As Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo traded barbs during Thursday’s mayoral debate, Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa spoke sentences we never could have imagined before. Perhaps we should have expected this from the man who gave us “slapping fannies and killing grannies,” but we were not prepared.
The headline he’d aim for as mayor: “Curtis Sliwa is without his iconic red beret because I’m talking to the people of New York City about the really serious issues … Curtis Sliwa exceeds all expectations and looks very mayoral tonight.”
On the general vibe of the debate: “First of all, there’s a lot of testosterone in this room.”
“I knew Mario Cuomo. You’re no Mario Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo.”
“I don’t have a credit card. I have a debit card.”
On how he travels around the city when the trains are down: “I try to avoid yellow cabs. As you know, I was shot in the back of a yellow cab in 1992 by the Gottis and the Gambinos. But I find my way around. If I have to, I Uber.”