Mamdani's maddening win: Letters to the Editor — June 28, 2025
The Issue: Zohran Mamdani winning New York City's Democratic mayoral primary.
Congratulations, Democrats: You gave your nomination for mayor to a hateful, authoritarian, antisemitic candidate ('Mam'a Mia, NYC!' June 25).
You're willing to ruin the city's economy and make the streets, schools, subways and buses unsafe because of your contempt for people who are not like you. And then you'll all go running to Florida and other free states, leaving those who stay to suffer the consequences of Zohran Mamdani.
Advertisement
As a native New Yorker who still loves the city, I am deeply worried about its future.
Tim Phares
Laurel, Md.
Advertisement
An openly antisemitic extremist is the Democratic candidate for mayor. This is happening in the same city hosting a 'Summer of Reflection' honoring Anne Frank. The irony is sickening.
Since Oct. 7, when Hamas slaughtered over 1,000 Jews, antisemitism hasn't just returned — it's been mainstreamed. Jews have been firebombed, gunned down, harassed and now this.
We hold up Anne Frank's diary in one hand while voting for the hate that tried to silence her. Wake up, New York.
Samuel Franco
Advertisement
Manhattan
There is no question that Mamdani's victory will split the Democratic Party. He is so far left, there is no way that middle-of-the-road Dems can vote for this man or his policies. This might just help the Republicans if they play it right.
New York, and for that matter the nation, are in serious disarray. How can anyone vote for this radical?
Bob Robustelli
Advertisement
Stamford, Conn.
You New Yorkers outdid yourselves this time.
You can't wait to get this moron, who promised you free everything, into office.
Where do you think he's going to get the money? By taxing the rich? They're already overtaxed — they will just move, and take their taxes with them, then you astute New Yorkers will see your taxes go way up and wonder what happened.
Good luck finding a place to live when landlords kick you out because they can't afford tenants to pay zilch in rent, or aren't able to raise rent to cover their taxes and other services they supply. This will be fun to watch.
Peter Sulzicki
Stratford, Conn.
With the rise of a socialist mayoral candidate who has a good shot at winning the election, it would be nice to see the other candidates put the city first, rather than themselves. It would be great if they could put aside their differences, put the people first and back out of running to support the candidate who has the best chance of beating Zohran.
Advertisement
This has become so much bigger than just an election; it is truly an opportunity to work collaboratively to defeat someone who has the ability to destroy our city.
Give Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa jobs in Mayor Eric Adams' team. Some differing options within the team would be healthy. Show that bipartisanship can work.
Paul Facella
Long Beach, Calif.
Advertisement
What is all the hoopla about the antisemitic socialist winning the Democratic primary?
I believe the people didn't want a disgraced governor winning, so they voted against him. The true colors of New York City will come out when the election is held in November.
If they vote for the socialists, you can kiss the city goodbye.
Ted Pilchik
Advertisement
Lake Worth, Fla.
Believe it or not, I still have faith in the people of New York City. Come the general election, they will not elect someone who will defund the police and bankrupt the city.
Mamdani could have tried to do the things he's promising to do while in the Assembly.
Some words of wisdom from the late Margaret Thatcher: 'The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.'
Advertisement
Stephen Colasacco
The Bronx
Congratulations on your likely new mayor: An antisemitic socialist who became American only seven years ago.
I suggest a countrywide fundraiser to pay for a 100-foot-high electric fence that surrounds the five boroughs. Let New Yorkers live with their elected scum with no escape.
Laura Wesselmann
Carlsbad, Calif.
Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@nypost.com. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
At least 60 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, health staff say
At least 60 people have been killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, health staff have said. A dozen people were killed near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, along with eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought. Six others were killed in southern Gaza when a strike hit their tent in Muwasi, according to the hospital. Follow latest: The strikes, which began late on Friday and continued into Saturday morning, came as US President Donald Trump said there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. "We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of," he told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. Ron Dermer, Israel's minister for strategic affairs, will arrive in Washington next week for talks on Gaza's ceasefire, Iran and other subjects, an official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The last ceasefire ended . The war in Gaza was sparked after Hamas launched its attack on Israel in October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than half of them still believed to be alive. More than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Read more from Sky News: The UN has also warned that , with Israel allowing a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May after blocking all food for more than two months. Palestinians have been shot at and killed while on their way to get food at aid sites, according to Gaza's health officials and witnesses. Israel's military said it was investigating incidents in which civilians had been harmed while approaching the sites.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Adams on Cuomo independent bid chatter: ‘I don't focus on what other candidates are doing'
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Friday brushed off talks of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo launching an independent bid, saying he's only focused on 'what I am doing.' 'I don't focus on what other candidates are doing. I focus on what I am doing,' Adams said during an appearance on CNN's 'The Lead' with Jake Tapper. 'I came from behind when I ran in 2021, I was head of 13-point deficit from the leading opponent in the race,' he told Tapper. 'And as you see, we were successful. I know I did campaign, I know how to speak to voters.' The mayor added, 'I'm a working class mayor. I'm a blue collar mayor, and I would resonate in the residents of this city. They see I'm one of them.' His comments come days after New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani seemed to edge out Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary — though results in the city's ranked-choice voting system are not final. Cuomo conceded to Mamdani, 33, after Tuesday's ballots were counted. Adams launched his own independent bid following the election. When asked if he's considered following in the mayor's footsteps, Cuomo told CBS News on Wednesday that he is 'assessing that landscape.' Mamdani also dismissed the chatter, saying he's 'not at all' concerned about that possibility. Asked about the self-proclaimed democratic socialist's perceived victory and what it means for the general election, Adams slammed the state lawmaker — who has lobbied for Palestine to become its own U.S.-recognized state — for being a 'pro-Hamas' candidate. 'I'm not competing against him only for what he's done and praising Hamas,' he told Tapper, a after highlighting the ways he believes Mamdani has backed the U.S.-designated terrorist organization amid its war with Israel. 'I'm competing against him because this is not a socialist city, and that much of what he's promising to people, which I think is really deplorable, people that are struggling like my family did of living without the means that we needed.' Adams earlier in the week also accused his opponent of being disingenuous. 'He's a snake oil salesman,' Adams told 'Fox & Friends' on Wednesday. 'He would say and do anything to get elected.' Tapper questioned the incumbent mayor on reports that he made a deal with the Trump administration to ramp up immigration enforcement in the Big Apple, following the Justice Department's decision to drop federal corruption charges against him. 'I never met the president prior to him running for office, never met in my life. He talked about the unfairness of the charges while he was on the campaign trail. And the first time we met, he also articulated the unfairness and the Justice Department used the same system that determines if someone should be indicted,' Adams said. 'They use that system to determine that I should not have been indicted, and the charges were dropped with prejudice,' he added. The mayor has denied the allegations in the past, even after several DOJ officials resigned following the Trump administration's move to drop the corruption charges.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
FDNY's firehouses 'about to collapse,' need hundreds of millions of dollars in roof and other repairs: critics
