New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing backlash over his statement surrounding the Oct. 7 vigil, as he called for space to mourn every life lost amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Mamdani said New Yorkers should not have to choose which deaths deserve mourning and which should be ignored, emphasizing the need to recognize the suffering of communities affected by the violence. His remarks have sparked a wider debate over grief, political leadership, and how New York should respond to the deeply divisive legacy of Oct. 7.
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00:00I believe that there must be room to mourn every single life.
00:06There must be room to mourn the lives of the more than 1,100 Israelis that Hamas killed three years
00:13ago.
00:14There must be room to mourn the 74,000 Palestinians that the Israeli government has killed since.
00:20There must be room to reckon with the ways in which so many New Yorkers' lives have been shattered.
00:29And that, to me, is a part of what it means to believe in a sense of humanity,
00:35that we need not choose between which death we will mourn and which we will ignore,
00:41that we can reckon with the fact that all of it is to be opposed.
00:45And what I so appreciated about being at the vigil yesterday evening, as I had been the year before,
00:51is that it was a vigil that brought together and brings together New Yorkers
00:56to read testimonies of their own family members,
01:00testimonies of others who have been killed either on the day or in the genocide since,
01:04and ends with a shared vision for peace and for an end to the genocide.
01:08And that, to me, is the future that we have to fight for.
01:11I know that this announcement, which there was, at a certain point, previous announcements,
01:15but I wanted to get an update on the larger systemic issues with larger contracts,
01:21which, I mean, I said I feel like this is deja vu.
01:25Almost five years ago, I attended a similar press conference with former Mayor Adams and Brad Lander,
01:29where they joined and talked about how they were going to get nonprofits paid faster.
01:32But it's still an issue.
01:33You still have large nonprofits,
01:35nonprofits who are doing the lion's share of particularly social services work in the city that can go years.
01:41They have contracts from fiscal year 24 and 5 still owed.
01:45So what's the latest on that?
01:46And what work has your administration done to actually try to fix this problem?
01:51Absolutely.
01:52So I'll just also invite Mons and Mox and our deputy mayor as well to come up to add some
01:56additional details here.
01:57But what I will first say, just broadly, is that to affirm the central premise of your question,
02:04which is that nonprofits are a critical partner in delivering services across the city.
02:09I also say that as someone who used to work at a nonprofit in Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill,
02:14and so often I knew that if I wasn't working with my client,
02:18then there might not be anyone that they would be able to work with
02:20because of the language fluency that came in that organization.
02:23And so today's announcement, it is in large part thanks to the advocacy of nonprofits
02:29because it's scaling up an approach that has worked.
02:32But there's also larger systemic issues at hand.
02:35And right now what we've been focusing on is how do we process as many contracts as possible on a
02:42much faster timeline.
02:43So when it comes to the timeliness initiative within our administration,
02:48agencies submitted about 96% of all fiscal year 27 human services contracts for controller registration by September 1st.
02:56That then allowed nonprofits to start to receive advances.
03:00When it comes to this work, it has to continue.
03:05It has to scale up.
03:06I think what we've also shown is that it worked for 100 nonprofits.
03:09We're expanding it to 800.
03:10We're going to keep taking that approach across the board.
03:12Anything that works to expedite these payments, we will do.
03:15I don't know if there's anything you want to add.
03:17I think it's really important to know that the work that we're trying to do for not-for-profits,
03:21we want to make sure that not only are they getting paid on time,
03:24but that we're also figuring out the backlog and figuring out what that end looks like,
03:28going back and saying, well, what's the root cause?
03:31Like in my world, what's the patient zero?
03:33And then once we figure out what patient zero is, finding the solution of the medicine for that.
03:38And then once you have that, not only are we fixing the problems for not-for-profits now, but also
03:43for the future.
03:44And that's something that we want to make sure that we're creating a sustainable change for all not-for-profits
03:48to continue growing and serving New York City.
03:54I think I can actually offer one early diagnosis,
03:58is that nearly 70% of our city's human service contract backlog consists of discretionary contracts.
04:08That then leads to payment delays for providers.
