Sustenance

To the editor:

Some are urging “a stop Mamdani” movement. While there are serious concerns about the mayoral candidate, the same can be said about Andrew Cuomo. 

As governor, Cuomo used the threat of layoffs to get poverty-salaried state workers to accept a three-year wage freeze. Nowadays, he opposes Zohran Mamdani’s call to freeze rents but has not shown concern for tenants whose salaries are frozen.

The key concerns about Mamdani are his harsh blanket criticism of cops and his call to defund the police as well as his proposal to have the city open free grocery stores. He has backtracked on his defund rhetoric.

But city owned grocery stores pose their own key questions. How are bodegas and supermarkets going to compete with those cheaper outlets? Also, if you give those in need vouchers, that would help those whose SNAP benefits are cut or are already inadequate. But with free grocery stores, there will always be some people who are not in need but are selfish enough to say, "If it's free, why not take it?"

As for the incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, the following concerns remain. He vetoed a bill that would give delivery workers a minimum wage of $21.44 an hour, which is still a poverty salary. He still hasn't given FDNY EMS, EMT and paramedics pay parity with other emergency responders. Adams has decided, so far, to not go through with forcing city retirees onto Medicare Advantage. But the allegedly progressive City Council has still not passed a bill to guarantee that this will not happen.

Mayoral candidate Jim Walden would support Cuomo but not Mamdani. But if Walden wants all candidates with no chance to win to drop out, why is he in the race? If I vote for a candidate with no chance, I'll write in the Green Party's Jill Stein.

Richard Warren