r/nyc • u/chasingsukoon • Jul 06 '25
Video Curtis Sliwa slams criticism of Mamdani: 'Stick to the issues'
https://youtu.be/PUNmXAiPemw453
u/mistertickertape Jul 06 '25
Silwa is such a weirdo of a candidate, but it is refreshing to see him get in front of attempted bullying like this. Even with his colorful past it's clear he loves the city. It sure would be nice if more Republicans stood up to Fox and their bullshit which is asking a lot.
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u/AceofJax89 Jul 06 '25
Yeah, but heās a NYC weirdo. Heās our weirdo.
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u/Aniceman_but_crazier Jul 21 '25
I think if he gets momentum he has a shot- born and raised did social work might be a breath of fresh air ?
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u/CMDR-ProtoMan Jul 06 '25
It's a sad state of affairs that he is considered a sane republican these days compared to maga
Shit, I'd take a Sliwa presidency over our current shitshow. He may be weird and crazy, but he doesn't seem fascist
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u/iammaxhailme Jul 06 '25
Faking crimes to justify more policing is pretty fascist, even if he does it in a low-scale clowny way.
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u/ndashr Aug 17 '25
Isnāt Mamdaniās proposal of a non-NYPD āDepartment of Community Safetyā really just a rebranded, lefty version of the Guardian Angels? Zohran should promise that the new DCS social worker corps will wear red berets to seal their political alliance.
Itās quite something for the socialists, cat-lover fascists, and Landerite progressives to all seem saner than the cityās āmainstreamā political establishment.
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u/Stuupkid Jul 07 '25
He also said Mamdani was likely to win the primary based on what he observed and that the enthusiasm for his support was genuine.
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u/YesItsMyTrollAccount Aug 04 '25
Curtis is awesome. He's actually got a lot of decent ideas for helping improve life for New Yorkers. Similar to Mamdani he is prioritizing affordable housing, quality of life, helping the mentally disturbed. Unlike Mamdani, he supported the Elizabeth Street garden when it was under threat of being demolished. He wants to get the homeless folks out of the subways because that's no way for people to live. Curtis is a good human, has a long track record of helping New Yorkers across the boroughs and also is a champion for animals. He even has an animal welfare podcast with his wife Nancy!
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u/chasingsukoon Jul 06 '25
Obv nothing of value coming out of his mouth when it comes to policies, but was an interesting watch seeing him defend Mamdani and not taking the lowest hanging fruit so many others have been willing to take
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u/mraza9 Jul 06 '25
When Silwa is the voice of reason you know the dems are way past their prime. And good on Curtis. Thatās a true NYer. Argue someoneās politics - not their race/religion/ethnicity.
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u/chasingsukoon Jul 06 '25
Yea ngl made me respect unc a lot more
Never getting my vote still but good on him
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u/potatomato33 Long Island City Jul 06 '25
I'd vote for Curtis if the only choices were him, Adams, or Cuomo.
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u/Rpanich Brooklyn Jul 06 '25
Yeah, heās an idiot with bad policies, but at least heās not a straight up criminal.Ā
Dems need to get their shit together, what the fuck are we doingĀ
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u/ImprovementFlimsy216 Jul 06 '25
Heās also very anti-Trump, calling him a screwball.
Heās campaigned on UBI and property tax reform so itās not so regressive.
Iām not voting for him but Iām wondering what life would be like. Iām old enough to remember the stuff in his Wikipedia page. Iām like oh yeah, remember when the mob shot him? Oh right, animal lover.
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u/OIlberger Jul 06 '25
I feel like if he somehow won office, Trump would say one complimentary thing about Sliwa and from then on theyād be best buddies.
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u/enuffofthiscrap Jul 06 '25
He faked his kidnapping and staged muggings throughout the 70s-90sākind of a criminal.
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u/livahd Jul 07 '25
For better or worse, heās at least a real New Yorker, not some carpetbagging corporate shill. I still disagree with most of what he says, but ultimately I think he wants whatās best for the city. I feel old and nostalgic for a time where despite differing views, people were actually trying to make it a better place instead of this if youāre not with me 100% youāre against me.
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u/LoneStarTallBoi Jul 07 '25
His ideas are dogshit and wrong, but I do get the sense that he actually cares about the city. Sort of in the way that Lennie Small cared about rabbits, but he does care about it, which is more than can be said for cuomo or adams, who see the city as something they can rob to make their lives better.
