Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an independent mayoral candidate in the upcoming general election, delivers remarks at Heavenly Vision Church, located on the campus of DeWitt Clinton High School in Bedford Park, The Bronx, on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, two days before the mayoral general election takes place on Nov. 4, 2025. Video by Síle Moloney

On the final day of early voting Sunday, Nov. 2, before Election Day, Nov. 4, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, independent mayoral candidate, campaigned in the Bedford Park section of The Bronx. Though he later denied conflating socialism with communism, the former governor referenced “Cuba,” a communist country, during his prepared remarks as he warned voters against his main rival, Democratic mayoral nominee Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36), adding that the upcoming election was the “most important” one of his “lifetime.”

 

The Democratic former governor delivered remarks to congregants of Heavenly Vision Church, located on the campus of DeWitt Clinton High School on Sunday morning. According to its website, the Church is a Christian organization “dedicated to transforming lives through the power of the Holy Spirit and sharing the love of Christ Jesus with all.” It is headquartered in Maryland.

 

As an interpreter translated his remarks into Spanish, Cuomo reminded attendees, totaling about 150-200 people, including State Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia (A.D. 86) and Cuomo’s daughters, of his record in office. Though he lost the Democratic mayoral primary, he first highlighted his connections to top Democrats, citing his role as housing and urban development secretary under former Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton and his support for former Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama.

 

“I know who I am,” Cuomo said. “My opponent  represents the Democratic Socialists. The word ‘democratic’ shouldn’t be there; it’s confusing,” he said. [Mamdani supporters do not appear confused.] “They are socialists and socialism has no place in New York City,” Cuomo added.

 

Amid applause, Cuomo continued, “Socialism hasn’t worked anywhere on the globe, not in Venezuela, not in Cuba. It’s certainly not going to work here in New York.” Cuba is a communist country, not a socialist one, and Venezuela, though not communist, has a history of communist political activity. More further below.

 

Without further context, Cuomo moved on, adding, “My agenda is simple; first, we have to make New York more affordable because it’s just too expensive to live here and too many people are moving out.” The former governor said he was going to raise the minimum wage to $20/hour, and eliminate taxes for anyone making less than $80,000/year.

 

In terms of tax proposals, his campaign website reads, “Provide Targeted Tax Relief Offer: tax relief to small homeowners and lower-income workers to help ease financial pressures.” It cites neither a specific threshold nor income-level. Cuomo said he also plans to bring down the rents by building “hundreds of thousands” of new, “needed” housing units. “If we have more supply, then you will see the rents come down,” he said.

 

As reported, several new housing developments, described as “affordable” by NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD), have opened in The Bronx in recent years. Yet, with advertised rents of, for example, $3,234 for a one-bedroom unit, or $3,069 for a studio, compared to average Bronx incomes of, for example, $25,000/annum in City Council District 14, in reality, such new housing is anything but affordable, despite the increase in supply.

 

Additionally, where once, priority was given to local residents of a given community district to rent 50 percent of such so-called affordable housing units, even that right has since been reduced to 20 percent following the settlement of a 2024 lawsuit.

 

Separately, according to New York State’s Empire State Development (ESD) agency, New York State participated in the so-called “Opportunity Zone” community development program offered through the Tax Cuts and Job Acts of 2017, passed under the Trump administration during Cuomo’s tenure as governor from 2011 to 2021.

 

The program encouraged private investment in low-income urban and rural communities in exchange for tax relief. The lobby group, Reinvent Albany, told Norwood News in 2021 that it was supportive of legislation sponsored by Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) to essentially reverse those tax breaks won by developers under the Trump 2017 tax laws and the Opportunity Zone program.

 

According to the group, many independent fiscal watchdogs said the Opportunity Zone program was a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars and did nothing for the lower-income communities it was claiming to help.

 

“Rather than bringing jobs to disadvantaged New Yorkers, the program instead serves as needless corporate welfare in a state that already gives out billions in tax breaks to real estate,” a Reinvent Albany representative told Norwood News at the time. According to the group, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, New York State and local governments gave away approximately $10 billion a year in business subsidies, among the most of any state. Read more here.

Cuomo moved on to the topic of crime, saying it was too high and how he would add 5,000 police officers to the NYPD, 1,500 in the subways, because “safety is very important.” He also said he would “tell the State” to allow New York City to take over safety, maintenance, and construction in the subway system to clean it up. The MTA is run by the State.

 

The former governor went on to talk about a TV interview he conducted the previous day during which the interviewer reportedly suggested New Yorkers would like to see a “fresh face, somebody who’s new” as mayor. Amid some laughter and applause, he said, “First of all, I think my face is pretty fresh! Second….new? There is a quality in having experience and wisdom, and ability, and knowing how to do the job.”

