Episode 417: Mamdani Momentum Hits Cuomo Cliff

Mamdani momentum is monumental, but Cuomo remains a steep cliff to climb with time running short. Co-hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that and much more, including Kathy Hochul’s premature “budget deal” proclamation, Eric Adams’ “best budget ever” proposal, and Donald Trump’s brutal federal spending plan that neither New York leader seems to be taking into account. Plus, Maya Kaufman of Politico New York breaks down the landslide loss for longtime 1199 boss George Gresham in that union’s election, and what that could mean for New York politics and the future of organized labor.

With not even 60 days to the Democratic primary, the field is running out of time to catch up with Andrew Cuomo while the governor — as the mayoral candidate’s team still refers to him —tries to run out the clock while keeping the public and the press at arm’s length. Co-hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, plus Harry talks with Dana Rachlin of We Build the Block and the Brownsville Safety Alliance about a very different approach to public safety — one that centers community instead of the criminal justice system and why she’s she’s still optimistic about that difficult, daily work.

While Eric Adams, no longer facing the prospect of a prison sentence, is rocking too-tight tees and trying to find the right tone to convince New Yorkers to give him a second term, new First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro is taking a very public, aggressive approach. FAQ NYC co-hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that and much more, including the Trump administration bearing down on New York, Katie’s experience covering Pope Francis’s visit to the city a decade ago, and much more.

As the former governor racks up more big endorsements for his mayoral run while putting out reportedly AI-assisted policy plans and mostly avoiding the press, co-host Christina Greer asks if the frontrunner in the polls wants a marriage with New York City or just a wedding. It remains to be seen, though, how his lead holds up as the election heats up and the “dwarves” — as one Cuomo aide has described them — running against him combine their matching funds to try and convince Democrats not to rank him at all in June’s primary. Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that, Katie’s Inner Circle performance, Hizzoner sporting an “In God We Trust” t-shirt as he tries to reset his struggling reelection campaign, and much more.

“I'm running to bring a safer, more affordable and better run city,” says city Comptroller Brad Lander, offering himself as the candidate with both a vision and “a track record of making government work for people.” In the latest installment of the pod’s series of sitdown interviews with the Democratic mayoral contenders, Lander talked about how he’d accomplish his “number one commitment I am making in this campaign to end street homelessness for people with serious mental illness,” his ambitious plan to get 500,000 new homes built in the next 10 years including “the next generation of Mitchell-Llama” for working class New Yorkers, and much more.

“We are so tired of the trauma, we are so tired of the drama, we are tired of the scandal,” said City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams. “When I saw four deputy mayors resign at the same time and it appeared to be because our mayor decided to cozy up to the chaotic Donald Trump — I saw the brains walk out of the computer and I saw the crumbling of the infrastructure of New York City and I could not sit back and do nothing about it.” Speaker Adams also discussed why she’s “more optimistic than last year this time” negotiating a budget with Mayor Eric Adams (no relation) while running against him, the difference between growing up in Hollis, Queens compared to Andrew Cuomo’s upbringing in affluent Holliswood, Queens, her plan to provide a guaranteed minimum income to more than 21,000 homeless children and young adults, and much more with hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel.

What's the difference between a parking lot, a park and a casino? Just a few words scribbled on some paper if Mets owner Steve Cohen gets his way, and it looks like he might now with a well compensated assist from State Senator John Liu that's also a kick in the shins of his legislative colleague and mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos. Co-host Katie Honan explains it all, and then Christina Greer and Harry Siegel go deep on the mayor's race, political science and why no one should be allowed to review a book if they haven't written one.

After eight Black elected officials from Southeast Queens put out a joint statement saying they were endorsing Andrew Cuomo for mayor, three of them said that, actually, they’re not doing that (and, in one case, won’t be ranking Cuomo at all). Guest Jeff Coltin of Politico New York, who broke that story over the weekend, talks with hosts Christina Greer and Katie Honan about how the powerful and controversial ex-governor is making things weird for elected officials and voters alike — and why the Democratic ranked choice primary might present particular challenges for him amid a wave of "Cuomo killed grandma" attacks from his campaign rivals.

Vital City founder Liz Glazer talks about her group's ambitious new memo on What To Do (and Not To Do) About Subway Safety — and why the answer isn't gun detection technology, surging officers into the system or more fare-evasion enforcement. Plus, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel gab about the mayoral fund-raising numbers and the state of the race — including Adrienne Adams not yet qualifying for matching funds, Eric Adams' invisible campaign and tired St. Patrick's Day "joke,", and what's wrong with Andrew Cuomo's effort to run an Albany-style campaign in New York City.

Ramos also delved into her position as “a labor Democrat… in a lane of my own,” her “plan to call for a mental health emergency on day one of my mayoralty,” the city’s “new Gilded Age” and the battle for a casino license here (“Andrew Carnegie, who wasn’t as rich as Steve Cohen is today, by the way he built 2,500 public libraries”), and much more In the latest episode of the pod’s series of sitdown interviews with the Democratic mayoral candidates.