4 Key Takeaways From Upper West Side's Mayoral Forum

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A raucous and engaged crowd kicked off the mayoral primary season Wednesday at the mayoral forum on the Upper West Side, where more than 1,200 people gathered to hear Democratic candidates talk about their competing ideas for the future of the city.

On the dais, from left to right, sat candidates former Comptroller Scott Stringer, former hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson, Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, State Sen. Zellnor Myrie former Assembly Member Michael Blake and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

All candidates fielded audience-submitted questions moderated by Politico’s Jeff Coltin and Columbia University professor Ester R. Fuchs, ranging from how to improve affordability in New York City to how to protect the city from the new federal government.

The forum was hosted by local clubs West Side Democrats, Broadway Democrats and Columbia University College Democrats, at B’nai Jeshurun.

Big ideas won the night

The night was full of lots of big ideas. Mamdani said he would make all buses free as mayor and also mentioned freezing rents and opening a city-owned grocery store in each borough to bring down the cost of food.

"I do like the idea of buses being free," Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, told Patch at the event. "I like those types of big policy ideas."

Housing was another topic that generated some big ideas. Both Myrie and Lander brought up ending street homelessness through a "housing first" approach that would get homeless people off the streets and into stable housing in order to be treated for mental illness and addiction.

Lander also said he would create an affordable housing program specifically for city workers, like teachers.

"You need affordable housing at a wide range of incomes," Lander said.

On the topic of affordable housing, Myrie told the audience his plan to create one million new homes, some of which would be built and some of which would be created out of existing buildings.

"That, to me, is the type of vision that we need in this moment," the Brooklyn state senator said.

The most dramatic differences in the candidates seemed to be in experience

As the evening was Q&A style rather than debate style, the candidates did not levy harsh attacks on each other's policy proposals. But, one of the areas where there was some stronger competition, was when it came to who had the right level of experience for the job.

Tilson, a former hedge fund executive and current philanthropist, levied his business background and positioned himself as a disruptor who could turn around a city just as well as he could turn around a corporation.

"If you want someone to make the city better and be a change agent... I'm not a career politician and I'll shake up the status quo," Tilson said.

"Well, I am a career elected official, and I'm proud of it," Stringer said. "You want somebody who's going to have a track record of fixing things."

Ramos highlighted that she was the only candidate who has previously worked in City Hall, while Blake pointed out that he was the only candidate who has worked at every level of government — city, state and federal, where he was in Barack Obama's administration.

Blake, Mamdani and Ramos all emphasized their immigrant backgrounds, and Ramos pointed out that she'd be a disruptor as the first woman to run the city.

"I'm ready to fight like a mother for my city," Ramos said.

All candidates were critical of Adams

There was one topic that truly united the candidates, as well as the audience — Mayor Eric Adams should not be the next mayor of New York City.

When asked what the candidates had in common, Blake said “None of us canceled MLK events to go to a Trump inauguration, and none of us are trying to get a pardon,” referencing the ongoing corruption case against Adams, and his last-minute withdrawal from MLK Day events.

Adams was invited to Wednesday night's forum but did not attend. This was not unexpected, as he is an incumbent, and he was also under the weather this week, his staffers said on Sunday night.

Contrasting views on mask bans and short-term rental regulations

One of the topics that drew clearer contrasts from the candidates was how regulated short-term rentals like Airbnb should be in the city.

Myrie and Blake both said that short-term rental companies like Airbnb shouldn't be so regulated that homeowners can't take in sorely needed extra income, while Ramos and Mamdani came out more strongly against the idea, Mamdani venturing that short-term rentals are taking long-term rentals off the market.

Another topic that drew clearer lines between the candidates was the proposed mask ban, which supporters say would cut down on anonymous crimes at protests, and critics say infringes on health and the right to protest safely.

Tilson said that he supports the right to protest, but said that people “can’t do so anonymously.”

Lander disagreed. “You do have the right to protest anonymously,” Lander said, adding that people don't have the right to "commit crimes anonymously," and that he would consider adding a penalty for wearing a mask while committing a crime.

Meanwhile, Ramos and Mamdani both said they are strongly opposed to the mask ban, citing student safety and public health.

"Ultimately, it was a matter of which shade of blue was your favorite," Benjamin Laufer, one of the audience members, told Patch after the event.

Watch the event's live-stream here.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.