New York City Councilwoman Joann Ariola warned New Yorkers on Thursday to prepare for defending their livelihoods as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s early signals are alarming, particularly for the city’s Jewish community.
“We have to do everything we can to fight back as Americans to maintain our American capitalist way of life,” Ariola said in a recent interview. “We are afraid for our Jewish communities, and I will stand side by side with them and fight for them, because I don’t believe this mayor will.”
Ariola stated she knows of other council members who have “shockingly” met with Mamdani and “also embraced [him] in their homes,” including “members from my own delegation.” She said her own brief contact left her concerned.
“In a 10-minute phone conversation with then-Mayor-elect Mamdani, I knew that it was nothing more than another stage performance sans the music,” Ariola added.
Ariola also cited a social media post by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and echoed its message: “So this is all the gentlemen from that that you mentioned, who said the enemy is within the gates is correct,” she stated. “The enemy is within the gates.”
Joseph Imperatrice, founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC and a police sergeant, warned New Yorkers that the new administration’s direction could unsettle families affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. “There’s going to be a lot of 9/11 families that are upset, that are scared, that want to see that this is not going to happen and going the wrong direction,” Imperatrice said. He noted New York City has “a lot of history” and that “so much is going against that history.”
Imperatrice added that Mamdani’s tenure had just begun but expressed concern over early personnel choices: “Unfortunately, this man hasn’t gotten into office more than one day, so we’re hopeful,” he said. “You have to be hopeful that the mayor or the president is going to do the right thing. But unfortunately, with the leading up to who is in place, the people that he’s nominated for positions, it’s very questionable at this point in time.”
The discussion also referenced President Donald Trump’s public comments about working with Mamdani following a November Oval Office meeting. Imperatrice described Trump’s approach as “being a leader,” noting leaders “give people hope that tomorrow is going to be better than today.”
Imperatrice urged political opponents of the mayor to focus on organizing for the next election cycle rather than criticism: “We have four years. We can complain every single day, or we can actually work towards doing something in four years to make the city the best it’s ever been.”
Ariola said she believes Mamdani has not done enough to reassure Jewish New Yorkers, pointing to what she described as a failure to denounce “globalize the Intifada” or the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
