Many mainstream and conservative Jews are ready to rally around Andrew Cuomo if he runs for mayor, prominent Jewish activists told The Post.
“Cuomo is a moderate with a deep history with the Jewish community and a long record of fighting for issues we care about — combating antisemitism and strong support of Israel,” a source said — just days after embattled Mayor Eric Adams appeared in Manhattan court Friday on sweeping corruption charges.
“The Jewish community is very anxious for Cuomo to jump into the race. A lot of us will jump in for him,” said Jewish organizer who requested anonymity, adding he has discussed a candidacy with Cuomo.
Another Jewish advocate said, “Cuomo will immediately be the top candidate in the Jewish community.”
The development comes as even some of Adams’ supporters have expressed serious doubts that he can survive politically and win re-election, regardless of the outcome of his criminal case.
“I’m skeptical that Eric can survive and make it to next year’s election,” said Michael Nussbaum, former president of the Queens Jewish Council and a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
“I would support Andrew Cuomo. We know he can manage and govern,” said Nussbaum, adding that he spoke to the ex-gov last week.
Another Jewish leader said Adams “is toast” in terms of trying to win re-election.
The city’s Jewish population was listed at 960,000 out of a total city population of about 8.3 million, according to a recent report. Jews could account for 20% to 25% of a Democratic primary vote, said Jerry Skurnik, a voter data analyst who runs Engage Voters US.
That large voting bloc was a major reason why Adams was successful in his 2021 campaign. Jewish leaders have praised Adams for being a strong advocate and fighting rising antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
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As for Adams’ possible successor, “Middle-class Jews in the city are looking for someone who can govern from the center,” said David Pollock, a former official with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
The Adams campaign insisted that Hizzoner still has rock-solid support in the Jewish community, and some leaders Sunday said they remain in the mayor’s corner.
“I’m sticking with the mayor right now. Adams has done a yeoman’s job, ” said Rabbi Mendy Miroznik, president of the Staten Island Council of Jewish Organizations.
“He deserves due process under the law. You’re innocent until proven guilty,” Miroznik said.
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, said, “We are grateful for his steadfast support to the Jewish community. His loyalty did not begin when he became mayor.”
Jewish activists said the other Democratic candidates who have announced their bids for mayor are too far to the left for many Jewish voters.
That group of mayoral hopefuls includes the city’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, city Comptroller Brad Lander, sources said.
One source noted that Lander endorsed the failed re-election of lefty firebrand Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a major foe of Israel.
Lander, a self-described “progressive Zionist,” even attended rallies against Israel’s military actions in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 attack. His positions have made him popular with left-leaning Jews but put him out of the mainstream, some observers said.
“He has a Jewish problem,” Democratic political consultant Ken Frydman told The Post last month.
Cuomo won his three terms as governor with strong Jewish support, and his connections with Jewish groups go back to the era of his father, Mario Cuomo, who served three terms as governor, from 1983 to 1994.
As governor, Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order barring state agencies from doing business with firms that supported the boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel — a policy kept in place by his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Cuomo on Friday did not rule out a mayoral run but also did not urge Adams to resign.
“Governor Cuomo has spent a lifetime in public service fighting and delivering for the people of New York and will do whatever he can to help — that said, the speculation is premature as Governor Cuomo believes Mayor Adams is entitled to due process,” Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said in a statement.
If he runs for mayor, Cuomo would be making a comeback from his own tarnished legacy that will be a challenge to overcome. Even his fans say it would be no cakewalk.
He resigned in disgrace in August of 2021 after a scathing investigative report commissioned by state Attorney General Letitia James’ office substantiated claims from female workers that he sexually harassed them.
Cuomo, under the threat of impeachment, resigned though denied wrongdoing.
Cuomo was never charged with a crime, though he’s fought civil suits filed by his alleged victims.
The ex-governor has also come under withering criticism for a controversial March 25, 2020, edict during the pandemic that prodded nursing homes to accept recovering COVID-19 patients, which some analysts claimed contributed to the deaths of nursing-home residents.
He also was accused of lowballing the public reporting of pandemic-related nursing-home deaths.
In addition, the ex-governor came under fire from nursing-home families for signing a $5 million profit-making book about New York’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak while the pandemic was still raging.
If Adams resigns and city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams temporarily takes over, according to the law, a special election for mayor would be set if the resignation occurs 90 days before the upcoming primary election, which is in June.
Anyone can vote in such a special election, so a moderate candidate such as Cuomo would have a better shot at winning than in a strictly Democratic primary.
