Adriano Espaillat and Zohran Mamdani meet again

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani may be the Padrino of honor in the Bronx, but Rep. Adriano Espaillat isn’t quite ready to shower him with praise. 

The mayor joined Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Espaillat on Friday to share security information ahead of Sunday’s National Dominican Day Parade in Manhattan. The press conference at NYPD headquarters marked the first time Mamdani and Espaillat have appeared together publicly since democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier – who the mayor unexpectedly endorsed – unseated the five-term Congress member and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the June Democratic primary. Though Espaillat supported Mamdani’s opponent, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in the mayoral primary last year, Espaillat was reportedly blindsided by the move since the mayor agreed behind the scenes not to do so.

Tisch opened her remarks at the press conference praising Espaillat for his leadership, as Mamdani and Espaillat stood next to each other but avoided eye contact. Espaillat did not mention or thank the mayor in his remarks. (Mamdani’s public schedule didn’t mention Espaillat would be there Friday, though Tisch’s did.)

It’s not clear if Mamdani and Espaillat will celebrate the parade together either. Espaillat will hold a pre-parade breakfast on Sunday morning where Tisch and City Council Speaker Julie Menin will be honored. But as first reported in City & State’s Heard Around Town newsletter, Mamdani had not been invited to the breakfast as of Thursday, according to his spokesperson. The mayor will host a separate Dominican heritage reception – which his predecessors, including self-declared honorary-Dominican Eric Adams, held prior to the parade – several days later, on Aug. 13. Espaillat is invited, according to Mamdani’s spokesperson. 

Earlier this year, Mamdani drew backlash for reworking a Puerto Rican cultural reception at Gracie Mansion. (An initial email from the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement suggested there would be no reception.) In the end, rather than hosting one of the large outdoor parties that marked the Adams administration, Mamdani opted for a smaller lunch – a break in tradition that upset some Puerto Rican leaders.

Mamdani still faces some fallout in the Dominican community following the 13th Congressional District Democratic primary. While Avila Chevalier is also Dominican, almost all the community’s political leaders endorsed Espaillat. One Dominican elected said they are skipping the mayor’s reception and suggested others might too.

Espaillat declined to comment when asked by City & State Friday afternoon about his relationship with Mamdani and whether they were planning to attend each other’s events. After the brief press conference ended, Espaillat rushed out of the room and told someone in Spanish, “we have to go.”