 

While that may be true, part of that job is also working constructively with other key stakeholders in government. It’s been reported that there was no love lost between Cuomo and former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, a progressive Democrat, though they obviously had to work together through the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, among other challenges.

 

The current governor, Kathy Hochul, was Cuomo’s former lieutenant governor, ascending to the top job amid his concurrent fall from grace following his sexual harassment scandal in 2021. Were Cuomo to win the mayoral race, Hochul would outrank him. It’s unknown how that dynamic would impact upon their ability to work together for the betterment of New Yorkers, given Hochul endorsed Mamdani for mayor.

 

Cuomo’s promotion of his experience drew more applause. Decrying Mamdani’s alleged lack thereof, he compared a Mamdani mayoralty to an operation by a first-time surgeon and a flight by a first-time pilot. According to Mamdani’s biography, the assemblyman worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counselor as well as in film, rap, and writing before entering politics and getting elected as an assemblyman.

 

Meanwhile, the former governor continued, “We’re talking about mayor of The City of New York! They say this is the second-hardest job in the United States!” As reported, former Republican U.S. President Ronald Regan was an actor before he entered politics and is often hailed by Republicans as one of the greatest American presidents.

 

Given the slim chances of victory for Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa, some of Cuomo’s supporters include Republicans like City Council Member Inna Vernikov (C.D. 48) of Brooklyn and, as of Nov. 3, U.S. President Donald Trump.

As reported, Mamdani was born in Uganda, moved to the U.S. when he was 7, and became a naturalized citizen in 2018. Another immigrant-turned-politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger, also a Republican, was also an actor before entering politics. He went on to become governor of California, overseeing an economy estimated to be the 4th largest in the world.

Cuomo said Mamdani had been an assemblyman for two terms and only passed three bills. “Yudelka Tapia passes three bills in a week and he has the worst attendance record in the entire New York State Assembly,” the former governor said. “He never even showed up for the job.”

 

According to Mamdani’s website, the assemblyman has “fought for the working class in and outside the legislature: hunger striking alongside taxi drivers to achieve more than $450 million in transformative debt relief, winning over $100 million in the state budget for increased subway service and a successful fare-free bus pilot, and organizing New Yorkers to defeat a proposed dirty power plant.” We reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment on his attendance record and will share any feedback we receive.

 

Cuomo went on to say that to make change, you need to know how government works, implying Mamdani did not. “We will have to fight this President Trump and he is tough and we can’t send in an amateur to fight him,” Cuomo said. It has been speculated that Trump allegedly persuaded Adams to drop out of the race to boost Cuomo’s chances of winning prior to the president’s formal endorsement of Cuomo on Nov. 3, and that Trump also allegedly pressured Sliwa to do the same.”

 

Norwood News contacted Sliwa’s campaign for comment and will share any feedback we receive. Adams didn’t mention the president as a reason for pulling out of his mayoral reelection campaign when he ended it in September and addressed his supporters. The mayor has also denied being offered a future position with the Trump administration in exchange for dropping out of the race.

 

Meanwhile, Cuomo said as NYC mayor, on any given day anything can happen, be it a hurricane, a building collapse or a mass shooting. “You could, God forbid, have another terrorist attack,” he said. ‘You have to have someone who knows what they are doing.” As reported, Cuomo previously laughed during a recent interview when it was suggested by the host that the assemblyman would cheer on another 9/11.

 

Getting down to the business end of the campaign, Cuomo explained which platform on the ballot he was running on, the “Fight and Deliver” platform, which he said appeared on the second line of the ballot. “I will fight for you and deliver for you because that’s exactly what I have done,” he said, adding that he passed the State budget, which he said was twice the size of New York City’s budget “every year on time for 11 years.” He also highlighted passing the highest minimum wage, and generating the highest rate of minority and women-owned business enterprises in the country.

 

Ignoring the interpreter at a certain point, the former governor continued, “We built a new Sheridan Expressway, a new Hunts Point Expressway, a new LaGuardia Airport, a new Kennedy Airport, a new Second Avenue subway, a new Moynihan Train Hall, a new [Thaddeus] Kosciuszko Bridge [in Albany], a new Shirley Chisholm Park.”

He concluded, “We built more than anyone has ever built. We can build a New York City better and brighter than ever before, and we’re going to build a New York that never existed. We’re going to put a shine back on the Big Apple and it’s going to be the best city in the United States of America, the best city on the globe. That’s who we are, that’s who we’re committed to, and that’s why I need your vote, and that’s why I’ll be your mayor!”

 

Amid the former governor’s achievements, as reported, he has also been criticized in part for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as regards deaths in nursing homes, and for “profiting” from the tragedy by writing a book. He has simultaneously been praised by others for the clarity of his daily COVID-19 press briefings.

