New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo touted a plan Monday to increase the NYPD force and pay officers more.
Cuomo also excoriated Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s commitment to public safety.
It came on the same day Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigned with Mamdani, saying billionaires are trying to buy the election to stop the Democratic socialist.
Cuomo pitches major NYPD incentives while attacking Mamdani
The former governor of New York unveiled an aggressive $250 million plan to:
- Hire 5,000 more police officers
- Increase their pay by $15,000 per year
- Let retired officers rejoin the NYPD and collect both their pension and a salary
Cuomo expressed a concern that rank-and-file NYPD officers may not support Mamdani.
“We’ve seen what the NYPD does when they have a mayor who doesn’t have their back. You know what they do? They turn their backs,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo was referencing an incident that came to epitomize police disdain for a mayor — officers turning their backs on former Mayor Bill de Blasio when he entered the hospital after the shooting of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos back in 2014.
Cuomo also cast doubt on Mamdani’s recent statement disavowing earlier social media posts about defunding the police.
“I am skeptical of politicians who change their positions weeks before an election,” Cuomo said.
Mayor Eric Adams joined in the attack on Mamdani, especially the plan to have social workers — not officers — respond to domestic violence calls.
“So when you put civilians in harm’s way to respond to a domestic violence incident, that’s irresponsible and it’s reckless. When you state that police officers should not investigate hate crimes, that’s irresponsible and that’s reckless,” Adams said.
Cuomo is all about the super-rich, Warren says
Mamdani held a listening session Monday with Warren to talk with families about universal child care.
Afterward, she launched into an attack on Cuomo for seeking contributions from rich people to run as an independent after he lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani.
“Andrew Cuomo is spending his campaign, evidently, just grabbing up as much money as he can from millionaires and billionaires who are unhappy that someone is a mayoral candidate in New York City and didn’t start by bending a knee to the billionaires to say what would make your life better,” Warren said.
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