Candidates in New York City’s mayoral race are attempting to win over Jewish voters — but some local community leaders are not enthusiastic about the crop of contenders which notably includes far-left New York state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic frontrunner, was recently endorsed by Hasidic leaders in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, including both sides of the Satmar community, Politico reported Wednesday. The news comes as recent polls show that Mamandi, Cuomo’s socialist primary opponent who has received criticism for his staunch anti-Israel stance, is in striking distance of the disgraced former governor.
Meanwhile, the Williamsburg Hasidic leaders ranked New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as their second choice for New York City mayor, according to Politico. New York City uses ranked-choice voting for primary elections.
On Monday, multiple Hasidic groups in Borough Park, Brooklyn, endorsed Adams, Politico reported. Additionally, Adams was also backed by Orthodox tenant leaders on Tuesday, according to the outlet. Moreover, Cuomo has notched an endorsement by Bobov sect leaders in Borough Park, Brooklyn, Jewish Insider reported on Friday.
“I can tell you that I’ve never seen less excitement in the Jewish community, the pro-Israel and orthodox communities,” former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “I’ve never seen less excitement in a [mayoral] race in my life, literally. No one [in New York] is excited about some of the candidates, and there is one particular candidate, Mamdani, who is an absolute danger to the well-being of the Jewish community and the wellbeing of really all New Yorkers.”
“This is the worst selection of people running for [New York City] mayor during such a difficult time for the Jewish community,” Hikind added. “I mean, people in the Jewish community are talking about their future in America, and in New York, in terms of antisemitism and Jew hatred.”
Incumbent New York City Mayor Eric Adams has confirmed that he intends to run in November on two independent ballot lines, “Safe&Affordable,” as well as “EndAntiSemitism,” which is a ballot line aiming to highlight his opposition to antisemitism, Politico reported in April. In May, Adams announced that he was establishing the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, a new mayoral office aiming to combat antisemitism in New York City.
However, Hikind drew a distinction between Adams’ rhetoric on the issue and his actions taken as mayor.
“He [Adams] has been mayor for years, and antisemitism was getting out of control before Oct. 7, when he was mayor, and gotten worse since Oct. 7,” the retired longtime lawmaker told the DCNF. “Look at his record, he says all the right things, but what he has actually done is very little to show. And creating a task force at the bottom of the ninth inning … why didn’t you do this two years ago? Why did you wait literally during campaign season? It’s obvious to me, it’s obvious to everyone.”
“Talk is cheap, action is what I look for,” Hikind added.
“Cuomo appears to be doing better with observant Jews leading up to the 24 June 2025 New York City democratic primary election,” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran political consultant, told the DCNF in a statement. “This can be implied by endorsements and publicly released polling data. But observant Jews do not represent by any measure a majority of Jewish voters.”
“Younger, non-observant Jewish voters appear likely to be part of the growing youth support for anti-Israel candidate Zohran Mamdani,” Sheinkopf added. “Observant Jews represent a small part of the overall Jewish population but are likely to vote against Mamdani with greater intensity in non-Hasidic communities on the Israel issue. In a numerically close election those observant pro-Israel Jews can indeed define the winner.”
Mamdani has also previously declined to answer whether he would visit Israel if he is elected as New York City’s mayor. Though, Mamdani said during the June 4 Democratic New York City mayoral debate that he would “stand up for Jewish New Yorkers” in response to a question on whether he would visit Israel if he is elected as mayor.
“I’ve said in a UJA questionnaire that I believe that you need not travel to Israel to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers — and that is what I’ll be doing as mayor,” Mamdani said during the mayoral debate.
Adams’ campaign could not immediately be reached for comment. Cuomo’s campaign, Mamdani’s campaign and the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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