MAMDANI’S FIRST 100 DAYS: Mayor faces first public safety test after deadly NYPD shootings, pro-Hamas protesters near synagogue

Friday, Jan. 9, marks the ninth day of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city’s finances. Here’s a summary of what the mayor did today.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani confronted his first major public safety challenges Friday morning, as two deadly police-involved shootings and a protest in Queens opposing West Bank land sales the night prior tested his administration’s response.

Mayor Mamdani posted a statement on the shootings and commented at an unrelated press conference Friday morning, describing them as “devastating to all New Yorkers” and pledging to work with Police Commissioner Tisch to ensure investigations are “thorough and swift.” In a post to his newly launched BlueSky account, he pledged support for the police and requested a review of the city’s mental health response.

But while Mamdani made his thoughts about the police shooting public, he offered little response as news spread of a heated protest in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, on Thursday night, where some of the protesters purportedly supporting Palestine openly shouted praise of the terrorist group Hamas amid the heavily Jewish neighborhood.

Mamdani would first tell some reporters on Friday, “I think that language is wrong. I think that language has no place in New York City.” Later on Friday evening, he posted on social media: “As I said earlier today, chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city. We will continue to ensure New Yorkers’ safety entering and exiting houses of worship as well as the constitutional right to protest.”

Public safety: Addressing a night of police shootings

The police involved shootings occurred within hours of each other. In Manhattan’s West Village, NYPD officers shot and killed a 37-year-old man who reportedly pointed what appeared to be a firearm at them following a traffic-related incident. Police later confirmed the object was a realistic-looking air pistol.

Earlier, officers fatally shot a man inside NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital after he allegedly barricaded himself with a sharp object, threatening staff and patients. Both incidents are being investigated by the NYPD Force Investigation Division.

“Last night, officers were placed in incredibly difficult and dangerous circumstances,” Mamdani said. “The actions they took, they responded swiftly. And I will always emphasize, when someone has been killed, the need for a thorough investigation, as is our current process. And we are going to work to ensure the safety of both officers and New Yorkers at large.”

The NYPD Counterterrorism unit responds to a shooting at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Jan. 8Photo by Gabriele Holtermann

During the press conference, reporters asked Mamdani several questions about the incidents and the delayed response. He said he was briefed late Thursday night, but delayed public comments to ensure that the information shared with New Yorkers was accurate and intentional.

When asked whether these incidents would affect his plans to create a dedicated mental health response unit under his proposed Department of Community Safety, Mamdani reaffirmed his support for the initiative.

“We continue to need an answer to the more than 200,000 mental health calls that the NYPD responds to and receives on an annual basis, and I do continue to believe in the importance of having a mental health unit dedicated specifically to the mental health crisis, and I also recognize the difficulty that last night’s situation presented for those officers in their act to swiftly to respond to it, ” he said.

Asked whether a separate mental health or community safety team would have changed the outcome, Mamdani declined to engage in hypotheticals, saying those questions are part of ongoing discussions.

In a separate statement on Friday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised officers’ actions, calling them “nothing short of heroic.” She emphasized the imminent danger faced by hospital staff and civilians confronted by the West Village man. “Officers acted to save their own lives and the lives of civilians, as they should,” Tisch said, adding that both incidents will undergo “an exhaustive investigation and review.”

Public safety: Condemnation of pro-Hamas protesters in Queens

Mamdani made brief remarks to trailing reporters, which were later posted on X, but did not issue a broader public statement until Friday evening regarding the protest in Queens the night before. “Chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city,” the mayor said.

Video from the demonstration showed some participants using language that drew rapid, widespread criticism on Friday from officials across the political spectrum for chanting in support of Hamas near a synagogue.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has long been a vocal critic of the Israeli government’s policies, has faced sustained criticism from pro-Israel Democrats, Republicans, and some leaders in New York’s Jewish community. While he has consistently condemned Hamas as a terrorist organization and denounced antisemitism, he has supported pro-Palestinian protests and sharply criticized Israel’s military campaign and settlement expansion in the West Bank.

The Jan. 8 protest took place near a synagogue and Jewish school in Queens, opposing an event that provides information on purchasing real estate in Israel, with properties listed in Jerusalem neighborhoods, some of which are in occupied East Jerusalem.

Police implemented a barricaded crowd-control plan, keeping demonstrators separated from attendees — a departure from the controversial November demonstration against an event on immigration to Israel outside Park East Synagogue that prompted criticism of NYPD policing. After the Park East protest, the then-mayor-elect stated that he supported the right of people to enter houses of worship without intimidation, but criticized the event being held at the synagogue, arguing that “sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

Hours after his inauguration, Mayor Mamdani took executive action by repealing several executive orders that former Mayor Eric Adams had signed after he was indicted on federal fraud charges, which were later dropped. Among the many revoked orders were directions for the NYPD to examine ways to keep protesters away from houses of worship.

Gov. Kathy Hochul this week signaled her support for legislation to create buffer zones around houses of worship, and will outline her proposal in next week’s State of the State address.

During the demonstration Thursday, the some protestors were filmed chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear: We support Hamas here,” seemingly sympathizing with the terrorist organization responsible for the heinous attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people, and captured hundreds of others — holding a number of them, living or dead, hostage for up to two years.

