The Brooklyn Democratic Party, in partnership with several local political clubs, held a mayoral forum at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn last week. Leading candidates in the race discussed pressing issues affecting Black communities in the city, as the night’s event erupted in impassioned protests more than once.
The forum featured eight candidates: City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, former State Assemblymember Michael Blake, State Sen. Jessica Ramos, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, City Comptroller Brad Lander, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Toward the beginning of the forum, Paperboy Prince –– a mayoral candidate this year who has run for various offices unsuccessfully since 2020 –– and a few of his supporters caused trouble when he forcibly took to the stage wearing clown makeup, a suit, and clown shoes. Prince chastised forum organizers for allegedly denying his participation in the event. He was eventually escorted out by community affairs officers.
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Afterward, candidates spoke about their stances on a wide range of issues, such as deed theft, affordable housing, gentrification, Black maternal health, street homelessness and subway crime, public safety, the oversaturation of shelters in Black communities, and the future of Rikers Island.
“I come to you as the person from city council in this race looking to be the first woman Mayor of the City of New York,” said Speaker Adams. “You want a job done, you better put a woman in to get it done the right way.”
Adams picked up several key endorsements, including DC37 and State Attorney General Letitia James, last week. She spotlighted her Black maternal health steering committee, the city council’s City for All housing plan, and the ongoing lawsuit against Mayor Eric Adams’ effort to station U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Rikers Island for President Donald Trump, which has been illegal to do since 2014. She also said she’d fill at least 2,400 vacant NYPD officer slots and retain officers with better pay.
Myrie represents the Senate district the college forum was located in and grew up nearby in Brooklyn.
“We gotta stop letting people come into our space, asking for our vote when they have not been here for our struggle. We got to start checking people at the door because when we were struggling, they were not here. They did not fight for us. We were left to fight alone,” said Myrie, highlighting his struggle to save SUNY Downstate from closing down, combating deed theft, and gun violence among the youth as a senator. “Don’t come to us and talk to us about a Black agenda when you want to be mayor. Where were you before? We were struggling. We were pleading for the resources, but you had nothing for us but sitting in our pews, dressed nicely, and then cutting our schools, closing our hospitals, and not investing in our community. Let me tell you where I have been, exactly where you see me now, standing up for our communities. I haven’t just been about the talk of the black agenda.”
He also clarified that he is not supporting a rent freeze for rent stabilized tenants, and wants to appoint Rent Guideline Board (RGB) members who put tenants first instead.
“You cannot be silent when you are dealing with foolishness, and that’s what I will not be,” said Blake. He was serious about withholding taxes whenever Trump threatens cutting federal funding; taking ICE out of schools, Rikers, and places of worship; creating borough based jails and holding abusive corrections officers accountable; supporting a charter school cap and paying teachers more; providing culturally sensitive doulas and medical staff and adequate maternity leave to combat high Black maternal mortality rates, and implementing a local median income index to help gauge affordability for housing.
Ramos spoke about how hard her district in Queens was hit by COVID, boosting mental health services for street homeless individuals, supporting small landlords by enacting property tax and assessment reforms, and working toward a rent freeze.
Mamdani spoke about being a staunch supporter of a rent freeze for eligible rent stabilized homes, taxing the rich, creating municipal owned grocery stores, making city buses free, funding hospitals and mental health services for new mothers, creating a new Department of Community Safety, converting underutilized areas of subway stations into mental health and medical care hubs, reshaping the property tax laws, and pushing back against Con Ed costs for homeowners.
“I think New Yorkers are hungry for a politics that puts working people first,” said Mamdani.
Lander said he is for expanding child care and after school programs, pay parity for child care workers, ending street homelessness for people with severe mental illness by supporting a “housing first” approach, a cap on charter schools, equitably funding public schools, closing Rikers Island and building borough based jails.
“That schmuck,” said Stringer, when asked about Trump.
Stringer said he’d use the rainy day fund to fight any cuts Trump may threaten the city with, and he supports making House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to Speaker. He also said that the city needs at least 3,000 police officers toward public safety with a focus on accountability; he wants to fund public schools and expand child care services; and he’s going to build low-income housing on vacant lots and strengthen rent stabilization laws.
Cuomo was the last in the candidate lineup. Prince’s earlier spectacle was topped when a barrage of protesters took to the stage suddenly while Cuomo was in the middle of answering questions. They screamed obscenities and tried to unravel signs and banners, but were quickly herded out by police and organizers.
“One of the issues and problems with the Democratic Party, who claim to be a big tent party, is that if you don’t have a certain view, then they try to shout you down,” said Henry Butler, District Leader 56th Assembly, advisor to the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association (VIDA), and vice chair for the Brooklyn Dems. “And I think it’s a disgrace when I see a bunch of young white progressives trying to tell Black people who we should vote for. Do not tell us who we should vote for. We are educated. We know how to think for ourselves.”
To clarify, the anti-Cuomo protesters appeared to be young adults with varying ethnicities.
“I’ve been HUD Secretary, I’ve been Attorney General, I’ve been Governor for 11 years,” said Cuomo in response. “If I don’t get protested about something, it’s a slow day, I’ll tell you the truth.”
Cuomo went on to say that he is for reinstating a “community preference first” for affordable housing units, boosting the down payment assistance for first time homebuyers, making a fortified landlord assistance program, demolishing and reconstructing public housing for better infrastructure. He supports involuntary removals of homeless individuals with severe mental issues, and designing a new public safety system that deploys trained mental health staff and medical personnel. He closed on his experiences advocating for New York as Governor during COVID, while Trump was in his first term.
Despite the occasional chaotic outburst, many of the audience members were not completely disheartened or rattled by the demonstrators. Most chalked it up to the usual heightened tension around anything political nowadays.
“I’m actually grateful for the event because I felt like I needed an opportunity to hear what each of the candidates had to say about what their plans would be for the Black community, quite often we don’t get to hear from them,” said Dr. Jada John, a high school teacher in Brooklyn. “I’m a little bit unnerved by the fact that folks thought it was more important to protest how they feel about different candidates than to allow us in to hear what the plans would be for the betterment of our community… However, I’m still grateful that we were able to have this. There are a lot of things that were said tonight that I have to go home and really think about.”
Andrew Beard, a retired firefighter, was elated that Medgar Evers College had the opportunity to host the forum. He wasn’t too keen on any one candidate, but as a “New Yorker,” said he wanted someone for the people.
“I thought that these distractions were par for the course,” said Beard. “You know, we are always gonna have people who are gonna feel one way or another about individuals. They’re gonna be encouraged, they’re gonna be discouraged, they’re gonna you know. But I was not overly surprised by reactions.”
Anthony Beckford, district leader for the 43rd Assembly District, said that the forum was informative and showcased the candidates’ platforms. He noted that most of the candidates had similar platforms with some different strategies to carry them out once in office.
“I love the fact that the youth voiced themselves, but as a movement leader, there is a way to go about it to where you’re not disrupting a community and actually engaging them,” said Beckford about the protesters. “We march, we chant, but what’s next? We have to make the move. From the ballot box, that’s when you choose.”
Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse said that the main criticism she perceived was that the public was frustrated that they couldn’t ask questions themselves. All in all, she was happy to see women candidates in the race. She hasn’t officially endorsed anyone, but spoke highly of Speaker Adams since they’ve worked closely during their time in city council.
“[Adrienne] is a leader for me, a mentor to me, and has led by example,” said Narcisse, who’s running for reelection this year. “My mind is [on] who’s doing the work and who has been addressing a lot of the issues that matter to us. And she has lived the life.”
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