After Adams drops out, Brooklyn Jewish group endorses Cuomo for NYC mayor

A Jewish political group in Brooklyn endorses Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for New York City mayor, a day after Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race.

Crown Heights United PAC says, “We proudly endorse Andrew Cuomo for mayor of New York City.”

“With extremism and antisemitism on the rise, and the city facing an unprecedented crisis, it is more important than ever to make our voices heard and vote,” the group says, according to a statement from Cuomo’s campaign.

Crown Heights is the stronghold of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.

Adams was polling poorly and dropped his campaign yesterday.

Adams is a longtime supporter of Israel and Jewish communities, especially in Brooklyn, where he had a career in the police and local politics before becoming mayor.

Cuomo is also an Israel supporter, but infuriated Orthodox Jewish communities when he instituted COVID restrictions on gatherings while serving as governor during the pandemic.

Orthodox groups felt that the restrictions targeted their communities.

Cuomo sought to make amends during the primary campaign and earned the endorsements of leading Orthodox Jewish groups in the weeks leading up to the June primary.

Many Jews were alarmed by the anti-Israel rhetoric of front-runner Zohran Mamdani, prompting their endorsements of Cuomo, despite their reservations.

Adams’s dropping out has opened the way for Jewish groups with ties to Adams to endorse Cuomo for the general election.

Cuomo is polling far behind Mamdani ahead of the general election, but is ahead of the other contender, Republican Curtis Sliwa. Cuomo lost the primary to Mamdani, but is running in the general election as an independent. Adams sat out the primary to run as an independent.