The city is putting its own firefighters at risk unless it pours hundreds of millions of dollars into renovating the FDNY's century-old firehouses – including 23 with rotting roofs requiring immediate repairs, union bosses claim. As Mayor Adams and the City Council iron out a new budget, the Uniformed Firefighters Association recently compiled a list of 23 buildings in urgent need of a combined $81 million in roof-repair work alone. Many of the firehouses are plagued by cracked and moldy ceilings and walls and other foundation issues, the UFA says. 'We might be the greatest Fire Department in the world, but it's based on pure grit and determination because we are way, way behind the times,' said UFA Vice President Bobby Eustace. 'We've been fiscally abused for decades.' 8 FDNY Squad 288's building in Maspeth, Queens, is plagued by massive sewage backups, cracked walls and floors, mold and exposed asbestos. And the firefighters' union contends the garage where trucks are parked and equipment stored is in danger of collapse. J.C. Rice Failing to fix the FDNY's archaic buildings could lead to emergency response times continuing to rise because many firefighters and medics would have to continue working in unsafe conditions or relocate to other buildings, Eustace added. Adams and the City Council struck a tentative agreement Friday on a budget for the new fiscal year beginning Tuesday that includes $2.6 billion for the Fire Department, but it's still a $1 billion short of what council members had initially demanded for the agency – mostly for infrastructure repairs and replacing outdated equipment. 8 Many of the FDNY's predominately century-old firehouses and other buildings are so dilapidated that they need hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations to make them safe – including 23 with rotting roofs requiring immediate repairs that City Hall has long ignored, said Uniformed Firefighters Association Vice President Bobby Eustace. Bobby Eustace/ Instagram Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who chairs the fire and emergency management committee, said she visited many of the buildings on the list and was 'shocked by the deplorable condition they were in.' 'There is a cruel irony to the fact that the brave men and women we ask to save New Yorkers from buildings that are about to collapse are being forced to work out of dilapidated and unsafe buildings that in some cases are about to collapse,' she said. 8 The roof of an 119-year-old building at Fort Totten Park in Queens that the FDNY uses as a training site needs $15 million in repairs, according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association. J.C. Rice 'The FDNY is facing a facilities crisis that is impacting everything they do, from fire prevention to inspections to training, and we need a significant capital infusion to fix it.' Ten of the 23 FDNY buildings with rickety roofs are in Queens – including the three with the most estimated damage: an FDNY training site at Fort Totten Park built in 1906 ($15 million), 63-year-old EMS Station 45 in Woodside ($8 million) and 112-year-old Engine Co. 264 in Far Rockaway ($5 million). 8 Here's 23 FDNY buildings flagged for a combined $81 million needed roof repairs. Jared Larson / NY Post Design Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Recent images from inside FDNY Squad 288's building in Maspeth, Queens, were startling. The site, built in 1913, is plagued by massive sewage backups, cracked walls and floors, mold and exposed asbestos. And the union contends the garage where the trucks are parked and equipment stored is in danger of collapse. The garage – or 'apparatus room' – until recently also had gaping holes leading to the basement, but firefighters dipped into their own pockets to put new cement flooring down because they feared someone would get hurt before the city responded, said Eustace. The FDNY said repairs at the Squad 288 are slated to begin in the fall. 8 The exterior of Fire Department buildings like the Queens site used by FDNY Squad 288 is filled with foundation cracks. J.C. Rice 8 Support beams in basement at Squad 288's station are so decayed that firefighters there fear the ceiling above it could soon collapse. Obtained by the New York Post The Post also reviewed recent videos and photos of Engine Co. 96 in The Bronx showing a huge sinkhole forming on the roof next to what the union says is a broken vent. Inside, the 59-year-old station is plagued by leaky windows and walls, mold and exposed asbestos, and the union estimates $2.2 million in repairs are needed. 8 Engine Co. 96 in The Bronx has a huge sinkhole on its roof. Obtained by the New York Post 8 Fire stations through New York are plagued by cracked ceilings. Obtained by the New York Post The union estimates the FDNY's 219 firehouses, 37 EMS stations and other buildings need hundreds of millions of dollars in work. FDNY spokesperson Amanda Farinacci Gonzalez said the agency is 'engaged with conversations across the Adams administration to make any needed repairs as soon as possible.' 'The safety of the brave men and women who serve New Yorkers every day is our No. 1 priority,' she said. 'We are working to make needed repairs at facilities throughout the department, and there is no threat to our members' safety. . . . Any emergency repairs are handled right away.' Zachary Nosanchuk, a spokesman for the mayor, insisted the proposed budget includes 'historic funding to support the brave men and women of the FDNY' – including $940 million for 'facility improvements and construction.'
