that pushed her out of it. [1:51:55] Thank you, Mr. Muadadi. Brief response, Mr. Cuomo. [1:51:57] He's talking about a program 14 years ago that was a pilot program that had a work requirement. [1:52:02] It was very controversial. It was $65 million. [1:52:05] Are you talking about Advantage, just so we know what you're talking about? [1:52:09] It was 14 years ago, $65 million. I added billions to the homeless budget, funded the homeless budget [1:52:18] of any governor in history. [1:52:19] Okay, thank you. He cut that program. He cut that program. Homelessness skyrocketed. [1:52:24] Mr. Muadadi, it did not. It was 14 years ago. [1:52:27] All right. [1:52:28] It was during the Bloomberg administration, and yes. Okay. [1:52:31] Okay. I want to ask you about climate change. As New York City confronts the impact of climate [1:52:36] change, one issue already on the desk of the next mayor is Local Law 97. It was passed in 2019. The [1:52:42] law requires large buildings to gradually reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. That may require [1:52:48] excessive upgrades to buildings which some landlords and Co-op owners say they just simply [1:52:53] can't afford. We're wondering how each of you would enforce the law. You have 30 seconds, Mr. Cuomo. [1:53:02] Implementing the law is going to be key, because it has to be done in a way that [1:53:07] isn't so disruptive to businesses and residences that they just give up and pay the fine and don't [1:53:15] even try to comply, which is what is going to happen [1:53:18] now. It will be cheaper for them, [1:53:20] pay the fine then comply and that obviously will accomplish nothing so yes i support the law yes [1:53:29] uh we have to implement it but we have to implement it in a way that is feasible thank you [1:53:34] mr mr slewa local 97 will destroy those people who have invested in co-ops and condos there's a [1:53:42] hundred thousand it's forcing them to electrify now you andrew cool took indian point offline [1:53:49] 25 of our electrical capacity with no replacement which has caused skyrocketing electricity bills [1:53:56] and now we're going to force condo and co-op owners to electrify maintenance fees will go up [1:54:01] 30 percent these people will be leaving their condos and co-ops they need relief when i'm mayor [1:54:07] i slow that process down we need our co-op owners and condo owners to stay here in new york city [1:54:16] yeah uh indian point was started before [1:54:19] me it was a very dangerous situation we have nuclear facilities upstate and i my proposal [1:54:27] on what i did is run cables from the nuclear facilities upstate to bring the power to downstate [1:54:32] uh indian point was in it had 20 million people in the kill zone thank you mr cuomo [1:54:37] mr mamdani local law 97 how would you enforce the law as mayor i support the law and i would [1:54:42] also make it easier for condo and co-op owners to comply with the law because what i've heard from [1:54:49] the mayor is that they're not going to be able to pay the fine and to actually get into compliance [1:54:53] and i think the city has a role here in procurement at a large scale of so much of what is necessary [1:54:58] in these infrastructure investments we've seen it be done in the clean energy challenge within [1:55:02] nycha it's time to do it right here in new york city to assist those condo and co-op owners in [1:55:07] meeting the standards we desperately need to hit okay gentlemen new york city loves its parades [1:55:12] and the mayor is often front and center you have all said that you want to be mayor for all new [1:55:18] yorkers [1:55:19] the parades that mayors have traditionally marched in or are there any that you would boycott mr sliwa [1:55:26] i think a mayor has a responsibility whenever possible to march in parades to celebrate [1:55:32] whatever that parade is uh performing as i've been a grand marshal of the pulaski day parade i was [1:55:38] proud to celebrate that you would boycott though i just need to move this along would you boycott [1:55:44] any of the city's parades no i would not boycott any parades it's amazing responsibility to be a [1:55:49] level to all racial and religious groups no i wouldn't unless they discriminated okay mr mamdani [1:55:56] there are many parades that i would not be attending because i'd be focusing on the work [1:55:59] of leading this city which parades the number of people i've already missed a number of those [1:56:04] parades because i've been trying to tell us as possible okay i don't have the list of all the [1:56:09] parades i've missed wow that's all right i should be going to all parades let me ask you this are [1:56:13] there any parades that don't exist that you think should mr mamdani i haven't thought much about [1:56:20] honest with you mr cuomo i have not thought i i don't even know what parade doesn't exist [1:56:27] it could be for anything mr sliwa uh every parade has the right to exist in new york city i would [1:56:33] ask you thank you okay thank you would you protect the christopher columbus statues that exist here [1:56:39] in the city i'm telling you my focus is on affordability i'm not thinking about you're [1:56:43] not answering the question yeah thank you you're not answering we gave the finger to the columbus [1:56:48] day okay that issue has come up that's what we're talking about we're talking about the columbus day [1:56:50] earlier listen we're in the last couple of minutes and we thought some questions we thought we had [1:56:56] some questions that maybe give a glimpse into your life your personality away from the political [1:57:01] podium what's your go-to breakfast order at the bodega mr sliwa oh eggs and cheese on a roll [1:57:09] no salt please mr cuomo same thing no salt also mr mamdani egg and cheese on a roll with jalapenos [1:57:18] have you ever purchased anything in a cannabis shop and if so [1:57:22] what did you buy mr mamdani i have i have purchased marijuana at a legal cannabis shop okay [1:57:29] mr cuomo no mr sliwa uh when i was shot five times i've had crohn's disease i did use medical [1:57:37] marijuana yes okay in a dream scenario we know it's not possible but the mets are playing game [1:57:43] seven of the world series on the same night as the knicks are playing game seven of the [1:57:46] nba championship and you can only go to one which one will it be mr sliwa again which baseball team [1:57:54] this is the mets game seven nicks game seven even uh i'm not going to the mets game i'm a yankee fan [1:57:59] true baseball fans either like one or the other i'm going to the knicks game that's my team the [1:58:04] knicks mr cuomo i'm going to go half in half i can make it back and forth all right mr bump donnie [1:58:11] this is what new york is they're sick of just pick a team what's your answer i'd be there for the [1:58:14] next okay we'll let there's a lot of ground covered we'll leave it on that light note [1:58:18] thank you candidates for a spirited debate we thank you as well we hope you got a lot out of it [1:58:25] New York City voters. The New York City Campaign Finance Board, we thank heartily and we urge you [1:58:29] to check out their website, nycvotes.org. From all of us here, we certainly thank you [1:58:34] for watching. And remember, go vote Tuesday, November 4th. Have a good night.