Gov. Hochul said the rhetoric was “disgusting, it’s dangerous, and has no place in New York.” She was among several elected officials who issued unequivocal condemnations of the chants, with New York Attorney General Letitia James calling Hamas “a terrorist organization” and condemning the disgusting display in Queens on Thursday, saying, “We do not support terrorists. Period.”

Former Comptroller Brad Lander described the chants as “vile antisemitism” and added that “you can oppose land sales in the West Bank without supporting terrorism & the mass murder of Jews.” Assembly Member Alex Bores said, “Expressing support for Hamas explicitly is rank antisemitism. What they are saying loud and clear here is horrifying

Senator Chuck Schumer called the chants “antisemitic and unacceptable” and said this hate “must have no place in NYC, in the U.S. or around the world.” City Council Speaker Julie Menin said that “openly and proudly sympathizing with Hamas…stokes fear and division,” adding that she would continue to fight against “vile antisemitism.”

Police Commissioner Tish said on Jan. 6 that during 2025, anti-semitic hate crime reports accounted for 57% of incidents reported to the NYPD’s hate crime unit, despite Jewish New Yorkers making up less than 10% of the city’s population.

“These numbers remain far too high, and anti-Semitism continues to be the most persistent hate threat that we face,” said Tisch.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, tensions over Israel and Gaza have been especially high in New York City amid Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which has produced a severe humanitarian toll. The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 70,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Over the past year alone, pro-Palestinian protests in the city have included repeated mass demonstrations, campus encampments, arrests, and occasional clashes with police and counterprotesters, as activists called for a ceasefire and pressured political, cultural, and academic institutions to sever ties with Israel.

Similar real estate events, like the one in Kew Gardens, have drawn protests around the country from groups opposed to the sale of land or properties in the Palestinian territories that Israel has occupied.

A sweeping report by the United Nations human rights office this week accused Israel of violating international law prohibiting racial segregation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, by maintaining a discriminatory system in which settlements play a central role. The report accuses that settlement growth has been accompanied by land confiscations, the takeover of large areas under full Israeli control, and the forcible displacement of farming and herding communities.

Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of systemic discrimination or apartheid, arguing that its settlements and security measures are necessary to protect its citizens and that the West Bank’s status should be resolved through negotiations. The Israeli mission to the U.N. in Geneva dismissed the report as biased and politically driven, claiming it “completely ignores fundamental facts that lie at the basis of the conflict.”

The New York Times reported that counterprotesters at Thursday’s demonstration chanted slogans including “death to Palestine,” “we love ICE,” and profanities directed at Mamdani. The newspaper reported that some counterprotesters issued threats of sexual violence or death toward people in and around the crowd and displayed flags backing President Donald Trump and the far-right Orthodox Jewish Kach movement, which Israel barred from elections in the 1980s for inciting racism.

Affordability: Theater on the house

Mayor Zohran Mamdani hands out tickets for Under The Radar to residents of Flatbush.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Meanwhile, Mamdani joined the Under the Radar theater festival at Brooklyn College prior to the press conference to help hand out 1,500 free tickets to shows across the city.

The tickets cover shows at more than 25 venues across the city, including La MaMa, Lincoln Center, PSNY, and New York Theater Workshop, and feature over 30 productions from local and international artists.

The mayor said the goal is to make the arts more accessible to people who might not otherwise attend the theater. “Arts have to be something that are infused into the lives of everyday New Yorkers,” he said, noting that many live just a few blocks from performances without ever hearing about them. The free tickets, he said, give residents a chance to see theater, reflect on the world, and “fall in love with their city all over again.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani hands out tickets for Under The Radar to residents of Flatbush.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Mamdani framed the giveaway as part of his broader effort to make arts and culture accessible to all New Yorkers, not just tourists or the city’s wealthiest residents.

“Arts have to be something that are infused into the lives of everyday New Yorkers,” he said, noting that many people live just a few blocks from these performances without ever hearing about them. The initiative, he said, gives residents a chance to engage with theater, reflect on the world, and “fall in love with their city all over again,” regardless of income.

The mayor started his day visiting children at District 2 3K/Pre-K Center in Manhattan alongside YouTube star Ms. Rachel. Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

Endorsements: Mamdani backs Valdez to succeed Velázquez

After handing out tickets to the public and facing reporters in Flatbush, Mamdani headed to Bushwick, where he officially threw his support behind Assembly Member Claire Valdez in the contest to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District, which spans parts of western Queens and north Brooklyn.

Mamdani joined Valdez at a campaign event on Friday afternoon at Maria Hernandez Park, announcing his endorsement a day after she formally entered the race. Velázquez announced late last year that she would retire at the end of her term, marking the end of a 16-term tenure in the House of Representatives.

Valdez also picked up an endorsement from United Auto Workers, with union President Shawn Fain describing her campaign as a “remedy” for how working-class voters can “fight back” against corporate interests.

Valdez is a member of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America and the representative for the 37th Assembly District since early 2025. Velázquez has yet to endorse in the race, but several outlets have reported that she is expected to endorse Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.

Shane O’Brien contributed to this report.