NYC mayoral candidates get mixed reviews during Crain’s biz forum

Mayoral contenders schmoozed with business leaders Wednesday as some attendees found front-runner Zohran Mamdani charismatic even if he lacked substance while others thought ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo was low energy and caught up in the past. 

GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa meanwhile raised some eyebrows when he compared women to Bambi while he addressed crime in the Big Apple during the Crain’s New York Business Mayoral Forum inside the New York Athletic Club.

The two-hour gathering left business and civic leaders with mixed reviews on the three people who could be the city’s next mayor as the hopefuls tackled questions on housing, economic development and public safety.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist whose lefty policies have stoked concerns in the business community, received a “polite, but not enthusiastic reception” when he took the stage, one business attendee who follows local politics closely said.

“You see why people respond to him,” the attendee told The Post. “He’s nimble, he’s quick on his feet.”

Another attendee called Mamdani “solid, his charismatic self” who stayed on message.

But a third attendee wasn’t as impressed, saying Mamdani didn’t directly answer questions and “skated through generalities.” Mamdani, a Queens state Assemblyman, also went out of his way to slam President Trump on numerous occasions instead of directly answering questions, the attendee said.

“He has tremendous energy and youth, but just nothing – no substance,” the person argued. “Didn’t make me feel like he can do that job at all.”

The same attendee found Cuomo knowledgeable on the issues and more substantive, but lacking energy.

“I hadn’t seen him in a while,” the person said. “I was quite disturbed by it.”

Cuomo gave off the air “he could get it done but I was disappointed in his energy level and very impressed with the contents of what he had to say and his approach,” he added.

Another attendee found the thrice-elected governor living in the past.

“Cuomo seemed to be more focused on his accomplishments than the future,” the person said.

Meanwhile Sliwa spoke passionately while addressing different questions from moderators — Crain’s New York Business publisher and executive editor Fred Gabriel and Crain’s reporter Nick Garber — including invoking a famed Disney character as he talked about women’s safety in the city.  

“We have to protect the women who are like Bambi in the middle of hunting season wearing an orange fluorescent vest while the hunters are training down their Winchester double-barrel shotguns on them,” he said. “Talk to the women … and you’ll know they don’t feel safe.”

“He’s engaging but he clearly ran out of substance to talk about,” the business attendee who spoke with The Post said of Sliwa, founder of the beret-wearing vigilante group the Guardian Angels.

Kathryn Wylde, president/CEO of New York City Partnership, showered praise on all three prospective mayors.

“Zohran Mamdani’s positions have become more substantive and realistic, reflecting the impact of his extensive outreach to business and nonprofit leaders since the primary election. His presentation this morning reassured skeptics that he has been listening to all points of view,” she said in a statement.

“Curtis Sliwa surprised many with his detailed knowledge of the challenges that will face a mayor and clarity on how he would deal with them as mayor.

“Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s presentation focused on his long experience in government and his political acumen, which those who have followed his career know is keen.”