Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Amira McKee<\/p>\n
MAMDANI’S BIG FOIL: Affordability was at the center of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s primary campaign for New York City mayor. Donald Trump is the focus of his general election bid.<\/p>\n
The Democratic nominee launched a five-borough tour<\/a> \u201cagainst Trump\u201d on Monday to amplify how he believes the president will bring harm to New York City \u2014 and why he thinks he should be elected to lead the vanguard.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also tying opponents Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa closely to Trump, adopting a classic Democratic general election playbook by casting two fellow Dems and the GOP nominee as the president\u2019s favored picks.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s recalibration comes as Trump announced he\u2019s activating the National Guard<\/a> to respond to crime in Washington, D.C., listing New York and Chicago among the cities that could be next in line.<\/p>\n It also follows a New York Times story<\/a> about how Trump has talked with Cuomo as the president considers involving himself with the election. Cuomo has denied discussing the race with Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see far too many parallels between Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo, far too many stories that make clear that both administrations have been characterized by corruption, by a sense of impunity,\u201d Mamdani told reporters Monday at the offices of 1199SEIU, which endorsed Cuomo in the primary but is backing Mamdani in the general election.<\/p>\n The young state assemblymember who stunned the Democratic establishment by defeating Cuomo in June \u2014 despite the former governor\u2019s universal name recognition and a $25 million PAC in his corner \u2014 now faces the task of winning the November election by a hefty enough margin to bolster his mandate. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is still seeking the endorsements of party leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.<\/p>\n But with or without them, he\u2019s going after Trump \u2014 and anyone he argues would be used by Trump against New Yorkers.<\/p>\n He noted Monday that Cuomo conversed with Trump, Adams\u2019 criminal fraud case was dropped<\/a> at the urging of the Trump administration and that Sliwa shares a political party with the president.<\/p>\n \u201cMy administration will be Donald Trump\u2019s worst nightmare,\u201d Mamdani declared just last week, arguing his policies will lift up the same working class voters the president has left behind with cuts to health care and food benefits.<\/p>\n Trump has questioned<\/a> Mamdani\u2019s citizenship, vowed to arrest him<\/a> if he interferes with federal agents\u2019 crackdown on illegal immigration and threatened to cut<\/a> federal funding to New York City if Mamdani doesn\u2019t \u201cdo the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuomo, making another bid for mayor after losing by nearly 13 points in June to Mamdani, has argued that Trump would step all over Mamdani. Cuomo said he already stood up to Trump as governor during the Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump will flatten him like a pancake,\u201d Cuomo posted on X.<\/a> (He used another food simile in a June primary debate,<\/a> saying Trump would cut into Mamdani \u201clike a hot knife through butter.\u201d)<\/p>\n Adams, the incumbent mayor, has said he is not beholden to anyone, including the president. He has insisted that he seeks a working relationship with Trump for the benefit of the city.<\/p>\n And Sliwa, the longshot Republican making a repeat bid for mayor, has no direct relationship with Trump at all. In fact, the GOP nominee has encouraged Trump to stay out<\/a> of the race for mayor.<\/p>\n \u201cComrade Mamdani is the American people\u2019s worst nightmare,\u201d White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded Monday, charging that Mamdani\u2019s policies will tank the economy, increase crime and favor undocumented immigrants over American citizens. \u2014 Emily Ngo<\/p>\n PROGRESS IN READING AND MATH: The nation\u2019s largest school system saw notable gains in reading and math scores this year, but disparities persist among Black, Hispanic and disabled students, according to results<\/a> announced by New York City officials today.<\/p>\n About 56.3 percent of third through eighth graders were proficient in English during the 2024-25 school year, a 7.2 percentage point increase from the previous year, according to the latest data. Last school year\u2019s figures represented a nearly 3 percentage point decrease from the year before \u2014 and coincided with the rollout of a new reading curriculum.<\/p>\n Math scores continued to rise, with 56.9 percent of students meeting standards, compared to 53.4 percent last year and 49.9 percent in 2023.<\/p>\n Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos acknowledged there were some “implementation hiccups” in the beginning.<\/p>\n “These numbers are telling us \u2014 both in [NYC] Reads and [NYC] Solves \u2014 that we’re heading in the right direction, but work still needs to be done,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cSo this is just fueling us to do better. It’s by no stretch of the imagination a time for us to rest.”<\/p>\n The percentage of Black, Hispanic and English language learners, as well as pupils with disabilities, scoring proficiently remain disproportionately low despite increases.<\/p>\n About 43 percent and 43.1 percent of Black and Hispanic students, respectively, demonstrated mastery of math, compared to 38.4 percent and 39.7 percent the previous year.<\/p>\n Aviles-Ramos called the persistent discrepancies “unacceptable” but also touted the improvements.<\/p>\n “They are huge increases and we beat pre-pandemic levels and so we know that what we’re doing is working,” she said. \u2014 Madina Tour\u00e9<\/p>\n CUOMO\u2019S ZOHRAN LAW PUSH: Cuomo promoted \u201cZohran\u2019s Law<\/a>\u201d today, his new plan to block wealthy people from living in rent-stabilized apartments.<\/p>\n His proposal \u2014 while clearly political in origin \u2014 comes with a big practical question mark: Just how eager would the Democratic-dominated state Legislature be to work with Cuomo to pass such a measure if he were elected mayor?<\/p>\n Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said the changes could be enacted if Albany agreed to repeal the Urstadt Law. \u201cIf that was successful, we could do that at the city level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The law, a measure enacted during Gov. Nelson Rockefeller\u2019s tenure, gives Albany control over rent rules. Progressives have spent decades demanding Urstadt\u2019s repeal, but their push has been met with long odds, with most Albany lawmakers over the past half century hesitant to give up the power to control housing rules, as well as donations from landlords who have historically been the state\u2019s top campaign contributors. Even progressive legislators who\u2019ve supported repeal in the past would likely be hesitant to move forward if it meant giving Cuomo more power.<\/p>\n As governor, Cuomo floated repealing the law when he attempted to force real estate groups to the table during housing talks in 2011, according to testimony in former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos\u2019 corruption trial. But he never publicly championed giving up that power while governor.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people running for governor right now and I don\u2019t know where they stand on Urstadt, including Gov. Cuomo,\u201d then-City Councilmember Jumaane Williams said in 2014<\/a>. \u201cI would like to know where he stands on repealing Urstadt and bringing Urstadt back to New York City.\u201d \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n \u2014 MAMDANI\u2019S PUBLIC SAFETY: Mamdani\u2019s vision for a new Department of Community Safety shows promise, but public safety experts say transferring NYPD duties to the proposed agency could pose an administrative challenge. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 SHUTTERED SHELTERS: New York City real estate developers are looking to convert closed hotel shelters into residential apartments. (The Wall Street Journal<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 ICE CAPITAL: New York City is leading the nation in immigration courthouse arrests by ICE authorities. (THE CITY<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n