Jeff Coltin

"I don’t fucking care if you agree with him or not, you don’t say that shit!" he said. "Don’t use that fucking language! You don’t fucking call someone a terrorist! You don’t know what the fuck you’re saying! So grow the fuck up! ... Zohran keep doing your fucking thing, man!”

Man in the black and white flag mask biked in circles around the Zohran Mamdani presser in Jackson Heights this morning calling the mayoral candidate “a terrorist.” After a minute or two of that, the muscular man screamed at him to get out of here with his bigoted shit.

Cash on hand:

Mamdani: $5,062,663
Cuomo: $1,382,505
Sliwa: $2,272,246

Next public funds payment scheduled 10/9. Another chance on 10/30.

Filings 8/19-9/29:

Mamdani: Raised $431,567 (stopped 9/5); Spent $1,347,344; 6,543 contributors; $63 avg.; 51% NYC

Cuomo: Raised $939,857; Spent $1,513,042; 2,754 contributors, $325 avg.; 75% NYC

Sliwa: Raised $429,472; Spent $1,542,993; 4,240 contributors, $100 avg.; 60% NYC

But Mamdani isn’t the only one who’s changed. The movement has all but ended, and there’s more of a consensus, even on the council’s left flank, on building the new jails as part of closing Rikers Island.

Conditions on Rikers Island are horrible for detainees and correction officers. Managing and then closing Rikers Island would be one of the thorniest issues for Mamdani to work through if elected mayor, but it’s one that hasn’t gotten much attention.

Mamdani protested new jails. Now he’s committing to building them. Managing Rikers Island — and moving to close it once and for all — will be one of the thorniest issues for New York City’s next mayor.

As an activist in 2019, Mamdani shamed the pols who voted to build the borough-based jails. Now on the cusp of being mayor, he’s shed his revolutionary No New Jails pose for a stance more akin to a traditional liberal reformer.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

"The major players behind an ill-fated deal to make Mayor Eric Adams the Trump administration’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia have financial ties to a developer trying to win approval for a New York City casino."

What a lede.

Adams’ allies push Trump ambassadorship — and a New York City casino bid tied to his veto Middlemen orchestrating a deal for Adams to join the Trump administration have ties to a Bronx casino project the mayor recently rescued.

Steve Witkoff, Frank Carone, Vito Pitta... a look at all the threads connecting Adams, Trump, and a casino bid in the Bronx:
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

New pro-Mamdani PAC targets Black homeowners Can messaging around reducing energy bills and pollution win over Cuomo voters in East Flatbush and Wakefield?

It's interesting that both Mamdani's supporters (www.cityandstateny.com/politics/202...) and his opponents (nypost.com/2025/09/26/u...) are trying to persuade homeowners by highlighting his support for Local Law 97, which requires larger buildings to reduce their emissions.

NYC staffer violated 'sanctuary' laws by sharing migrant info with feds: report A city probe revealed a correction department worker didn’t know he was breaking the law

A NYC corrections investigator shared sensitive data with federal authorities about two migrants in custody, unwittingly violating sanctuary laws and helping ICE agents arrest one of the men.

Layla Law-Gisiko filed in Tony Simone's Assembly district. It could be open, since Simone is considering the special election for Hoylman-Sigal's Senate seat, or the open primary for Nadler's House seat.
Law-Gisiko finished second to Simone in the open #AD75 primary in 2022.

NYC Council to vote on Bronx ex-inmate housing plan, bucking Adams’ opposition The City Council is expected later this week to approve a plan to build a housing complex in the Bronx for ex-inmates with serious health issues, bucking a last-ditch effort from Mayor Adams’…

The City Council is expected later this week to approve the "Just Home" plan to build a housing complex in the Bronx for ex-inmates with serious health issues, bucking a last-ditch effort from Mayor Adams’ administration to block the project.
www.nydailynews.com/2025/09/23/n...

Photo from city and state asking readers to match electeds to their beards.

Bahaha @cityandstateny.bsky.social

One single write-in vote was enough to elect Yamid Jaramillo a Democratic district leader in East Harlem:

www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Mixed messaging: Adams now says polling won’t affect fate of his campaign The New York City mayor doubled down on staying in the race against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams denied that he would decide whether to continue his reelection campaign after conducting a poll — just a day after his campaign spokesperson said that was his plan.

My prayers, answered. Cuomo has an education plan!!!!!! Let’s take a look:

Idea 1: close every single public school and reopen them as a SHSAT or charter school.

This is a supercharged version of the RADIOACTIVE peak ed reform policies. Most ppl like their kids school!
nypost.com/2025/09/08/o...

Final vote was 7-1, with two of the 10 members absent.

Supporters "thwarted what was no less than a Trumpian attempt today by the Board of Elections to try and not advance these questions to the ballot," says Amit Bagga of the Yes on Affordable Housing super PAC.

The BOE voted resoundingly to approve the ballot proposals, in a blow to Speaker Adrienne Adams and the City Council. Only one vote in opposition.

Background: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Tisch blames bail

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch started the Citizens Budget Commission breakfast saying “In my opinion crime went up as a result of the drastic changes being made in our criminal justice laws in New York state, not as a result of the pandemic.”
www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Meanwhile on that slender riotous island …

“I think Mayor Adams did this presser to get a better offer from Trump,” Council Member Shaun Abreu tells me — a former Adams ally who’s now endorsed Mamdani, expressing what seems to be a widely held view in the political class: they still think Adams *could* drop out later.

Mayor Eric Adams insists he's not quitting reelection campaign The New York City mayor has discussed potential jobs in the Trump administration, part of an effort to deny Zohran Mamdani a November victory.

“I want to be clear: Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar. I am in this race. And I’m the only one who can beat Mamdani,” Adams said.
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

Ran into Gov. Kathy Hochul walking up Third Ave, just as I left the PIX 11 studio.
What’s happening with the mayor? I ask. “That’s what I just said, what’s happening with the mayor? She responded.
“We’re not fucking selling out our city.”

POLITICO: PRESSURE BUILDS on Hochul, Schumer, Jeffries Amid Trump Meddling in Mayor Race… https://bit.ly/466BlAK

Theoretically, a one-on-one race with Mamdani would be a best case scenario for Cuomo.
Practically, it seems unlikely (especially with Sliwa).
And politically, Trump's now-public involvement would be toxic to some would-be Cuomo voters.

Mamdani's dominance spurs consolidation push

I previewed the cowboy hat-wearing MAGA devotee's meeting of the ministers in Playbook today, as anti-Mamdani forces continue to urge consolidation:
www.politico.com/newsletters/...

The result of Rev. Rubén Díaz's meeting? "It was unanimous... they all asked for Adams to pull out," he tells me.

"Because the polls show that Adams has no chance... We don’t even know if we could beat Mamdani. But at least if he’s out, we may have an opportunity.”

“I’m surprised how the standards of reporting in The New York Times has flopped so much,” Adams says this morning in Qns. “I’ve never asked for a job with HUD, I’ve never been promised a job with HUD, I have not communicated with the president.”
Asked about *other* admin jobs, the mayor walks away.

The #NY12 poll also tested favorability for AIPAC, a source shares. Notable, since the pro-Israel group’s political arm is likely to play in the race. And Micah Lasher would be a potential beneficiary.