NYC Mayoral Debate 10/22/2025

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Final NYC Mayoral Debate

October 22, 2025 – Long Island City, Queens

In a high-stakes showdown that crackled with tension and personal barbs, the three leading contenders for New York City mayor squared off Wednesday night in the race's final debate, just three days before early voting kicks off. Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa traded sharp jabs on everything from public safety and skyrocketing rents to the Israel-Hamas conflict and the shadow of a potential second Trump presidency, leaving no policy—or personal grudge—untouched.

The 90-minute face-off, held at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and moderated by NY1's Errol Louis, WNYC's Brian Lehrer, and THE CITY's Katie Honan, drew a packed house of supporters and skeptics alike. Broadcast live on NY1, WNYC, and streaming platforms, it marked the last chance for the candidates to sway undecided voters ahead of the November 4 election. With incumbent Mayor Eric Adams having suspended his reelection bid amid federal investigations in September, the race has boiled down to this trio, though Adams and other dropped candidates will linger on the ballot.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist running on the Working Families Party line, entered as the clear leader. Recent polls, including an AARP/Gotham survey released Monday, show him commanding 43% support among likely voters—more than double Cuomo's 29% and well ahead of Sliwa's 19%. His campaign, laser-focused on affordability amid the city's brutal cost of living, has mobilized young and progressive voters, including first-time participants drawn by promises of rent freezes and expanded public transit.

But the night belonged to the challengers' offensive. Cuomo, the scandal-scarred former governor mounting an improbable comeback as an independent, wasted no time painting Mamdani as inexperienced and divisive. "You are the savior of the Jewish people?" Cuomo mocked during a heated exchange on Mamdani's vocal advocacy for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel's Gaza operations, a line that elicited gasps from the audience and immediate backlash on social media. Cuomo, who has courted Jewish voters by warning they wouldn't be safe under Mamdani, doubled down: "This is political blather from someone who's never managed a lemonade stand, let alone a city of 8 million."

Mamdani fired back unflinchingly, accusing Cuomo of desperation. "Andrew Cuomo is a failed governor lashing out because he's down in the polls," he retorted, referencing Cuomo's 2021 resignation amid sexual harassment allegations and his administration's mishandling of nursing home deaths during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The assemblyman defended his "freeze the rents" proposal—a cornerstone of his platform to cap increases at zero for stabilized units—as a bold fix for a housing crisis that has priced out working families. "New Yorkers are one rent hike away from eviction," Mamdani said. "Andrew talks management experience; I talk results for the people paying the bills."

Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and 2021 nominee who trails badly, positioned himself as the scrappy outsider for the "working-class forgotten by both parties." He hammered Mamdani on crime, invoking the no-cash-bail debate that has roiled city politics. "No cash bail means chaos on the streets," Sliwa thundered, drawing cheers from his supporters. But in a lighter moment, when asked about ranked-choice voting scenarios, Mamdani cheekily ranked Sliwa second on his ballot—prompting the Republican to quip, "Zohran, please don't be glazing me!" Sliwa, however, vowed to stay in the race despite mounting calls from allies like billionaire John Catsimatidis for him to drop out and consolidate anti-Mamdani votes behind Cuomo. "One person, one vote—no caveats," he declared post-debate on Fox News.

The debate veered into national territory when moderators pressed the candidates on navigating a Trump White House. Mamdani, who surged after Trump's 2024 reelection rattled urban Democrats, leads Cuomo by just 13 points on who would best defend the city from federal overreach, per a fresh Quinnipiac poll. "I'll fight for every New Yorker against billionaire giveaways," Mamdani pledged, nodding to Trump's tariff threats that could hike grocery prices. Cuomo touted his Albany dealmaking chops: "I've stared down worse than Trump—I'll get the resources flowing." Sliwa, ever the showman, joked he'd "patrol the White House fence" if needed.

Post-debate buzz was electric. Mamdani's team fired off a viral post slamming a courtside photo of Cuomo cozying up to Adams at the Knicks opener: "Corruption goes courtside." Sliwa rallied supporters on X, urging them to "stand with the Guardian Angels, not the establishment." Cuomo, meanwhile, skipped the spin room for Madison Square Garden, where whispers of an Adams endorsement—still unconfirmed—fueled speculation.

As early voting begins Saturday, October 25, this debate may prove the race's turning point. Mamdani's lead feels solid, but in a city as unpredictable as New York, with ranked-choice voting potentially shuffling second preferences, nothing's locked. Voters, from bodega owners in the Bronx to tech workers in Brooklyn, now hold the gavel. Will they reward bold change, seasoned savvy, or street-level grit? The ballots will tell. 17GEN4.com