Overview

• At an August 7 press conference Cuomo proposed making subways and buses free for the poorest New Yorkers at an estimated cost of $140 million per year, presenting it as a scaled-back version of Zohran Mamdani’s universal transit promise.
• He introduced a $100 monthly food subsidy for households earning 130–150 percent of the federal poverty level at roughly $200 million annually, contrasting it with Mamdani’s plan to open city-run grocery stores.
• Cuomo called Mamdani’s $30 hourly minimum wage target by 2030 unrealistic and instead backed an increase to $20 to balance worker pay with business viability.
• He criticized Mamdani’s proposal to raise the state corporate tax rate to 11.5 percent as naïve and warned that it would drive companies out of New York City.
• Mamdani’s campaign rebuked Cuomo’s record on unions and social services, likening him to an arsonist putting out a fire, while Cuomo denied reports that he contacted President Trump about the race.