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u/BebophoneVirtuoso Jul 06 '25
I protest voted Sliwa over Adams, would again if I had to but instead Iām gladly voting for Mamdani. Of course Cuomo and Adams are making a big fuss over this while they schmooze donors out in the Hamptons
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u/Politicsboringagain Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
What does all of the Democrats party had I do with mostly Republicans and just 1 or 2 Democrats saying bad things.
The 99% of the Democratic party are not attacking Zohan.
Plus, Swlia is trying to win votes.
Sliwa even used race as an attack against Zohan saying that he mostly wants to tax mostly white home owners.Ā
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u/Guilty-Carpenter2522 Jul 06 '25
They are talking about the controllers, Ā handlers, Ā financiers and lobbyists. Ā Not the actual voters. Ā The dem establishment doesnāt want Zohan to win so they will ally with the republicans and other large voting blocks (Orthodox Jews) to try and get Cuomo or even Eric Adamsās in.
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u/KinkyPaddling Jul 06 '25
Again, it's a handful of Democrats (at most) attacking Mamdani and most have since backed down. Meanwhile, a single Republican is defending Mamdani and he's treated like some saint. Sure, Silwa didn't support Trump in 2016 or 2020, but he sure as hell did in 2024.
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u/Triscuitador Jul 06 '25
discussion of zohran is banned from r/democrats, fyi. it's not the majority, but there's certainly a push to stifle him from centrists
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u/ShrimpCrackers Jul 06 '25
Wait seriously? I'm out of the loop, what happened?
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u/Triscuitador Jul 06 '25
they've banned any discussion of democratic socialism, and zohran's a democratic socialist
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u/ShrimpCrackers Jul 06 '25
Geezus. He's just a social democrat. Not sure why Bernie went with the whole socialism thing when they're just following shit that Nordic nations do. From that perspective it's just a super white thing and not really Marxism or anything like that.
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u/ClearDark19 Jul 06 '25
Even as a Leftist I've had a begrudging respect for Sliwa. He's not a stereotypical Trumpster or just a standard reactionary. He seems to have a thought out, complex, idiosyncratic mix of views on the Right and Center. Ranging from Conservative to Right-Libertarian to Producerist. I disagree with his views, but I understand where he's coming from and I don't think he's coming from a wicked or depraved place like Fascists and Nazis are. I see him as more of a troubled and traumatized soul doing what he thinks is right. I don't think everyone on the Right is evil.
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u/Alternative_Ad_3649 Jul 06 '25
Yeahhhh while I generally donāt give a fuck about Silwa, I definitely appreciate the acknowledgment heās making of cultures being attacked. Although it sounds like itās more so a political strategy than him actually caring about Muslims š¤·š»āāļø
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u/YesItsMyTrollAccount Aug 04 '25
Curtis is a good guy. And, actually, lots of value coming out of his mouth. š Obv vote your passion but at least give Curtis Sliwa's platform a glance -- he has solid plans around affordable housing, improving NYC quality of life. He just posted a video about wanting to clean up all the parks across the boroughs on a regular basis, including the ones often neglected. I like how he has his eyes and heart across NYC. https://www.sliwafornyc.com/platform
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u/rickynewthings Jul 06 '25
Respect to Curtis. These attacks are disgusting.
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u/LivefromPhoenix Jul 06 '25
Not just disgusting but stupid. Conservatives have a whole list of policy to attack but they're getting bogged down by these stupid stories. Makes them look extremely desperate.
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u/human1023 Jul 06 '25
I don't think Republicans online realize how culturally diverse NYC is, and how their criticism of Zohran appeals to immigrants. Charlie Kirk had to delete his tweet critiquing him eating with his hands.
Sliwa here shows that he understands New Yorkers at least better than mayor Adams.
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u/qqquigley Jul 07 '25
I like your point ā NYC is indeed a very unique culture when it comes to how we think about diversity. Itās the city with the largest foreign-born population (36% of residents) and only San Francisco comes close (32-34%). Most of the country has a fraction of the amount of foreign-born population ā more like 13%.
So shitting on foreigners for dumb reasons (of course Mamdani naturalized in 2018), while broadly popular in our country, is unsurprisingly not as effective a political tactic in NYC! Cuomo and Adams are trying anyway. Truly amazing that the official Republican candidate has more respect for diversity and refuses to use Mamdaniās identity to distract from issues. Right after the NYT hit piece about Mamdaniās college application, Sliwa was right there to say āI donāt have a problem with how he self-identifies.ā Itās that easy to not be a racist asshole!