 

The former governor has also been criticized, as reported, for allegations of sexual harassment, some of which never proceeded to trial but which were subject to an investigation by the New York attorney general’s office. He resigned amid the scandal and apologized for his physical interactions with women which he later put down to cultural proclivities.

 

Federal authorities have since settled a case with the New York State governor’s office in relation to the allegations after the U.S. Department of Justice found he had sexually harassed 13 women. Read more here.

 

Switching to Spanish, amid applause, Cuomo concluded, “Together, we’re more, we’re brothers and sisters, we’re one! we’re one! we’re one! we’re one! we’re one!” After receiving a blessing from the pastor while the congregation watched with outstretched arms, he took some questions from the press.

 

During the briefing, he said there was no disagreement on what the problems facing the city were but there was a difference in terms of how they should be addressed, alleging Mamdani’s policies were unworkable.

 

On the matter of Mamdani’s proposal for free buses, Luxembourg, the world’s second richest country per capita as of 2025, according to global finance, became the first country to introduce free public transportation in 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It is also the second-largest investment fund center globally after the United States, with assets under management of approximately €5.582 trillion. France began testing the impact of free transportation on its economy the following year, and other countries have followed suit.

 

As an aside, workers in Luxembourg, the most culturally and linguistically diverse country in Europe, also benefit from generous paid vacation time separate from maternity / parental leave, among a range of other health, educational and other benefits. As of 2023, according to the Global Organized Crime Index, the country ranked 180th out of 193 countries globally for crime.

 

Norwood News asked the governor what he would say to voters who allege he’s conflating communism with socialism. As reported, the Merriam Webster definition of democratic socialism is a political movement calling for the establishment of a decentralized, socialist economic system within a democratically run political system.

 

Norwood News referenced Cuomo’s earlier prepared remarks. While he didn’t mention communism specifically, he referred to Cuba, a communist country. “I said socialism,” he said. “Trump calls him a communist […inaudible].” Cuomo then talked about an article in the Democratic Socialists of America manifesto that refers to “controlling the means of production.”

 

“That is very close to what Karl Marx said,” the former governor said. “You may want to google it but I call it what it is. He [Mamdani] says he’s a socialist.” Norwood News put it to the governor that most western democracies have some form of socialism [in the form of social protections] intertwined in their governing model and that it appeared that it was something similar that Mamdani’s campaign appeared to be proposing, not communism, as is the case of Cuba.

 

“They’re looking for something.. socialism, yeah,” he said. “I know what they’re asking for and New Yorkers know what they’re asking for. They want to have socialism and I don’t think New Yorkers want to have socialism. You can be a socialist. God Bless you. The question is do New Yorkers want to be socialists.”

 

As reported, New York City Council recently voted to approve the latest redevelopment deal for the long-vacant, City-owned Kingsbridge Armory. City officials said the deal will deliver $375 million in investments for the West Bronx from the City, State, and federal governments, including, among other wins, a $130 million community benefits agreement rooted in community ownership. Sounds kind of “socialisty…”

 

In March 2023, as part of the redevelopment of the historic Bedford Union Armory, two residential buildings were built from the ground up to deliver 415 homes, 250 of which are affordable. The armory itself was converted into the Major R. Owens Health and Wellness Community Center, New York City’s first and largest comprehensive center with medical, emotional, and recreational practices at affordable rates for the Brooklyn community. Also sounds kind of “socialisty…”

 

Indeed, according to an extract from a 2017 academic paper by Peter L. Schneller entitled “Capitalism and Public Education in the United States,” published on the U.S. Department of Education’s website, “The United States democratic system includes characteristics of capitalism as well as socialism. Perhaps the most socialistic endeavor of the US is its K-12 public school system.”

 

The governor was also asked what he made of Obama’s call to Mamdani on Nov. 1. “Nothing. I’m sure he phones a lot of people,” he said in part, adding that, to his knowledge, Obama had not endorsed Mamdani. He put this down to Mamdani’s previous comments about Obama when he said Mamdani called Obama “evil” and “a liar.” Mamdani walked back those comments during a recent debate classifying them retrospectively as the “stupid tweet of a college student.”

Asked if he was confident he could still win, given Sliwa said he was not dropping out, Cuomo said in part that his supporters were focused and understood the issues, and were coming out, adding, “Yes, the most recent poll says 6 points [differential], with Sliwa in, which means Mamdani’s vote is collapsing and mine is increasing. We’re going to win.”

 

Read more here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

 

The mayoral and other general elections in New York City take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit  https://www.nycvotes.org/how-to-vote/elections-calendar/#voter+registration+deadline. Don’t forget to flip your ballot to vote on other ballot proposals. Read more here.