Overview

• A June 2020 tweet showed Mamdani giving the middle finger to a Columbus statue in Astoria with the caption “Take it down,” and it has reemerged this July.
• Angelo Vivolo, president of the Columbus Heritage Coalition, and other Italian American figures have formally pledged to withhold backing for Mamdani.
• Joseph Scelsa of the Italian American Museum warns that the bloc—about 8 percent of New York City voters—feels deeply offended and could shift outcomes in a tight race.
• Mamdani, a democratic socialist who upset Andrew Cuomo in last month’s Democratic primary, now faces Cuomo’s potential independent bid alongside Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa.
• The dispute underscores the friction between efforts to reevaluate historical monuments and campaigns to defend ethnic heritage in New York politics.