Billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis has blasted the recent election of progressive Zohran Mamdani to a New York City voicing concern over the city's future and urging the state to "keep control" of city leadership.
Mr. Catsimatidis, founder of the Red Apple Group which includes the Gristedes and D’Agostino’s supermarket chains, said his primary concern was not Mr. Mamdani's past proposals for state-run groceries, but public safety.
“New York cannot afford to lose any more residents,” Mr. Catsimatidis said, warning that "declining public safety and poor governance" could drive more people away.
Mr. Catsimatidis said his main worry is whether Mr. Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, will back efforts to cut police funding or influence the appointment of "soft-on-crime" judges.
Mr. Mamdani sparked controversy in 2020 when he tweeted: “We don’t need a study to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer, and a threat to public safety. What we need is to ‘DefundTheNYPD.”
He has since reversed that position, saying the comments came from anger over the murder of George Floyd and that he does not plan to reduce police budgets.
Mr. Catsimatidis, a prominent political donor, urged New in New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to step in.
“The responsibility now falls on the governor’s office,” he said. He also said President Joe Biden should ensure federal funds sent to the city are "used properly."