Blakeman tells JNS he would "take action" against Mayor Mamdani over "virulent antisemitic comments," says the governor has the power; describes becoming more religiously observant
In a Sept. 1 video interview with JNS (published Sept. 1, 9:12pm), Blakeman said that as governor he would tell Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stop making what he called "virulent antisemitic comments" and, if he did not, "take action against him, which the governor has the power to do." He said that during the 2024 Columbia encampment he "would have told the mayor to take control of the situation or I would." The interview also covers his personal religious observance: a kosher kitchen, Shabbat services roughly twice a month at the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, and his wife Segal Magori Blakeman's role in that shift. Blakeman did not specify which gubernatorial power he would use against a sitting mayor; state law provides a removal process under Public Officers Law §33 but it has never been used against a NYC mayor. Fits the established pattern (JTA June 1; Crown Heights July 15) of Blakeman framing the race around Mamdani.