Pete Davidson questioned Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s ties to his beloved hometown of Staten Island.
The comedian, who has long been outspoken about his Staten Island roots, wondered whether Mamdani had any real connection to the borough during a recent interview with Variety.
“Zohran Mamdani … is he Staten Island? I don’t know,” Davidson said. “I don’t think he’s from Staten Island.”
The “Saturday Night Live” alum also questioned whether Mamdani had “Staten Island’s heart,” ultimately concluding, “I don’t think he’s Staten Island.”
Davidson emphasized that his comments were not personal. “I don’t have a problem with the guy, but I definitely don’t think he’s Staten Island at all,” he said. “Staten Island’s the only red place in New York, and it’s violently red.”
Davidson, 32, said much of his family leans politically conservative, though he described their support for former President Donald Trump as more about wanting something different than embracing extremist views.
“It’s not like a racist, misogynistic sort of thing,” he said. “It’s 1985 over there. You are not a real Staten Island politician unless you have a secret family and know one mobster.”
“I would not trust you to run Staten Island,” Davidson added.
The remarks came a week after Davidson urged New York City’s mayor to address a long-standing problem near his home during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
After Kimmel mentioned that Mamdani would be his next guest, he asked the “King of Staten Island” star whether he had any questions for the mayor.
“Yes, could he fix the f—ing BQE, please?” Davidson replied in a clip posted to the show’s Instagram account.
The BQE, or Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, is a major highway running through Brooklyn and Queens. It has faced years of criticism over traffic congestion and deteriorating infrastructure.
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Davidson’s demand drew immediate cheers and loud applause from the studio audience.
“You hit on something,” Kimmel told him.
“Look at that,” Davidson said as he gestured toward the crowd. Kimmel then remarked, “That’s the loudest response I’ve ever gotten.”
Davidson argued that the BQE has been under construction for as long as he can remember. “They’re never doing anything,” he said. “Someone’s just standing there eating a sandwich or on the phone, and there’s all these cones around.”
He continued, “So I don’t know what mob front or whatever, who’s getting money from whatever, but just fix it, please.”
At the end of Mamdani’s appearance, Kimmel followed through and raised Davidson’s BQE complaint with the mayor.
“Pete Davidson wants to know what’s going on in the BQE,” Kimmel said. “He says he drives by it and he sees nobody doing anything. He said it’s been like since before he was born.”
Mamdani pointed to his administration’s BQE Central Project, a $4 billion initiative to rehabilitate the city-owned section of the expressway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street. Construction is expected to begin in 2030.
“We’re going to be putting a multibillion-dollar plan to actually repair the part the city owns,” Mamdani said.
“Which is the part that is currently the most at risk and that’s going to be proceeding over the next 10 years. Full safety. No diversion of traffic into local neighborhoods and actually bring it back.”
“So you’re saying Pete’s daughter will also be complaining about this,” Kimmel joked as Mamdani and the audience laughed.
