Zohran Mamdani slams Andrew Cuomo over cuts to rental assistance program: ‘Record of broken promises’

Mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani fired on ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “record of broken promises” Monday — zeroing in on his second-place foe after Eric Adams announced he was dropping out of the race.

The Democratic nominee was joined by Kasha Phillips-Lewis, a single mother who became homeless after the then-governor slashed funding for the Advantage housing subsidy program in 2011, as he denounced the Cuomo policy.

“What we see still on that ballot showcased by Andrew Cuomo is a record of broken promises. A record of disgrace. And to stand here with Kasha and to hear about the Advantage program is a reminder of that very record,” Mamdani told reporters during a press conference in Inwood.

The program was launched in 2007 to provide vouchers for transitional housing to homeless New Yorkers for up to two years.

Cuomo eliminated the $65 million in funding to the program as part of the 2011 state budget — and New York City effectively ended the subsidy as a result of the money drain.

Mamdani, an avowed socialist whose campaign platform includes a rent-freeze for stabilized units — which the Rent Guidelines Board would need to approve — noted that the city homeless shelter population spiked 35% in the two years following the cuts.

“Too often, we think of homelessness as if it is natural, as if it is innate. It’s a political choice, and this is one example of the choices that have been made time and time again by someone like Andrew Cuomo,” Mamdani said.

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi, fired back, arguing this was “a moot issue that happened 14 years ago – when Mamdani was in college – amid a $10 billion shortfall and that funding has been replaced and increased many times over through other rental assistance programs.”

“This is a moot issue that happened 14 years ago – when Mamdani was in college – amid a $10 billion shortfall and that funding has been replaced and increased many times over through other rental assistance programs,” Azzopardi said.