04:11And I actually think that Council Member Ressler was quite apt in his description that a program like this
04:17is not only meaningful for 800 non-profits that are receiving grants of less than $25,000,
04:23it's also meaningful for Mons and for Mox to be able to process the larger-scale contracts
04:30that are typically being responded to in kind with this scale of a $5,000 or $10,000, what would
04:36be a grant.
04:38Any other on-topic questions?
04:41Okay.
04:41Thank you, Dr. Mayor.
04:42Thank you very much.
04:45NJ from ABC.
04:50Good morning, sir.
04:51Morning, NJ. How are you?
04:52Well, thank you. How are you?
04:53Doing well.
04:55You were booed last night.
04:57You were heckled.
04:59Clearly, you have some supporters and some people on that side of the issue who view you as a traitor.
05:05Your statement issued yesterday morning seemed to anger many in the Jewish community.
05:11What do you make of that conflict that seems to be going on?
05:16How do you feel about being called a traitor?
05:19And do you feel misunderstood?
05:24You know, I was proud to attend last night's vigil as I did last year.
05:29To listen to testimonies from family members of those who were killed on October 7th
05:36and those who have been killed in the three years since.
05:40And all of whom united in a vision for peace and an end to the genocide in Gaza.
05:48And when we're speaking of that genocide,
05:50we're speaking of one that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians in the last three years.
05:56As for those protesting me, I am the mayor of New York City, and this is what I signed up
06:00for.
06:01Thank you, NJ.
06:02We're going to go next to Dana.
06:06Hi, Mr. Mayor.
06:07Hi, Dana. How are you?
06:08Good.
06:09So, you know, obviously the Israel-Gaza conflict continues to fuel really intense passions on both sides here.
06:16So, I have two questions.
06:18Do you think that your own ardent, you know, clearly heartfelt advocacy for the Palestinian cause
06:24has played any role in stoking those tensions, as some Jewish leaders contend?
06:28And do you think you're capable of uniting a city this fractious?
06:36We've seen our city come together many a time.
06:41And we know that we will also continue to do so, all while understanding the fact that this is a
06:46city of eight and a half million people.
06:48And if we didn't have eight and a half million opinions, then we wouldn't be in New York City.
06:53And when it comes to my responsibility, I've said, is not only to deliver for New Yorkers,
06:59but also to be honest with New Yorkers about what I think.
07:01And I've been very clear, both as a candidate as well as the mayor of our city,
07:07of my firm belief that we have to extend human rights to all people,
07:12and that that has to include Palestinians,
07:15and that as Americans we have a special responsibility,
07:19given our federal government's complicity in funding so much of the weaponry that has been used over these last three
07:26years.
07:27And we also know that when we are commemorating the anniversary three years of horrific war crimes,
07:42three years since Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted hundreds more,
07:48three years of an anniversary that has brought unthinkable devastation to so many,
07:54that also the Israeli government used and continues to use that day those war crimes
08:01as a justification for an ongoing genocide against Palestinians,
08:05and that this is something that has shattered the lives of so many New Yorkers,
08:09whether in those who I was standing alongside at the vigil,
08:14recounting their own family members who were killed,
08:17or reading the testimonies of Palestinians whose family members have been killed,
08:22or the then-Palestinian New Yorkers that I met soon after that vigil,
08:26who shared with me, for example, a Palestinian Christian nurse here in New York City,
08:33sharing with me that she lost 17 of her family members when the Israeli military bombed a church.
08:38It has devastated people's lives across our city.
08:42Dana, we're going to go next to Marsha.
08:47Mr. Mayor, I'm curious, you know, there's been a request by some lawmakers,
08:52including Julie Menon, to have a memorial to people who died on October 7th,
08:58and I'm wondering what your position is on it,
09:01if you think that there should be a memorial erected in Brooklyn that's been proposed
09:08to memorialize the people who lost their lives that day.
09:12And if you think, given the fact that there's that proposal,
09:16if you think there should also be something erected to deal with those who lost their lives in Palestine,
09:23in Gaza?
09:24You know, yesterday was a day of profound grief for so many New Yorkers.
09:31When it comes to that proposal, our administration is reviewing it,
09:34and I'll let you know once we actually get through that.