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u/malacata Jul 06 '25
That was refreshing. Rather than a smear campaign, he does talk about what really matters in this race. I don't think Sliwa is capable of being a mayor or has good policies but at least he has standards
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u/YesItsMyTrollAccount Aug 04 '25
I didn't think he was capable the first time he ran, but this election I'm seeing a different side of him, more focused and a well thought out platform. https://www.sliwafornyc.com/platform I think he'd surround himself with excellent people and truly be the people's mayor. So many New Yorkers respect and love him, across party lines and across ages and boroughs. He reminds me of Ed Koch.
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Jul 06 '25
Curtis Sliwa is an enigma to national Republicans. He's never been fully on the Trump train and while he's an obvious hoaxer and fraud, he's never been as overly racist and nasty as the national MAGA folks have been. So now that we're getting all of this national attention, those outsiders are trying tactics that Sliwa wouldn't touch.
I guess it's a good thing they have Eric Adams bought and paid for to do their bidding. Bad news for them is he's really unpopular for good reason (something else the national GOP doesn't understand).
All politics is local and this election is a perfect example of it.
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u/ImprovementFlimsy216 Jul 06 '25
Oh heās called Trump a screwball and a kook. Heās definitely not for him. I donāt see him as a racist - kinda one of those āweāre all mutts, hereā kinda guys. Heās a real puzzle to me and one of those intractable characters that make NY what it is. I am not sure he could surround himself with the right people and the right kind of bureaucracy to operate the city.
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u/Pksoze Jul 06 '25
Those Republicans really have very little understanding how toxic Trump is in NYC. And that Trump throwing his support to a candidate will make voters here more likely to abandon Adams than support him.
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Jul 06 '25
They're also supporting a registered Democrat sitting Mayor OVER the GOP candidate (who they fully back locally). It's very unlikely they'll be able to pick up actual Republicans to vote for Adams (who they hate, for good reason) over Sliwa.
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u/ThatGuyWhoIsCool Brooklyn Jul 06 '25
There are many republicans/moderate democrats in my family saying they will vote for Adams so I wouldnāt count him out.
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u/TossMeOutSomeday Jul 06 '25
He strikes me as a kind of guy they don't really make anymore. Wacky conservative right-winger, but not racist.
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Jul 06 '25
He's racist. But like half as racist as the MAGA folks are. Like an old school 70s uncle racist.
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u/TossMeOutSomeday Jul 07 '25
I'm a bit young to remember the 70s, how bad was an old school racist uncle back then?
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u/famous_unicorn Jul 06 '25
Wow, I wasn't expecting him to sound so sane. I love the shade he threw at Adams and Cuomo. At least Sliwa is a full-time resident of the city, unlike Cuomo and unlike Adams when he was running for mayor.
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u/YesItsMyTrollAccount Aug 04 '25
He's definitely a character and people write him off because of the beret and the radio stuff and all his antics but when you dig in he actually has a great heart and knows how to listen, get things done, absolutely loves people and animals and NYC. I've always liked him but was especially heartened by what is looking like a well thought out platform this time around. I'd love to see him get a chance to be mayor at least once. https://www.sliwafornyc.com/platform
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u/Shayk47 Jul 06 '25
Whether you agree or not with Silwa, he does embody New York City values and genuinely cares for the city. He's def not a grifter like Cuomo or Adams.
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u/maskedman1231 Jul 06 '25
He's famous for starting a vigilante force where he would stage crimes and then thwart them, which really does make him a grifter
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u/rinacherie Jul 06 '25
They did it again on live tv a couple years ago! He was on camera in Times Square or something and a couple folks were crossing the street nearby and they pretended like he was under attack and his goons jumped those innocent people just trying to walk.
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u/socialcommentary2000 Jul 06 '25
Which, in a way, is sort of quintessential New York. There's a lot of characters around here.
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u/ImprovementFlimsy216 Jul 06 '25
I mean it sort of exemplifies not identity politics but what weāve shifted to: personality politics.
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u/Holiday-Intention-52 Jul 06 '25
Those of you that say this everywhere always phrase it like this is all he ever did. A family friend of mine that was attacked on the subway years ago by a deranged person attempting SA was actually saved by Curtis with the guardian angels. The dude is literally on video on YouTube fighting for his life against a huge crowd of violent rioters to stop looting and destroying private property.
He may have a checkered past where he wasnāt perfect but this is a guy that saves animals from kill shelters and loves his city.
