New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is under fire following his decision to break his Ramadan fast with inmates at the infamous Rikers Island. He praised the experience as one of his most profound since becoming mayor.
Reflecting on the occasion, Mamdani shared on social media platform X that it was “a night that will stay with me for quite some time.” His low-profile yet historic visit on Monday quickly ignited controversy by Saturday.
He shared how individuals on the island, despite having little, engaged in acts of sharing food, offering prayers, and preserving each other’s dignity in harsh conditions. Mamdani posted images with Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards, mingling with inmates as they enjoyed their iftar meals, which mark the end of the daily fast during Ramadan.
This visit marked the first instance of a New York City mayor celebrating Ramadan at Rikers.
“This is one of the most meaningful evenings that I’ve had as the mayor of New York City,” Mamdani, known for his lenient stance on crime, told NPR earlier in the week.
Emphasizing his connection to the city’s Muslim community, Mamdani remarked, “This is me just being a Muslim New Yorker.” He acknowledged that while some view his actions as political, for the city’s million-strong Muslim population, it reflects everyday life.
Critics bashed the mayor’s visit — one of the 17 iftar dinners he attended across NYC through Thursday — as shameless pandering.
“He actually visited inmates on Rikers but hasn’t visited any victims of the heinous crimes some of these guys have committed,” said an NYPD veteran of 20 years. “I think it’s absolutely disgusting.
“We clearly know he doesn’t like us. He’s already made his stance clear on that. Even after we get clear extensive video of the guy trying to knife the police officers in Queens, he visited the criminal’s family in that case too!,” raged the police veteran.
He was referring to Mamdani last month visiting the family of Jabez Chakraborty, the man shot by a police officer in Queens as he attacked the cop and his partner with a 13-inch carving knife.
“He can go visit the inmates at Rikers, but he can’t go visit a cop who gets injured? That’s not right,” said another law enforcement source, referring to cops hurt earlier this month responding to an ISIS-inspired attempted terrorist attack outside the mayor’s home at Gracie Mansion.
“I think next year there’ll be nobody to visit because he’s going to let everybody out of jail. Maybe he was going there to tell them we’re reducing everybody’s sentences,” the source said.
Mamdani and Richards were also joined on Rikers by Councilman Yusef Salaam (D-Manhattan), a practicing Muslim and one of the “Central Park Five” who were exonerated in the infamous 1989 rape on a jogger.
NYC-based mystery novelist Daniel Friedman was among the many questioning Mamdani’s priorities.
“You have to be an absolute monster to be sent to Rikers Island these days,” he wrote on X.
“Offenders on Rikers all have long histories of doing things so horrible that even the woke, pro-crime judges and prosecutors in NYC don’t want to be responsible for what they’ll do if they let them go.”
Sam Antar, a convicted fraudster and former CFO of electronics store Crazy Eddie said Mamdani elevated criminals at the expense of victims.
“If you commit a violent crime in NYC, Zohran Mamdani has your back,” he wrote on X,.
The Mayor’s office didn’t respond to the criticism, but the DOC there was “no cost to taxpayers for food. It was all donated.”
