The three leading candidates for mayor of New York City traded blows at their final debate on Thursday night – a final attempt to show the city’s notoriously scrappy residents their ideas, fight and leadership.
And this time, they had an audience.
Supporters and spectators packed a university auditorium in the borough of Queens to cheer – and occasionally chide – the candidates. Three moderators kept the 90-minute debate moving, touching on housing, homelessness, the economy, and the current occupant of the White House.
Democrat Zohran Mamdani, positioned at center stage, remained the candidate to beat. Recent polls suggest he holds a double digit lead over opponents Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent Andrew Cuomo. The cheers for Mamdani frequently eclipsed those for his opponents.
The debate broke little new ground from last week’s showdown, with candidates even reheating a few zingers, but it remained the last high-profile chance for them to sell their visions before Election Day.
Some key moments from the night:
Candidates come out swinging – and angry
The candidates pushed each other on policies the first televised debate last week. But with early voting beginning on Saturday, the gloves were off.
Perhaps fueled by the live audience, the attacks became more heated and personal.
Mamdani called Cuomo “a desperate man.” The former governor told Mamdani, “You never show up for work” as a state assemblyman – which Mamdani denies.
Mamdani shot back at Cuomo: “In his own words, that the city is getting screwed by the state. Who was leading the state? It was you.”
Mamdani took heat from both men, including one exchange when Sliwa and Cuomo demanded he clarify his position on affordable housing ballot initiatives that voters will also consider 4 November.
“I have not yet taken a position on those,” he said, prompting jeers from his opponents.
“What a shocker,” Cuomo quipped as Sliwa slapped his palm to his forehead.
NY1 anchor and debate moderator Errol Louis chided Mamdani and Cuomo after another argument broke out about the former governor’s record. “You can’t talk over each other,” he said.
Sliwa took swings at both opponents for their prior records, arguing he was the only candidate who could keep New Yorkers safe. At one point, criticising the subway system during Cuomo’s term as governor, Sliwa declared, “I don’t trust you.”
Even after the debate, Sliwa continued to throw punches.
He promised to be Mamdani’s “worst nightmare” should the assemblyman win, and mused Cuomo likely “had a couple Red Bulls” before appearing on stage.
Cuomo scandal scrutinised again
In a repeat of the first debate, both Sliwa and Mamdani invoked the sexual harassment allegations that led to Cuomo resigning from the governor’s office in 2021.
Cuomo has denied the allegations and aggressively pushed back against his accusers’ claims.
Mamdani announced that one of Cuomo’s accusers was in the debate audience.
“What do you say to the 13 women who you sexually harassed?” Mamdani asked, invoking the allegations.
Cuomo said the cases had been dropped and again denied wrongdoing.
Dealing with the White House
In a possible preview of future Trump administration actions in the city, federal immigration officers spilled onto a block in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood on Tuesday, detaining several street vendors and sparking fury from residents.
Mr Louis asked each candidate to respond to the raid, and – bigger picture – explain how they would engage with the White House.
In a rare moment of agreement, all three said that the New York City Police Department should have dealt with any illegal street vending issues, not federal officers. But they took different approaches to dealing with Trump.
“With Trump, it’s always the art of the deal. You have to negotiate,” Sliwa, the Republican, said.
Mamdani alleged that Cuomo was, “Donald Trump’s puppet himself.”
Though Mamdani said he would oppose Trump’s deportation initiatives, when it came to tackling the cost of living, “I am always ready to work” with the president.
Cuomo said that only he had the relevant experience dealing with Trump to ensure New Yorkers got a fair deal.
“He puts his finger in your chest, and you have to put your finger right back in his chest,” he said.
Delving into the Israel-Gaza debate
The war in the Middle East has had a profound impact on the New York City mayoral race.
Mamdani made his pro-Palestine views central to his candidacy, despite critics accusing him of encouraging antisemitism and insufficiently denouncing the phrase “globalise the intifada.”
Cuomo again accused Mamdani of fanning “the flames of hatred against Jews,” and Sliwa said the state assemblyman, who represents a section of Queens, “had a lot of explaining to do.”
Mamdani repeated a pledge from the first debate to serve as mayor for “all New Yorkers,” including Jewish residents who support Israel.
But he defended himself against accusations that he held extreme views: “It has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice” of being mayor of New York City, Mamdani said.
Mr Louis also asked the staunchly pro-Israel Cuomo, “What would you say to, and how would you handle New Yorkers who are in the streets of your care protesting the actions of the Netanyahu goverment?”
Many large demonstrations for Palestinians rights have taken place in New York City throughout the conflict, and Columbia University experienced over a year of protests from students who opposed Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
“That’s your right. Protest. Demonstrate. Disagree. God bless America, God bless New York City,” Cuomo said. “That doesn’t justify antisemitic behaviour.”
