As New York City mayoral candidates trade barbs over who is best suited to respond to President Donald Trump\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cDay 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,\u201d said Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the New York State Working Families Party. \u201cSo right now we are preparing,\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aWe are not looking for a fight. It’s just how can we best protect the most vulnerable among us?\u201d said U.S. Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez, a Brooklyn and Queens Democrat who was among the federal elected officials on the call. \u201cWe need to be smart enough to see the possibility of this happening in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s mayoral candidates participated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned from other elected officials is solidarity networks on the ground that are going to be our best defense,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>. Last week, a Blackhawk helicopter landed on the roof of<\/a> an apartment building on Chicago\u2019s South Side. Federal agents held children and seniors for hours while searching for undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n Cuomo argues he is the best suited of the mayoral candidates to respond to such provocations. He said Mamdani’s election would be \u201ca gift\u201d to the president.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aIt’s good for Donald Trump because it’s the excuse he needs to take over New York, right?,\u201d Cuomo said during an appearance on ABC\u2019s “The View” on Monday.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s campaign pointed to Cuomo\u2019s call for calm in response to CBS News\u2019 Marcia Kramer<\/a> in June after Trump deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests against immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n “[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.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s spokesperson Dora Pekec blasted the former governor.<\/p>\n \u201cNew 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\u2019s authoritarianism and deliver a more affordable city,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In an interview<\/a> with the New York Times, Sliwa said he did not think the National Guard was needed in New York City.<\/p>\n