Author name: RVM News

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing renewed criticism after acknowledging that he does not have the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a future visit to New York, a position that has prompted opponents to question several of his campaign promises and priorities.

As The New York Post reported, the issue gained attention after Mamdani released a social media video earlier this week in which he acknowledged he lacks the authority to carry out an arrest of Netanyahu, despite previously stating he would enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if the Israeli leader visited the city.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.

The Israeli Consul General criticized Mamdani’s previous comments in a statement.

“Mayor Mamdani knew that he does not have legal authority to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu, yet he continues with his blood libels against Israel,” the Israeli Consul General said.

“He should start focusing on the people of his city instead of meddling in matters he doesn’t understand.”

Mamdani has continued to criticize Netanyahu publicly, referring to him as a “war criminal” and saying he is not welcome in New York City, even while acknowledging that arresting the Israeli prime minister is outside the mayor’s legal authority.

The controversy has also renewed attention on several proposals Mamdani promoted during his campaign.

Among those proposals was a pledge to provide free bus service throughout New York City. According to estimates cited in the report, the initiative would cost approximately $1 billion, and no program has been implemented.

Responsibility for bus fares also rests with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority rather than the mayor’s office.

Mamdani also proposed increasing taxes through a corporate tax hike and a 2% personal income tax on the city’s wealthiest residents.

Those changes have not been enacted because income tax authority rests with the state.

The report noted that Gov. Kathy Hochul advanced a separate proposal involving a tax on second homes that are not primary residences.

Another campaign proposal called for opening city-owned grocery stores in every borough to reduce food costs.

According to the report, only two potential locations have been identified, with the first store not expected to open until at least 2027.

Mamdani also promoted a $1 billion community safety initiative intended to replace the New York Police Department on most 911 calls.

The report stated that only two staff members have been assigned to the effort and that police officers continue responding to those emergency calls.

His proposal to freeze rents has also encountered legal challenges. The report noted that after appointments to the city’s rent stabilization board, landlords filed a lawsuit this week challenging the effort.

Democratic operative Ken Frydman said Mamdani understood the legal limitations surrounding Netanyahu before making the original pledge.

“Unfortunately, that threat plays politically to his far-left base. So it was worth it to him to float it,” Frydman argued.

The debate over Mamdani’s priorities comes as New York City also responds to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on the Upper East Side.

According to the report, five people have died, and dozens of others have been infected.

On Tuesday, City Council Speaker Julie Menin introduced legislation calling for stronger public health response measures while criticizing City Hall’s handling of the outbreak.

“But public health depends on public trust — and public trust depends on timely, transparent communication and action,” Menin wrote in a follow-up op-ed in The Post.

“This outbreak exposed a dangerous gap between what our laws require and how the city executes them.”

Veteran Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf argued that city leadership should concentrate on local issues.

“Legionnaires’ disease knocks off Manhattanites and the best this guy can do is to pretend he’s got powers that he doesn’t,” Sheinkopf said.

“This proves again that hating Jews gets you news but fighting for dying New Yorkers gets you zero.”

Political strategist Evan Roth Smith of Slingshot Strategies offered a different assessment, saying Mamdani continues to enjoy strong support among his political base.

“He has total undying loyalty from his political base and, beyond that, he has a whole lot of people who watch to attach themselves to his politics and his rise,” Smith said.

“When he has to sell something to his own base that diverges that they actually want like arresting Netanyahu, he knows exactly what to say.”

Mamdani has also faced criticism over the city’s response to a homeless encampment that stretched across more than a dozen blocks on Manhattan’s West Side.

According to the report, City Hall took more than a week to respond to concerns from residents before city workers and police cleared the area. The report said many of the individuals later relocated elsewhere.

Despite the criticism, some supporters argue it is too early to judge the mayor’s administration.

“He’s like a bullfighter, and he’s just dancing with everyone in a good way,” said Jose Bayona, CEO of Grassroots Strategies and former executive director of the mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media.

“The first year is the honeymoon, and he is extending that, and we don’t know yet if it’s anything,” Bayona said. “We will know in 2027. Have to give the guy one or two years.”