Peter Sterne
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Peter Sterne
@petersterne.com
18K followers 1.1K following 4.6K posts
State Editor at cityandstateny.bsky.social. Previously @nysfocus.bsky.social, @freedom.press and @politico.com. He/him.

Email: [email protected]

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petersterne.com
This is a bit like saying opening an umbrella likely means it will rain. Lander is running for Congress in part because he doesn't have a job in the Mamdani administration, not the other way around. www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...
November 6, 2025 at 8:57 PM
petersterne.com
Based on this quote in Playbook, I think it's probably safe to assume that Rep. Greg Meeks, the chair of the Queens Democratic Party, voted for Cuomo.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, who chairs the Queens Democratic Party and is thus Mamdani’s county party leader, backed Cuomo in the primary and isn’t backing Mamdani in the general. Meeks declined to tell Playbook who he voted for today, but attempted to project party unity post-election. “We all know that the threat to all of us is Donald J. Trump,” the senior House member said in a brief interview, citing affordability, health care and food assistance as collective concerns. “Should Mr. Mamdani win, we’re gonna be with him. And we’re gonna make sure that we are collectively there to fight against (Trump),” Meeks said. “Should Mr. Cuomo win, I know he’s a Democrat and he doesn’t stand for those things that Donald Trump stands for. So the politics of the election then goes out of the door.”
November 5, 2025 at 12:33 AM
petersterne.com
When I broke the news in July 2024 that little-known socialist Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani planned to run for mayor, this is what I wrote about his prospective campaign. cityandstateny.com/politics/202...

I think it's held up quite well.
Mamdani is a rising star on the left. He won election to the Assembly in 2020, unseating former Assembly Member Aravella Simotas, and is now a member of DSA’s eight-member “Socialists in Office” bloc in Albany and one of only three Muslim lawmakers in the state Legislature. His Assembly district in Western Queens includes much of Astoria – a neighborhood with a significant population of Muslim and Arab voters that is also the heart of the modern socialist movement in New York City, so much so that it is sometimes playfully referred to as “The People’s Republic of Astoria.” Like state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who is already raising funds for a mayoral run, Mamdani is young and charismatic. But unlike Myrie, who has recently shied away from his progressive reputation, Mamdani is an unabashed socialist who would own the far-left lane in the race. Although he would likely struggle to attract any support from conservative and even moderate Democrats, particularly those who are supportive of Israel, he could run up the margins with younger progressive and Muslim voters.
November 4, 2025 at 6:08 PM
petersterne.com
Yes! This is from tonight's Politico Playbook:
TRUMPED UP: “He didn't say that. He didn't say that. He did not say that.” That was Andrew Cuomo’s defense to reporters today while campaigning in Washington Heights, as he rushed to distance himself from President Donald Trump’s recent comment that he would pick Cuomo, “a bad Democrat,” over Mamdani, “a communist,” every time. “He called me a bad Democrat,” Cuomo explained. “First of all, I happen to be a good Democrat and a proud Democrat, and I'm going to stay a proud Democrat.” Mamdani’s campaign made quick fodder of Trump’s Cuomo “pick.” “Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo. I know how hard you worked for this,” Mamdani wrote late Sunday night alongside a graphic that said “TRUMP endorses CUOMO” in large white letters. “Mamdani lies, he fabricates, he dissembles. He has a problem with the truth. I say, when Mamdani is smiling, he's lying,” Cuomo said at a subsequent campaign stop in Lower Manhattan when asked about Mamdani’s post. “Trump did not endorse me.”
November 3, 2025 at 11:02 PM
petersterne.com
On the other site, an 18-year-old Zohran canvasser described the legendary Wallace Shawn as "the actor who plays Dr. Sturgis on Young Sheldon" which is honestly adorable
Tweet from Ella Devi: canvassing for @ZohranKMamdani in the east village today and the actor who plays dr. strugis in young sheldon is in my canvassing group!! Photo of Ella with another canvasser and Wallace Shawn
November 2, 2025 at 8:02 PM
petersterne.com
This is such a telling exchange.
Tweet conversation thread: Me: I still find it remarkable that the Queens Democratic Party refused to endorse Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee who currently represents western Queens. Redacted: Because we still find it remarkable that a non democrat won the democratic primary Barker sniffingbone: cuomo didn’t win the democratic party though Redacted: That’s not the point
November 1, 2025 at 4:15 PM
petersterne.com
Glad to see Politico Playbook pick up my story: www.cityandstateny.com/politics/202...

