Dan Goldman says he won’t endorse Mamdani without ‘concrete steps’ to assuage Jewish NYers’ fears

This piece first ran as part of The Countdown, our daily newsletter rounding up all the developments in the New York City mayor’s race. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. There are 82 days to the election.

😎 Cuomo rebrands as a ‘reply guy’

• Andrew Cuomo ran a buttoned-up primary campaign, calling attention to his institutional experience and Zohran Mamdani’s stances that fell out of step with traditional Democrats’ — especially his criticism of Israel and pro-Palestinian advocacy. But that didn’t work. Cue the rebrand.

• Now, Cuomo is attempting to attack Mamdani on his own turf. In a bid to unseat his rival as the progressive in the race, he posted a video boasting praise from Bernie Sanders, the Jewish mainstay of progressive politics.

• Sanders has endorsed Mamdani and aligns with many of his Israel stances, though he has reportedly urged the candidate to demonstrate his criticism of Israel is not antisemitic. Sanders recently corralled a majority of Senate Democrats to vote for two resolutions blocking U.S. arms sales to Israel.

• “Being a progressive means making real progress,” Cuomo said in his post on X. “There’s only one candidate in this race who’s passed a bill supported by Bernie Sanders…Surprise- that’s me.” In the video, Sanders commended the Excelsior Scholarship program that Cuomo passed as governor, which provides free, in-state public college tuition for some residents below a set income cap.

• Cuomo’s X bio now declares the platform, “Real affordability” — a dig at Mamdani’s core promise. He has sought to one-up Mamdani’s plans for affordable housing, free transportation and subsidized groceries.

• On social media, where 33-year-old Mamdani’s campaign flourished, Cuomo is throwing Gen Z-inspired slang like “lazyweb” and turning into a “reply guy” on his own X posts. He wields X to call Mamdani “rich” and privileged as the son of a filmmaker and Columbia University professor. Cuomo, a multimillionaire, is the son of former governor Mario Cuomo.

🥅 Goldman’s goalposts

• Rep. Dan Goldman, who represents swaths of Manhattan and Brooklyn, won’t endorse Mamdani until he takes “concrete steps” to assuage the fears of Jewish New Yorkers about hate crimes, he told Politico on Wednesday. When we profiled Goldman, he said his Jewish identity inspired his “lifelong commitment to public service.”

• The Democrat said he had a “good conversation” with Mamdani and was “interested” to see him prove how he would protect Jewish New Yorkers. Mamdani has said he will increase funding to fight hate crimes and prioritize a “crisis of antisemitism.” (Read what else he has said about antisemitism, Jews and Israel here.)

• Goldman is one of a number of prominent New York Democrats who have not endorsed Mamdani since he won the Democratic primary in June. Others include Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

• Goldman is a moderate who joined pro-Israel rallies early in the war in Gaza; joined other Jewish Democrats in censuring U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib for using the term “from the river to the sea”; and had his office defaced by pro-Palestinian protesters. During last year’s pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University, he met with Jewish students whom he said were facing antisemitism as a result. More recently, he has joined in criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

Eric Adams mourns a rabbi’s family tragedy

• Mayor Eric Adams said his “heart is with” Queens Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, whose 13-year-old daughter Rachel was killed in a jet ski accident in Florida on Tuesday. Her 16-year-old sister, Aviva, had surgery and remains hospitalized.

• “Rabbi Nisanov is a spiritual leader that provides support to the local Bukharian community and runs a food pantry while working on interfaith dialogue to unite New Yorkers,” Adams said on X. “I’m very proud he’s also a member of my Jewish Advisory Council.”

• Queens is home to some 70,000 Bukharian Jews, who hail from Central Asia. Nisanov joined dozens of faith leaders in endorsing Adams last week.

🤝 Mamdani meets Jews on Staten Island

• Mamdani had a turbulent visit to Staten Island, the third stop in his “Five Boroughs Against Trump” tour on Wednesday. A gaggle of protesters holding Trump flags and Curtis Sliwa signs rushed at his event in the most pro-Trump borough. Some called Mamdani, who immigrated to the United States with his family as a child, a “rat” and demanded he “go back” where he “came from.”

• Mamdani said he was saddened by that language but blamed “President Trump’s politics.” He said there were Staten Islanders who voted for both him and Trump, believing Trump would lower grocery prices, but said he could deliver what Trump had not.

• He did receive a warm welcome from Staten Islanders who are part of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice Action, a left-wing, pro-Palestinian nonprofit.