New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani booed off stage in under a minute at Staten Island police event

A crowd of roughly 3,500 people booed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani off the stage before he could finish a sentence Tuesday night at the NYPD's 43rd Patrol Borough National Night Out Against Crime event on Staten Island. National Night Out is an annual gathering where police departments host community celebrations to build ties between officers and local residents. Mamdani's remarks lasted under a minute before chants of "get out of here" and "nobody wants you" overtook his voice entirely.

What happened on stage

The mayor held on briefly as the jeers escalated. He eventually thanked the crowd with his signature hand-over-his-heart gesture, waved, and walked offstage smiling. The crowd kept going as he exited, with some yelling expletives. An event organizer attempted to restore order. The booing and fist-shaking continued regardless.

The record behind the reception

This did not happen in isolation. Mamdani's mayoral campaign drew repeated scrutiny over his past support for defunding the police, and critics returned to that ground once he took office. His budget cut police funding and canceled plans to hire 5,000 new NYPD officers.

Then came the incident now known as "Snowballgate." In February, a mob of roughly 100 people pelted NYPD officers with snowballs in Washington Square Park, leaving two officers injured. Mamdani declined to condemn the attack directly, called the perpetrators "kids" engaged in a snowball fight, and refused to call for their prosecution. Rafael Mangual, a local crime expert and fellow at the Manhattan Institute, said the mob's actions clearly qualified as assault against police officers and that Mamdani had failed to back the department in the moment.

How observers read the crowd

Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty posted on X that Mamdani had been "viciously booed and jeered off stage." Political commentator Joey Mannarino wrote that the mayor received "the reception he actually deserves," and pointed to years of what he described as vilifying cops and working-class New Yorkers. Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute President Sal Saverio reposted video of the incident on X. Influencer David Freeman wrote that Mamdani "should be mocked" and that voters are starting to notice the gap between campaign promises and actual price tags, with the reception "getting noticeably colder."

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's office and the NYPD for comment.