09:36Thanks, Marsha.
09:37We're going to go to Kevin next.
09:38Do you think that you have to approve it for it to go forward?
09:44But also, my question was, is it, given the fact that you are the mayor of the entire city,
09:50is it something that if you erected a memorial for one people who lost lives,
09:55if you also have to erect a memorial for those other people who lost their lives,
10:02Israelis and Palestinians?
10:04To your first question, I think that there has to be engagement from the Parks Department
10:09when it comes to the creation of a monument like this.
10:12That's my understanding at this time.
10:13That's why the review is critical.
10:16Once that review takes place, then I'll have better thoughts to answer to the second question.
10:20Okay, Kevin, go ahead.
10:21At the end of that.
10:28Hey, Mr. Mayor, Kevin Dung with Streets Blog.
10:30I have a question about NYPD enforcement.
10:34We asked them recently why their moving violations against car drivers have plummeted by 41% since 2021,
10:41and they told us that they are shifting strategy to, quote,
10:44address the lethal challenge of new e-mobility devices.
10:48But, you know, I'm sure as you know, like e-mobility devices cause far fewer deaths by a factor of
10:53like 150 than cars and trucks.
10:56And you yourself have encouraged e-micromobility.
10:58So I'm curious, you know, why the NYPD is carrying out policies that do not similarly encourage micromobility
11:04while also renewing focus on the most deadly vehicles on the road.
11:08And then I have a second question.
11:09Do you mind asking the second one as well?
11:10Sure, yeah.
11:11And the second one is, you know, you've restarted a lot of Adams-era bike lane projects that the last
11:17mayor canceled or, you know, ripped out.
11:20The only one remaining is the Bedford Avenue protected bike lane.
11:22You've told me discussions are ongoing.
11:24What's left to discuss there?
11:26You know, are you still going to reinstate the protected bike lane there?
11:29So those discussions are ongoing.
11:31What I would also say is just a slight addendum in that in some of the bike lane projects that
11:37we have restarted
11:37that the prior administration had indefinitely paused, in some cases we've also expanded the scope of those projects.
11:44You know, I used to have the privilege of representing Astoria and Long Island City.
11:48The bike lane that was proposed in Astoria that was then paused in litigation is one that we've actually been
11:53able to expand.
11:53And that, I think, is incredibly important because safety should be something that every New Yorker is afforded,
12:01no matter what street they're on, no matter what mode of transit they're using.
12:04And personally, as someone who used to avoid biking down 31st Street purely out of safety concerns,
12:10going out of my way to try and stay safe as a cyclist, I think it's incredibly important that that
12:15project is also moving forward.
12:16To your first question, you know, the importance for us when we're talking about an approach to Vision Zero Reimagined,
12:23is to be data-driven.
12:25And when it comes to that kind of data, it means focusing on whatever kinds of incidents are putting New
12:33Yorkers in danger,
12:34not privileging any one mode or the other on anything except for the statistics of what the actual impacts are.
12:41And that is, to us, you know, we've seen progress in the time that we've been in office.
12:47We're looking at, even just since the beginning of Vision Zero, progress since the de Blasio administration of about 28
12:54% decline.
12:55And yet we also know that the point is in the name.
12:57It has to be zero.
12:59So long as there are traffic deaths in the city, there's more work to be done.
13:02But thank you for fighting.
13:03Paul, do you agree on the shift towards micro-mobility enforcement over, like, cars and trucks that the NYPD seems
13:08to be doing?
13:09I don't think we have to pick what kind of enforcement needs to be done.
13:13I think we have to address anything that puts New Yorkers in danger.
13:16And that's part of our belief that there shouldn't be a hierarchy of safety based on what mode of transit
13:21you use.
13:22Thanks.
13:23We've got time for a few more.
13:24If you could just pass to Henry.
13:27Hi, Mayor.
13:28How's it going, Henry?
13:28Good.
13:29How are you?
13:30Back to the events of yesterday.
13:31It seems just kind of trying to zoom out a little bit.
13:34You tried to move with a lot of intention, from a very detailed statement to declining certain invitations to picking
13:41very carefully the vigil you tried to attend.
13:44Yet you got it from both sides yesterday.
