
© Richard B. Levine
(New York, NY) – In retrospect, the idea of Andrew Cuomo ever becoming mayor of New York City is pretty silly. He hasn’t lived in the Big Apple for many years. Westchester or maybe Albany is more so his home these days. And after New York was among the nation’s most COVID-ravaged cities, few are willing to forget Cuomo’s pandemic management.
Namely, he tried to become a media star, and sell books, while the people suffered. His notorious nursing home order during COVID’s early days sent untold New Yorkers to an early grave. And while some might have been willing to cut Cuomo some slack — and overlook errors that occurred during a tumultuous and confusing time — the ex-governor’s lack of grace or humility has never been more apparent. He refused to ever apologize to the city, or loved ones, after his decisions proved largely ineffectual (and worse) during the pandemic era
So, despite the protestations from the media that Cuomo was a shoe-in, he was far from it. City voters seemed intrigued by the new flavor-of-the month, Zohran Mamdani. The guy is young, knows social media, has lots of cash, and likes to offer free stuff. His campaign has promised free buses, free city-run grocery stores, and thinly-veiled anti-Semitism (at least according to many). Then again, because he’s Muslim, you’re apparently not allowed to accuse him of hating Jews. Momdani claimed he’s received death threats — and then he produced tears on camera — when accused of being anti-Semitic.
To be sure, the complicated feelings and mindsets surrounding Israel, Palestine, Gaza, and beyond, make the issue murky. It’s also largely true that New York City voters don’t much care about anti-Semitism as a leading campaign issue (other than Jewish voters). So while Mamdani may not be able to form a strong coalition among Jewish voters, he’s got momentum elsewhere.


Specifically, white, rich New Yorkers love the guy. Mamdani’s leftist politics are music to the ears of New Yorkers who have money, don’t face struggles in life, and generally think everyone but them ought to face criticism. Mamdani also claims to not be a capitalist, so the very capitalist, rich New Yorkers love him — naturally. The truth is, most New Yorkers who would support Mamdani live sky-high lives. They reside in penthouses and high-rise apartments, high above the filth, crime, and struggle of Manhattan. Those voters don’t take the subway, or see people jumping the turnstile, or deal with Schizophrenic people in the system.
Cuomo was a terrible, failed, flawed candidate. And he didn’t even campaign! He more or less dragged himself to a few black churches, granted one or two interviews, and banked on his name securing the nominate. He didn’t get the memo that the name’s been tainted.
Mamdani is the fresh, new face. Protestations from people in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London — who will tell Gotham voters ’till their blue in the face that socialist mayors are bad news — are falling on deaf ears. New York sadly needs to experience a lot more pain, because right now — a flashy social media account, exotic name, and promises of “free stuff” take you pretty far.