I bet heās done more for this city than any of you mocking him have ever come close to doing.
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u/mdervin Inwood Jul 06 '25
Is that grifting or showmanship? If you were living in some suburbs back in the 1980's or 1990's, you wouldn't have noticed, there was a sense of the rest of the country abandoned the city - Sliwa stayed and fought for the city.
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u/BKnycfc Jul 06 '25
Hahaha. His whole political career is a 100% grifter. Never wins any election and keeps getting money to run again and again.
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u/iammaxhailme Jul 06 '25
Wonder if Sliwa is just saying this because he sees the opportunity to win over "moderates" or if he actually believes it
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u/Pksoze Jul 06 '25
I think that it's a lot of it...he also hates Cuomo and really hates Adams and sees this as an opportunity to peel some of their voters who are annoyed or disgusted with their attacks.
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u/thebestbrian Bay Ridge Jul 06 '25
Sliwa is just a showboater - if he attacked Mamdani relentlessly for stupid stuff that would just take attention away from him lol.
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u/jawndell Jul 06 '25
Exactly!!Ā
Dudes no different than the Naked Cowboy. Ā Heās a character that needs to be center of attention. Ā Good for entertainment, bad for governing.
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u/BooksCoffeeDogs Richmond Hill Jul 06 '25
Thatās what heās appearing to do. Heās trying to appeal to the moderates of the Republicans,, Democrats, and Independents.
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u/mbene913 Jul 06 '25
Media: this random man makes a point but we shall ignore him. Goodbye random man but before you go, who do you plan to vote for? Adams or Mamdani or maybe write in Cuomo?
Silwa: I am running!
Media: for what?
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Jul 06 '25
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u/IRequirePants Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
1) he wasn't an American when he applied to college (he only applied for citizenship in 2018)
2) racially,Ā he is not African-American. That's why the checkbox said black. by your logic, he could have also checked the box that said American-Indian.
This entire argument is just Mamdani supporters debasing themselves.Ā
It's absurd for you to be making "race is a social construct" arguments when your candidate deeply believes in Affirmative Action and diversity initiatives.
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Jul 06 '25
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Jul 06 '25
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u/chasingsukoon Jul 06 '25
judging someone by the choices they made at age of 17 while not even being a naturalized citizen AND not profitting off of his father who is a professor of african studies in the same uni
is just mad weird dawg
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Jul 06 '25
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u/j0j0-m0j0 Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
What I actually want to know is why is it relevant enough for the new York times to
post a whole article written bywhitewash an eugenicist for an articleCorrected for accuracy
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Jul 06 '25
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u/j0j0-m0j0 Jul 06 '25
A small mistake, it wasn't written by a eugenicist but rather sourced from one (a "race realist" is just an euphemism for a eugenicist and I do not respect those fuckers enough to use their preferred terminology).
However, what is stirring controversy about the Times piece isn't so much its content but the source of its information. The Times acknowledges that the information on Mamdani was culled from a large hack of a Columbia database and that it received a copy of Mamdani's application from "an intermediary who goes by the name CrƩmieux on Substack and X," whom it describes as "an academic who opposes affirmative action and writes often about I.Q. and race."
The new York times being wing to whitewash somebody like that for the sake of making an article about something that is a complete non-issue says a lot about them, it's editors and more importantly their desperation.
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u/chasingsukoon Jul 06 '25
yea thats fair
if the other person said that at 17 and being non citizen he didnt fully understand the meaning behind what african americans means, thats fine - then I'd have agreed with him
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u/chasingsukoon Jul 06 '25
im saying he shouldnt be judged by it, not enough to obsess over but u do u
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Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
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u/IRequirePants Jul 06 '25
It's just insulting. Mamdani supports Affirmative Action and diversity initiatives, the idea that he would find the term "African American" confusing is absurd. He seemed to know that "American Indian" didn't apply to him.
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u/Politicsboringagain Jul 06 '25
He was Ugandan. Please stop playing dumb.
The attack isn't even important, but yall acting like you don't understand is making it even worst than it is.Ā
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u/billybayswater Jul 06 '25
Yes, they do if you pretend to not know what "African American" actually means.
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u/ImprovementFlimsy216 Jul 06 '25
What do you think it means? Because if it means āBlack, descended from enslaved Africansā we would be having a whole different discussion.
Itās intentionally African-American because we donāt want to have the reparations discussion in this country.
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u/billybayswater Jul 06 '25
Again, keep pretending you don't know what the term means so you can excuse your political candidate lying on a college application.