But I don't think @dianamor.bsky.social is the next Zohran. I think she's the next Claire Valdez – a union staffer and cadre Queens DSA member running to be a reliable socialist in office in the Assembly.
From Politico Playbook newsletter: — THE NEXT ZOHRAN?: Former DSA leader Diana Moreno announced she will run for Mamdani’s Assembly seat if he becomes mayor. (City & State)
October 30, 2025 at 9:05 PM
petersterne.com
So much for my joke ideas
Bluesky search for “Chotiner plums” Bluesky search for “Chotiner Amontillado”
October 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM
petersterne.com
Perhaps it was a mistake to let the federal government exercise such broad, obviously unconstitutional authority at its complete discretion.
The FTO Framework: Powerful by Design To understand why an Antifa FTO designation would be so consequential, one must first grasp the extraordinary scope of authorities that such designations unleash. The FTO system was deliberately constructed to maximize governmental power against international terrorist threats. Created by the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, the framework provides the executive branch with extraordinary authorities that are designed to dismantle terrorist networks quickly and comprehensively. Once an organization is designated as an FTO, providing “material support” to it becomes a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, or life if the support results in death. The statutory definition of “material support” is intentionally expansive and includes providing: “currency or monetary instruments, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, personnel, and transportation.” Only medicine and religious materials are explicitly exempted.
October 27, 2025 at 11:31 PM
petersterne.com
Suffolk University tested all the candidates on the ballot, but no one else got significant numbers. Eric Adams got 2% of the vote, and Jim Walden got 0.2% of the vote: www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suff...
Suffolk University poll results: Zohran Mamdani - 43.8% Curtis Sliwa - 10.6% Irana Estrada - 0.2% Eric Adams - 1.8% Joseph Hernandez - 0.2% Andrew Cuomo - 33.6% Jim Walden - 0.2% Undecided - 7.2% Refused - 2.4%
October 27, 2025 at 4:46 PM
petersterne.com
Adams gets 2% of the vote www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suff...
Suffolk University poll results: Zohran Mamdani - 43.8% Curtis Sliwa - 10.6% Irana Estrada - 0.2% Eric Adams - 1.8% Joseph Hernandez - 0.2% Andrew Cuomo - 33.6% Jim Walden - 0.2% Undecided - 7.2% Refused - 2.4%
October 27, 2025 at 4:45 PM
petersterne.com
State Sen. Julia Salazar, a DSA-backed state lawmaker who is very strong on criminal justice reform, went on the record to praise Mamdani's decision to keep Tisch. (Again, this is obviously a coordinated leak.) www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/n...
Mr. Mamdani appeared to be preemptively taking steps to try to reassure his progressive base about his choice to retain Ms. Tisch. Julia Salazar, a democratic socialist state senator who was briefed by Mr. Mamdani on the plan to keep Ms. Tisch, said in a statement that she trusted his decision. The commissioner’s record of bringing down crime and overtime use, combined with the creation of the new agency, could be “a meaningful, positive shift in what policing looks like in our city,” she said.
October 22, 2025 at 9:38 PM
petersterne.com
Politico reports that Andrew Cuomo received a flood of donations after Eric Adams dropped out, while Zohran Mamdani didn't – without mentioning that Mamdani had already maxed out his fundraising and stopped taking donations weeks earlier! www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Mamdani did not receive a similar boost following Adams’ departure. But his campaign pointed to campaign finance data showing the Democratic nominee has raised money from a similar number of donors on the Upper West and Upper East sides compared to Cuomo over the course of the race. Spokesperson Dora Pekec added that Mamdani has been making inroads into the Jewish community since his Democratic primary win.
October 21, 2025 at 10:09 PM
petersterne.com
Cuomo isn't running on the Democratic line, and he's praising Trump. Why is he still a Democrat at this point?
Tweet from Jeff Coltin: “It’s basically a non-issue now, because Trump stopped the flow,” Cuomo says about migrants, a line that earns scattered applause. “I’m a Democrat, I supported Joe Biden, but it was a tremendous failure of federal leadership,” Cuomo adds, earning more scattered applause.
October 21, 2025 at 1:11 AM
petersterne.com
So Cuomo campaign folks are just retweeting conservative attacks on the No Kings Day protests now
Tweet from Melissa DeRosa: "Let that sink in: The Communist Party USA" Melissa is quote-tweeting a tweet from Stu Smith of the Manhattan Institute, the conservative think tank home to Chris Rufo: "Not gonna lie, the more I look at the Hands Off NYC poster for No Kings Day this Saturday, the more questions I have. The fact that the Communist Party USA is listed as a co-sponsor in this coalition is wild."
October 18, 2025 at 4:23 AM
petersterne.com
“Get a Republican billionaire to threaten to fire your political rival unless he drops out of the race” is a deeply anti-democratic strategy and one that shows why economic security is necessary for real political freedom. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/n...
Mr. Cuomo’s allies have held out hope that John Catsimatidis, the billionaire grocery and oil refining magnate who owns WABC, might be able to use his financial leverage over Mr. Sliwa to push him out of the race. But so far, it has not happened.
October 17, 2025 at 6:43 PM
petersterne.com
The latest Fox News mayoral poll shows that voters trust Mamdani more than Cuomo or Sliwa when it comes to handling all major issues, even crime. www.foxnews.com/politics/fox...
Chart showing that 40% of voters trust Mamdani to do the best hob handling the issue of crime, while 32% trust Cuomo most and 26% trust Sliwa most.
October 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
petersterne.com
Politico believes that Mamdani won last night’s debate but that he’s still vulnerable due to his positions on policing and Israel. I’m not sure I agree.

