a day ago
U Ganda know about Mamdani's trip
Presented by Resorts World New York City
With help from Amira McKee
Zohran Mamdani suggested he wouldn't travel abroad as mayor of New York City — but he's doing it now.
The Democratic nominee is vacationing with his family to Uganda, where he was born and lived for five years. He'll take a break from the campaign trail to celebrate his February wedding to Rama Duwaji, he said in a video posted Sunday morning.
Mamdani wears his Ugandan roots proudly, and while he leases a rent stabilized apartment in Astoria, he actually owns four acres of land in Jinja, Uganda at the source of the Nile River, a patch of terra firma valued between $150,000 to $250,000 according to his annual financial disclosure report.
Trips to the homeland are becoming commonplace for New York pols. Bill de Blasio went to Italy with his family and government staffers his first summer as mayor. Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Ireland last summer. And Mayor Eric Adams flew to Ghana after winning the general election in 2021 — getting a free upgrade to business class from Turkish Airlines and gratis, luxurious accommodations during his layover in Istanbul, federal prosecutors alleged.
(Adams also said he went on a family vacation to 'Europe' after winning the primary, but refused to tell reporters which country.)
Mamdani left Saturday and the trip 'is entirely personal, in nature and in funding,' with no campaign funds being used, campaign spokesperson Jeffrey Lerner said. 'And before you ask, he flew economy.'
Mamdani also tried to preempt any criticism by joking in the video he was going back to Africa like his social media trolls wanted. He even had headline suggestions for the New York Post: 'M.I.A.? Mamdani in Africa,' 'Uganda Miss Me' and 'He's Kampala-etely Crazy.'
While Mamdani has loudly and consistently criticized the Israeli government, he's also opposed Uganda's leadership for more than a decade, tweeting about long-serving President Yoweri Museveni's homophobia in 2014, comparing him to Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020 and backing opposition candidate Bobi Wine in 2021. (We have more on Mamdani's social media later in Playbook.)
While Mamdani headed to East Africa, Cuomo headed to the East End where he worked to close his massive campaign cash gap with Adams and Mamdani. He 'joked' at a Hamptons event with billionaire John Catsimatidis on Saturday that he'd move to Florida if Mamdani won, the Post reported.
And to the Hampton Synagogue crowd, Cuomo said he 'played it safe' in the primary and 'didn't debunk (Mamdani) enough' — 'which was really ironic because all my life I'm 'too aggressive,' I'm 'too combative,' I'm 'too tough.''
The ex-governor reiterated that if he's not in the best position to beat Mamdani by September, he'd 'defer' to Adams, Curtis Sliwa or Jim Walden — though he took a dig at the mayor's paltry poll numbers and coziness with Trump, saying 'you can't win without Democratic support.'
Adams, meanwhile, made the most of his top opponents being out of town and hit the campaign trail hard — dancing at Bronx church, marching in the Peruvian parade in Queens and bouncing a baby in Brooklyn.
'I got to win the race based on what I do best, and that's campaign,' Adams told the Post — days before doing street corner pull-ups on a pedestrian signal.
Adams said he hasn't asked Trump for an endorsement 'and he has not interfered with this race at all.' — Jeff Coltin
HAPPY MONDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
WHERE'S KATHY? In Albany and New York City holding a roundtable on implementing distraction-free schools.
WHERE'S ERIC? Public schedule not available as of 10 p.m. Sunday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'The organizing that's necessary to win a campaign, you have to remain committed to that organizing … Sometimes the movement doesn't always show up after the win.' — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, on his advice for Mamdani to WBEZ radio.
ABOVE THE FOLD
MILLENNIAL MAYBE MAYOR: Mamdani's social media savvy helped catapult him to a historic win. But that same online oeuvre has been a target for critics looking to tarnish his luster ahead of the November general election.
The democratic socialist has faced scrutiny for lyrics to a rap song posted online praising an organization convicted of aiding Hamas. He has come under attack for social media posts questioning FBI tactics in the leadup to the Obama-era killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, who was affiliated with al Qaeda. And his previous support for defunding the police — all laid out through statements on X — has also raised considerable hackles.
At 33 years old, Mamdani is part of a generation of elected officials who grew up on the internet, a rearing that fosters fluency in the semiotics of TikTok and Instagram. It also often comes at a price: an extensive digital footprint that can, years later, be tracked all the way back to adolescence. And because Mamdani is unique in both his youth and the scale of the job he's seeking, traces of his online persona — and his salad days by extension — have been subjected to a level of scrutiny his older opponents can avoid.
'Every candidate should scrub their social media,' said New York City Council Member Chi Ossé, who was just 23 when he was elected. 'But I think that's very difficult to do. Once something is on the internet, it kind of lasts forever.'
Read more on whether the hits against Mamdani will stick — and his post's national impact — from POLITICO's Joe Anuta, Amira McKee and Jason Beeferman.
CITY HALL: THE LATEST
NEW PORT CITY: It's a make or break week for ambitious plans to turn a deteriorating port in Brooklyn into a new neighborhood with some 6,000 homes.
A 28-member task force convened to evaluate the proposal from the Economic Development Corporation is slated to finally vote this Thursday on the future of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
And a $164 million grant that's essential to the financing of the plan is adding to the urgency of the decision, which has been postponed multiple times. Building support has proven difficult among some task force members, who have voiced objections that the proposal is too rushed, uncertain and would hinder the area's manufacturing potential.
EDC needs to show progress towards its plan for the site in order to retain the federal money — and delays could jeopardize the grant amidst significant uncertainty around federal funding.