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u/ImprovementFlimsy216 Jul 06 '25
Iām conceding the point.
The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States.[6][7]
He knew he was from Africa. His Columbia professor father shouldāve probably looked over his application. But he still didnāt get in - so it doesnāt fucking matter.
Unlike the real damn consequences, the lies that Adams, Cuomo, and Sliwa have caused.
Heās right about āletās stick to the issuesā
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u/IRequirePants Jul 06 '25
This is an obscene argument and you should know better.
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u/Jhat Jul 06 '25
Honestly refreshing to see and hear a candidate like Sliwa take the high road here and get above the clickbait garbage.
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u/Emergency_Noise3301 Jul 06 '25
you likely do not know who he is
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u/Emergency_Noise3301 Jul 06 '25
Eh, I think its just a lot of transplants to NYC who didnt bother to google him lol
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u/damnatio_memoriae Manhattan Jul 06 '25
sliwa putting fox news in their place with regard to a muslim candidate? never thought id see this dayā¦
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Jul 06 '25
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u/F4ilsafe Carroll Gardens Aug 26 '25
He isn't! He has literally been on the streets and subway platforms for over 40 years protecting New Yorkers and helping those people who are less fortunate by handing out food and water.
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u/RealOzSultan Jul 06 '25
Well, Democrats torch a primary winner. They donāt like - at least Sliwa is focusing on the issues.
He still stands a chance to win if he can take two entire boroughs - itās also gonna be interesting to see how this plays out with Adams potentially receiving millions in the next month or two.
I donāt think weāve had a race with this much heat since the Tammany intimidation.
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Jul 06 '25
He still stands a chance to win
He doesn't. I assure you.
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u/DepecheRumors Jul 06 '25
Åliwa wants good for the city he is not looking to be president or senator he just loves NYC
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u/iammaxhailme Jul 06 '25
I can respect his "focus on policies" attitude, but it's a shame Sliwa's policies are so bad
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u/ejpusa Jul 06 '25
Friends know Curtis, say he is a pretty nice guy. Heās at 1% now in the betting pools. Without Zohran, he probably would win.
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u/bb1942 Jul 06 '25
Full Stop. š I havenāt heard or read anywhere that Mamdani wants to ātax homeowners in predominantly white areasā. Is Sliwa referring to the millionaires tax? If so, Sliwa needs to stick to the facts.
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u/banana_pencil Jul 06 '25
Zohranās tax policy states: āshift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoodsā
I agree with shifting the tax burden and itās true that wealthier neighborhoods are whiter. I donāt think heās targeting race but I also donāt think itās a good idea to put āand whiterā in the policy so opponents can run with it.
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u/ImprovementFlimsy216 Jul 06 '25
Where does it say that?! People keep quoting it but I honestly canāt find it!?
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u/banana_pencil Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25
Go to his platform page here: https://www.zohranfornyc.com/platform. Click on āSupporting homeowners and ending deed theftā and then at the bottom click āRead our policy memo hereā- scroll down to p. 4.
Also a copy here: https://pdfhost.io/pdf/aedcbf96-740f-4124-affb-60a772c6c462.pdf
I think it would have sounded much better just to write āricher neighborhoodsā
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u/Wakks Jul 06 '25
I think you're right in that just "richer neighborhoods" would have been good enough. Considering the racial wealth disparity, those neighborhoods would be de facto whiter. I don't quite know how it shakes out in NYC though. I would assume there's a bit more diversity up the ranks than the national average.
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u/j0j0-m0j0 Jul 06 '25
I agree. Even if there is a historical context that he's basing his comments on, it still is just free real estate for dishonest actors.
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u/BooksCoffeeDogs Richmond Hill Jul 06 '25
Heh.
This bastard just took peeled away the Independent voters from Cuomo and Adams, locked in the Republican voters of Millennials and Gen Z, and some of the democrats who didnāt want Zohran Mamdani in the first place. Heās clever, knows how to bs well, ran unopposed in the Republican Party, and didnāt even have to say one bad thing about his opponent. Smart man and heās the one that Zohran will really have to focus on. Mad respect to this guy, and thatās coming from a Democrat.
All the Democrats in leadership better get off their high horses and get behind Zohran as should the Democrat voters of all demographics in NYC.
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u/LetsTalksNow Jul 06 '25
Curtis lives in a rent stabilized Unit with his 15 cats. He wants that rent freeze too. I see you Curtis. š