(To be clear, Politico is arguing that the problem is Mamdani is too far left on those issues)
Mamdani’s clear weaknesses The otherwise strong night by Mamdani had the effect of highlighting his weaknesses on public safety and Israel. He struggled when talking about his plans for making changes to the Civilian Complaint Review Board — almost sounding like a Wikipedia entry when describing the panel’s job of assessing police misconduct. Mamdani was also on his backfoot when being attacked by Cuomo over embracing the phrase “globalize the intifada.” As strong as Mamdani can be on affordability and cost-of-living concerns that are so important to New Yorkers, he still has vulnerabilities on other issues where Cuomo is strongest. — Nick Reisman and Jeff Coltin
October 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM
petersterne.com
In the past, Zohran Mamdani has supported full decriminalization of sex work (which is undoubtedly the leftist position). But he's been harshly criticized by social conservatives for that position, and now his campaign suggests he may be open to the Nordic model. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/n...
“Criminalizing clients, friends, family and allies of sex workers makes it extraordinarily difficult for them to meaningfully participate in public life, including paying rent, earning a living or even walking down the street,” he wrote in a questionnaire when running for re-election in 2022. He also said in the survey that he opposed the “Nordic model,” legislation that would prohibit arresting prostitutes themselves while allowing clients to be detained and charged. Asked if Mr. Mamdani still opposes that approach, Dora Pekec, his campaign spokeswoman, said the campaign was still weighing the advice of policy experts and advocates. Mr. Mamdani cosponsors several bills to decriminalize prostitution, none of which have advanced out of committee. One would have repealed “statutes that criminalize sex work between consenting adults, but keep laws relating to minors or trafficking.”
October 15, 2025 at 9:11 PM
petersterne.com
The Cuomo campaign posted a bizarre hidden camera video mocking Mamdani that feels a lot like a TikTok prank video. x.com/andrewcuomo/...
Tweet from Andrew Cuomo: "New Yorkers wouldn't hire @ZohranKMamdani to work at their businesses...so what makes anyone think he's qualified to run NYC? Attached is a bizarre hidden camera/prank-style video.
October 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
petersterne.com
Trump literally thinks he has the powers of a king, with full discretionary control over all government resources to distribute as he sees fit. ny1.com/nyc/all-boro...
The Trump administration has already tried to withhold funding from New York, including $18 billion for transit projects. But his latest comments were tied directly to Mamdani; he called the democratic socialist a communist who hates police and Jewish people. “I was always very generous with New York, even when you had opposition there. But I was always very generous,” Trump said. “But I wouldn’t be generous to a communist, a guy that’s going to take the money and throw it out the window. Because you’re talking about hundreds of billions of dollars. And we’re not going to let somebody get into office, and squander the taxpayer money from this country.”
October 15, 2025 at 3:26 PM
petersterne.com
Never heard of Elle Bisgaard-Church? You will soon. The 34-year-old DSA member is Zohran Mamdani's most trusted staffer and helped shape his successful primary campaign.

@hollypret.bsky.social profiled her for @cityandstateny.bsky.social: www.cityandstateny.com/personality/...
Cover of City & State NY magazine for October 13, 2025, showing Elle Bisgaard-Church sitting on a floor covered in Zohran Mamdani campaign signs. The headline reads: "New Player. New Game. First-time campaign manager Elle Bisgaard-Chrurch launched Zohran into political stardom. Consultant class: Take note"
October 14, 2025 at 2:19 PM
petersterne.com
Do Zionists still think protesting outside a synagogue is antisemitic?
Screenshot from Tali Goldscheft: PROTEST today at 1 pm!!! 📢📢📢 At the same time as hostages are hopefully being finally released, Zohran Mamdani is speaking at CBE (Congregation Beth Elohim) in Park Slope. Beyond outrageous. A major protest by the Brooklyn Jewish community, including CBE congregants and former congregants, will be taking place. IN BROOKLYN? Join us, rain or shine!!!
October 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
petersterne.com
Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point
October 12, 2025 at 4:20 PM
petersterne.com
The fact that Citi even considered taking people to court for *letting their children live in their house* should be a moral stain on the bank. Would certainly make me think twice about getting a mortgage from them, though I'm not sure other banks are any better. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...
Mr. Rossi said that during his years at Citi, he saw cases in which a parent allowed an adult child to live in a second home rent-free — prompting the bank to consider pursuing the matter in court as a violation of the original borrower agreement. Citi’s lawyers, he recalled, often advised against doing so. “We were told by counsel basically to stand down, that it would be very difficult to prove that out in a court of law, because there’s a lot of gray in these cases,” he said.
October 11, 2025 at 8:44 PM