13:47I'm curious, as you reflect on the decisions you made, the words you spoke, the statements you put out,
13:54do you believe you made any missteps that inflamed tensions in this very difficult moment for a lot of New
14:00Yorkers?
14:03You know, I believe that there must be room to mourn every single life.
14:09There must be room to mourn the lives of the more than 1,100 Israelis that Hamas killed three years
14:17ago.
14:17There must be room to mourn the 74,000 Palestinians that the Israeli government has killed since.
14:24There must be room to reckon with the ways in which so many New Yorkers' lives have been shattered.
14:33And that, to me, is a part of what it means to believe in a sense of humanity,
14:39that we need not choose between which death we will mourn and which we will ignore,
14:45that we can reckon with the fact that all of it is to be opposed.
14:48And what I so appreciated about being at the vigil yesterday evening, as I had been the year before,
14:54is that it was a vigil that brought together and brings together New Yorkers
15:00to read testimonies of their own family members,
15:03testimonies of others who have been killed either on the day or in the genocide since,
15:08and ends with a shared vision for peace and for an end to the genocide.
15:12And that, to me, is the future that we have to fight for.
15:16Thanks, Henry.
15:16Okay, we've got time for a few more.
15:17We'll go next to Melissa.
15:20Hi, Mr. Mayor.
15:21Hi, Melissa.
15:22How are you?
15:22I'm okay, thank you.
15:24I have a couple of questions on this subject.
15:27You said that all of it is to be opposed.
15:30All of the deaths are to be opposed.
15:32I think many people would agree with you there.
15:34Yet, as mayor, we've seen you talk about, you know,
15:40we've seen you post videos about Nakba Day, about the Palestinian cause,
15:46which we know is very important and you care deeply about.
15:49We don't see you doing quite as much when it comes to October 7th.
15:54We didn't see a video similar to that, just honoring the losses of that day.
15:59So, my first question is, why not?
16:02But also, if you could do anything differently, if you could redo yesterday,
16:09is there a line that you would add to your statement?
16:11Is there one you would take out?
16:13Would you change anything about it?
16:18I think that October 7th is a day that is immensely painful for our city
16:26and is a day of mourning.
16:29And so, whether in the statement, whether in the attendance of the vigil,
16:35as I had done the year before,
16:37or whether in meeting with Palestinian New Yorkers after that,
16:42all of it is part of reckoning with what that day has meant for this city
16:49and the fact that we know that it brings up the most horrific memories
16:58for so many in this city.
17:00And also, for others, it is a day that is continuing
17:03in the Israeli government's use of it as a justification for a genocide.
17:09And so, to me, it is critically important to be able
17:14to mourn for all of those who were killed and have been killed since,
17:18especially given that we know this is ongoing,
17:22as opposed to something simply that was three years ago.
17:27Thank you, Melissa.
17:29We do have to move on.
17:31Would you add or take anything out?
17:33I think that the statement, the attendance, the meeting,
17:36it all speaks to a reckoning with horror
17:41and a horror that devastated the lives of New Yorkers three years ago,
17:46and it also continues to devastate New Yorkers today.
17:50We've got time for one more.
17:51We'll go to Saheli.
17:53Hi, Mr. Mayor.
17:54Hi, Saheli.
17:54How are you?
17:55I'm good, thank you.
17:56One of the specific frustrations that's actually within your power as mayor
18:01that was cited yesterday by protesters was about disbanding the SRG.
18:07We've asked you about this quite a few times.
18:10Do you have an update now, and do you have a timeline
18:13that you're committed to at this point that you can share?
18:15So I've said this over the course of the campaign and also as mayor,
18:20is that I am just as committed as I was at the very beginning
18:23in the importance of disbanding the SRG,
18:25the importance of decoupling response to protests from counterterrorism,
18:30which is, we know, what SRG was founded for a little more than a decade ago.
18:34And what we have been working on over the time that I've been in office
18:37is how to ensure that that decoupling is one that doesn't come
18:41at the expense of New Yorker safety
18:43or at the expense of the protection of their constitutional rights.
18:46And it is something that is a priority, has been a priority,
18:50and we will have more to share soon.
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