As New York City mayoral candidates trade barbs over who is best suited to respond to President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Democratic cities, elected officials and local activists are quietly gaming out how to respond to troops on the streets of the five boroughs.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has sought to portray the election of front-runner Zohran Mamdani as an invitation for Trump to send in the Guard and other federal agents. Mamdani has countered that New Yorkers want a mayor who will fight what he describes as Trump’s authoritarianism. Local activists closely following the escalating clashes with federal agents in Chicago said they feel a similar scene in New York City is inevitable, regardless of who wins the election.
“Day zero is the day that Trump announces that they’re coming to New York. Day one is the day that they show up on our streets,” said Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the New York State Working Families Party. “So right now we are preparing,”
Two weeks ago, roughly 100 elected officials from New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago held a midday conference call organized by the Working Families Party where they discussed strategies for responding to immigration raids.
“ We are not looking for a fight. It’s just how can we best protect the most vulnerable among us?” said U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, a Brooklyn and Queens Democrat who was among the federal elected officials on the call. “We need to be smart enough to see the possibility of this happening in real time.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and City Comptroller Brad Lander also joined the call, along with several other state and local elected officials and staffers. None of the city’s mayoral candidates participated.
“What I’ve learned from other elected officials is solidarity networks on the ground that are going to be our best defense,” said Emily Gallagher, an assemblymember representing North Brooklyn, who described the call as an hour-and-half-long question and answer session. She said elected officials in Chicago and Los Angeles stressed the need to coordinate with each other, as well as with labor unions and civic and community groups.
Preparations have taken on added urgency amid a growing conflict between the White House and Chicago. On Wednesday, Trump called for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to be jailed. Last week, a Blackhawk helicopter landed on the roof of an apartment building on Chicago’s South Side. Federal agents held children and seniors for hours while searching for undocumented immigrants.
“The Democrats run most of the cities that are in bad shape,” Trump said last week in an address to military leaders, citing San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. “They’re very unsafe places and we’re going to straighten them out one by one,” he warned.
Cuomo argues he is the best suited of the mayoral candidates to respond to such provocations. He said Mamdani’s election would be “a gift” to the president.
“ It’s good for Donald Trump because it’s the excuse he needs to take over New York, right?,” Cuomo said during an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Monday.
Mamdani’s campaign pointed to Cuomo’s call for calm in response to CBS News’ Marcia Kramer in June after Trump deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests against immigration enforcement.
“[I want to] be ready here in New York, and let’s be smart. They’re going to send in ICE in New York. They are going to do things that are illegal and unconstitutional, but let’s not overreact,” Cuomo said at the time.
Mamdani’s spokesperson Dora Pekec blasted the former governor.
“New Yorkers know that while Andrew Cuomo would simply roll out the red carpet for Trump, Zohran will be a mayor who fights relentlessly to protect us against Trump’s authoritarianism and deliver a more affordable city,” she said.
Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In an interview with the New York Times, Sliwa said he did not think the National Guard was needed in New York City.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she’s spoken with Trump about keeping troops out of the state. The Democratic governor said she noted that crime rates are falling and the NYPD was doing its job. She said she told Trump that if she needed assistance, she would reach out to the federal government. Speaking at a union event in the city on Wednesday, Hochul said it remains “status quo” between her and the president.
“ Whether or not that dynamic changes post-election, January, I’ll be prepared to deal with whatever comes our way to protect New York and the entire state,” she said.
Earlier this week a broad coalition of labor unions, civic groups and community organizations signaled they would also be on the streets should Trump deploy the National Guard.
“American cities are under attack by the Trump administration,” the letter from the coalition called “Hands Off New York” reads. “Instead of investing in schools, hospitals and public services, taxpayer dollars are being spent to send National Guard troops and ICE agents into our communities — ripping families apart and targeting working people. New York City has been directly threatened.”
Organizing is also happening on the ground.
Last weekend, City Councilmember Shekar Krishnan and the New York Immigration Coalition teamed up for a “Know Your Rights” fair on an open street in Jackson Heights. Krishnan said hundreds of people showed up.
“We are doing everything in our power to make sure that immigrant New Yorkers know that they are not alone in this moment,” Krishnan said.