New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani took a jibe at former governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday, accusing him of failing to engage with the Muslim community during his decade in office.“It took Andrew Cuomo being beaten by a Muslim candidate in the Democratic primary for him to set foot in a mosque,” Mamdani said during a heated mayoral debate at Rockefeller Center. “He had more than ten years and he couldn’t name a single mosque at the last debate we had that he visited.” Mamdani continued, “What Muslims want in this city is what every community wants and deserves. They want equality and they want respect, and it took me to get you to even see those Muslims as part of this city, and that frankly is something that is shameful and is why so many New Yorkers have lost faith in this politics.”Cuomo defended his record, saying, “Before you were ever here, before you were even in state government, I worked with the Muslim community. Imams presided over state of the states. We worked in religious working groups, tolerance groups, anti-Semitic groups, etcetera.”Mamdani pressed further and asked, “Name a single mosque you went to while you were the governor. Can you name a single mosque you went to in ten years?” Cuomo had campaigned at a mosque for the first time in his current race last month. Mamdani concluded, “You couldn’t visit a mosque.”The debate, which lasted two hours, also saw Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa teaming up at points to challenge Cuomo. Candidates clashed on housing, Israel and Gaza, sex work, and the influence of US President Donald Trump.Polls suggest Mamdani had widened his lead to 46 per cent, while Cuomo stands at 33 per cent. Early voting is set to begin next week.The Democratic Party is closely watching whether New Yorkers choose an establishment figure in Cuomo, running as an independent, or the progressive Mamdani. Republicans are also tracking Curtis Sliwa’s campaign, particularly his focus on public safety, to see if he can expand his support as a Republican in a Blue city.
