With 2 days to go before NYC mayoral election, Mamdani and Cuomo visit NYC churches, canvass voters

With two days until Election Day and more than a half-million record-breaking early votes already cast, New York City mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo traded blows and rallied supporters at the church’s campaign trail, one precinct away from each other Sunday morning.

Mamdani spoke before packed pews at First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, then happily greeted a crowd of supporters and volunteers outside near the house of worship.

From the pulpit, Mamdani discussed his familiar policy proposals, including a rent freeze for the city’s rent-stabilized tenants, affordable housing, universal child care and free buses.

“Now I know these are noble aspirations,” he said. “But to those who say they are too ambitious, I say that ambition is exactly what befits the greatest city in the world.”

He reserved his jabs at Cuomo for reporters and the crowd outside the church, calling the former New York governor a “Trump parrot” and denouncing “Islamophobic” attacks against him in the final days of the race.

“There have been times when even I have been shocked by the language used in this race and the fact that we are seeing more and more of the kind of politics that disgusts so many New Yorkers in Washington, D.C., now endemic in politics right here in New York,” he said.

Responding to questions about an AtlasIntel poll released Saturday showing Cuomo reducing the cap with Mamdani to 6.6 percent, he said, “My mom called me the other day. She asked me which poll do we believe? And I said, none of them.”

“We saw polls every day of this primary. Polls that told us we should just pack up and go home, and we kept knocking on those doors and we won,” he added. “We want to make sure we talk to everyone possible before the polls close. »

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, remains the frontrunner after his surprise victory over Cuomo in the June Democratic primary. He now leads Cuomo in most polls by double digits, with Republican Curtis Sliwa a distant third.

As of Saturday, approximately 584,000 New Yorkers had already voted early, more than half of the approximately 1,149,000 who voted in 2021.

“I think I’m going to vote for him. I think he was sincere. His words today were very, very sincere.” Latoya Brockington, 45, said after watching Mamdani’s speech.

“Everything is going up except wages. … It’s really, really hard, especially for single mothers, for me. … Cuomo already had his chance. He was in office. He really didn’t do much for working people.”

Cuomo addressed the First Corinthian congregation earlier this year.

“I actually wanted Zohran to speak at our church for a while,” said parishioner Autumn Williams, 20. “It was much more electrifying with Mamdani.”

“We need a new face who won’t do the same thing,” she added.

In the South Bronx, Cuomo spoke to an enthusiastic congregation at Union Grove Baptist Church, explaining how he hoped to give people already living in a neighborhood the first chance at affordable housing there.

“We’re losing too many communities where gentrifiers come in, they raise rents and destroy the character of the community,” he said.

He also insisted that the New York Police Department add 5,000 officers “because the number of officers is just too low and we need to be safe.”

Cuomo emphasized his stance on education, saying he wanted to expand gifted and talented programs and retain mayoral control of the city’s school system — while Mamdani proposed weakening mayoral control and reducing gifted and talented programs.

“In public schools, we need to do a better job, especially with those in black and brown communities,” Cuomo said. “I will make it a top priority.”

Cuomo joked that voters wanted a fresh face, telling the congregation: “I think my face is pretty fresh. I mean, it’s not quite fresh. But there’s something about experimenting and being wise.”

Outside the church, Cuomo spoke to a group of reporters, lambasting Mamdani.

“Everyone has a little catchphrase and now they do a little TikTok dance, and nothing changes,” he said. “His promises are all nonsense. None of this will happen.”

Marcus Mims, 62, who lives across the street from the church, said he would have worn his Sunday best if he had known Cuomo would speak.

“He helped the MTA. He helped us get our contracts. He helped us get our pensions,” the MTA retiree said of Cuomo’s time as mayor. “Look, he helped us.”

Brenda Rivera, 51, clapped and shouted “Vote Cuomo!” from his window. She said her family loved her for her relief efforts as governor when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2018.

“He was always good to us,” she said. “I will never forget what he did for Puerto Rico.”

“God bless!” she shouted, adding, “We loved your dad too!” referring to former governor Mario Cuomo.