Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Capitol Hill on June 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
The former governor, who is running as an independent candidate after losing to Mamdani in June, said the general election electorate is "much different."
"New York City people are not socialists," Cuomo said. "They're not anti-business people. They're not anti-corporate people. They want jobs. They want growth."
"It's antithetical to New York City to be anti-corporate," Cuomo said on Fox News on Sunday, criticizing Mamdani and his fellow "socialists" who believe in government freebies, taxing the rich and seizing the means of production.
New York City was "built on capitalism," Cuomo said.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo relaunched his New York City mayoral campaign as an independent candidate. (REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado)
"Too many businesses, as you know, have moved out of New York. So, number one, get more businesses here and grow the businesses that are here," Cuomo explained.
A Bloomberg study found that 158 companies managing $993 billion in assets moved their headquarters out of New York between 2020 and 2023.
In addition to building businesses in New York City, Cuomo said he is focused on public safety and affordable housing.
"Crime is a real problem in New York City as it is in cities across the country, and New York City exacerbated it. A few years ago, the socialists went through this ‘defund the police,’ this anti-police movement," Cuomo said.
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According to Cuomo's campaign website, the former governor wants to add 5,000 new police officers to the New York Police Department (NYPD). He told Fox News that he plans to add 1,500 officers to the patrol subways.
And to provide more affordable housing, Cuomo said he plans to add 50,000 new units per year, which will "add to the supply and meet the demand."
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani for a response to Cuomo's comments but did not immediately hear back.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cuomo-calls-nyc-mayoral-rival-dangerous-warns-socialism-would-death-knell-city