'If the Task Force does not approve this Vision Plan there is a real possibility — as we have seen with other federal grants — the current federal administration revokes this essential funding, plummeting the terminal into deeper disrepair,' EDC spokesperson Jeff Holmes said in a statement. — Janaki Chadha
WHAT ZOHRAN IS READING: Kansas City poured millions into a grocery store. It still may close. (Washington Post)
NOEM COMING: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is holding a press conference in New York City this morning, after an off-duty customs officer was shot Saturday night in an attempted robbery.
The alleged robber — who was also shot by the federal officer, the Times reports — entered the country illegally and had a long rap sheet, so the case is perfect fodder for Noem and allies who want stricter measures at the border and fewer people released from jail.
'Assailant is a criminal illegal alien that was released into the country under the Biden Administration,' DHS said in a Sunday press release. — Jeff Coltin
More from the city:
— Scams and a rent spike followed the city's new law banning most broker fees. (The New York Times)
— Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's conviction rate has dropped every year, and his office quietly yanked the data dashboard showing that. (New York Post)
— Adams says he wants the city to become a 'cannabis capital' where it's easier to open and do business. (am New York)
NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY
MASKING TIMES: An effort in Albany to prevent federal immigration enforcement officers from wearing masks is colliding with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's MAGA friendly directive.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday decried mask wearing by ICE officers and did not rule out supporting a measure that would block them from concealing their faces when carrying out their jobs.
'You don't create this climate of intimidation by donning a mask, not identifying yourself and literally terrorizing people,' she said.
Blakeman, a potential Republican candidate for governor next year, is taking the opposite approach. He signed an executive order this month that exempts law enforcement from a local measure that bans mask wearing in public.
'This administration believes that one effective tool to lessen the risks to these law enforcement officers and their families is to allow the officers to wear masks or other face coverings to avoid being identified' by dangerous people, Blakeman wrote in the order.
Blakeman, who is running for a second term this year, is yet to weigh in on the state-level ban.
The debate is an inversion of the polarizing faultline over mask wearing that emerged during Covid as immigration enforcement takes centerstage in national politics. It also underscores the unease Democrats have with aggressive deportation efforts by the Trump administration and fears of Republicans over law enforcement being 'doxxed' online.
Whether state lawmakers pass a version of the bill banning law enforcement from wearing masks is not yet clear; the Legislature won't reconvene in Albany until January. — Nick Reisman
BULLISH ON CURTIS: Count Republican former Gov. George Pataki among those who think Curtis Sliwa's longshot bid for New York City mayor has a chance.
Pataki, the last Republican who won statewide office, told John Catsimatidis on his WABC radio show Sunday the Guardian Angels founder is doing better than polling suggests.
'I still think Curtis Sliwa can win this race,' Pataki said. 'No one knows this city better than him.'
He expects Sliwa will get access to public matching funds, while Cuomo and Adams are hamstrung by running on independent ballot lines.
'Cuomo and Adams don't have a party line,' he said. 'No one has won without having a major party line.'
Running with an 'R' next to your name in deep blue New York is also a challenge, though. Some New York Republicans have privately lamented that Sliwa — a media savvy, but eccentric figure — is their nominee. Sliwa, for his part, has insisted he's not leaving the race. — Nick Reisman
More from Albany:
— Hochul's nuclear goals are being praised, but questions remain over whether it's enough to meet New York's energy needs. (Times Union)
— New York state reached a settlement with Brittany Commisso, who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment. (NY1)
— Opioid deaths have dropped overall in New York, but not for all demographics. (Times Union)
KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION
AOC UPSTATE: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Paul Tonko were on Rep. Elise Stefanik's turf Sunday to hear New Yorkers' stories of how Medicaid rollbacks would impact them. Their town hall was part of Democrats' effort to draw attention to Trump's megalaw in GOP districts.
The two New York Democrats, hosting a full house in Plattsburgh, argued that Stefanik hasn't been there for her constituents.
'Every corner matters, no one deserves to be ignored, no one deserves to have their voice taken out and everyone, every community deserves to have folks showing up for them,' Ocasio-Cortez told a crowd outside before the event.
The Bronx and Queens House member also said Democrats should be running against GOP elected officials.
Stefanik, who is weighing a bid for governor, represents a deep red seat. Republicans defending Stefanik and the party said Ocasio-Cortez's visit would only help them.
'Thank you for the political gift of a radical Far Left Socialist's visit to the North Country,' a Stefanik representative told the New York Post. — Emily Ngo
More from Congress:
— How the 2017 Trump tax cuts ballooned the 'one big, beautiful bill.' (POLITICO)
— Congressional Democrats from New York blast $1 billion in cuts to public media. (Spectrum News)
— GOP wants to cut waste. Critics say SNAP exemption could do the opposite. (Washington Post)
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
— Cuts to public broadcasting stations will hit rural North Country stations hardest. (Times Union)
— The Writers Guild of America asked Attorney General Letitia James to investigate The Late Show's cancellation. (The Hill)
— Hochul's office decried the impact of the show's cancellation on the city's economy. (Gothamist)
SOCIAL DATA
MAKING MOVES: Seamus Lyman is now a spokesperson for Hochul's budget office. He was previously executive producer of 'Capital Tonight.' … Saye Joseph has joined Paragon Strategies as chief of staff. She was previously chief of staff to NYC Council Member Mercedes Narcisse and is a Citizen Action alum.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former Rep. Ed Towns … Board of Parole Chair Darryl Towns … Phil Boyle, president & CEO of Suffolk Regional Off Track Betting … Robyn Enes, chief of staff to Assemblymember Catalina Cruz … Board of Elections Co-Executive Director Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky … NYC Council General Counsel Jason Otaño … DDC spox Ian Michaels … Lori Knipel … Yoswein's Jamie Van Bramer … (WAS SUNDAY:) Fordham's Travis Proulx … NYC Council Finance Director Richard Lee.
Missed Friday's New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
