Mamdani Dismisses Assault on NYPD as Snowball Fight

Mamdani Dismisses Assault on NYPD as Snowball Fight
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
February 25, 2026

“What I saw yesterday in those videos was a snowball fight that got out of hand. I believe that our officers, just like any city workers deserve respect,“ said Socialist Zohran Mamdani, an ardent anti-law enforcement and defund the police mayor of New York City. “Just a snowball fight, kids throwing snowballs,” Mamdani reiterated with the perpetually smarmy smirk on his smug face.

But the men and women in blue are not just any city workers as Mamdani disrespectfully said. They put their lives on the line every time they put on their uniforms (as does the FDNY). NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch suggested that had any other city workers been attacked the likes of which her officers suffered, there would have been arrests, but apparently not when NYPD officers are assaulted.

Anyone with half a brain and an ounce of common sense could see in those videos from Washington Square Park, Mamdani does not know what a snowball fight is. NYPD officers underwent an assault by adults, not children, pelting the officers in the face, head, neck, just about anywhere. No officer returned fire - this was not a snowball fight, and the videos clearly proved what Mamdani chose not to see or recognize - that his officers were getting pummelled. 

A snowball fight, Mr. Mamdani, features two sides of participants agreeing to some set of rules - no ice balls, no rocks in the snowballs, etc. That did not happen. Mamdani is irresponsibly  dismissing what actually happened and in doing so, only encourages future ambushes by more miscreants. This was not harmless fun, Mr. Mamdani. Try watching the videos with your eyes open. If someone punches another person in the face 20 times without a return of blows, is that a boxing match? Of course not, that is called assault and battery.

“The mayor’s response is a complete failure of leadership. This was not just a ‘snowball fight.’ This was an assault, by adults throwing chunks of ice and rocks, that landed two police officers in the hospital with head and face injuries. By ignoring their injuries and dismissing the incident, the mayor has sent a disgraceful message to every police officer who serves the city,” said Patrick Hendry, New York City Police Benevolent Association President on Tuesday, February 24.

Tisch stood firmly with her men and women in blue, and did not take the incidents at Washington Square Park lightly, calling them “illegal. The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today [Monday] in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops. I want to be very clear - the behavior depicted is disgraceful and it’s criminal. Our detectives are investigating this matter,” said Tisch on Monday, February 23.

“What we saw in Washington Square Park today was not harmless fun - it was a deliberate, outrageous, and dangerous attack on uniformed police officers,” said Scott Munro, Detectives’ Endowment Association (DEA) president. “The Detectives’ Endowment Association is calling on Mayor Mamdani and District Attorney [Alvin] Bragg to ensure every individual responsible for this illegal behavior is prosecuted. No free pass. No get out of jail free card. …They deserve to be protected. And they deserve to be respected. They earn it every single day,” said Munro on Monday.

But respect must start at the top. Mamdani must lead by example, and right now the example  by which he is leading is deplorable. Mamdani sneers in the face of law enforcement. His disdain for the officers serving under him is palpable. When Mamdani is disrespectful, the message he sends is that the criminal activity that occurred at Washington Square Park is acceptable and that there will be no accountability or consequences.

Stand up for the NYPD, Mr. Mamdani. Those brave men and women have one of the most challenging careers imaginable (along with the FDNY). Their responsibilities include protecting the likes of you, Mr. Mamdani, Alvin Bragg, the members of the City Council, and countless others of fame, of fortune, and of families. Officers don’t get to pick and choose their assignments. Mamdani’s New York City is shedding men and women in blue in droves. 

About 300 NYPD officers leave - per month - as confirmed by local media, to warmer, or safer, or smaller environs. Regardless of the where, some of the most important reasons why are respect from within their cities - leadership that has their backs, respect from those they are charged with protecting, and being appreciated, not scorned or attacked. Thank you to the men and women in blue goes a long way, and the sooner Mamdani recognizes this, the sooner he may stop hemorrhaging officers to safer and more dignified environs.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Mamdani's Snowjob of Hypocrisy

Mamdani’s Snowjob of Hypocrisy
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
February 25, 2026

Apparently shoveling snow this winter is more important than casting a ballot on Election Day in Socialist Zohran Mamdani’s New York City. His hypocrisy runneth over.

Mamdani, who doesn’t appreciate his own irony, made a Public Service Announcement (PSA) calling for New Yorkers to step up, volunteer to help shovel the City out of its current whiteout. The so-called volunteers will be paid up to $30 an hour - how that is monitored and by whom, is anyone’s guess. The irony comes into play where Mamdani lists the requirements for city denizens to pick up a shovel, which includes photo identification, the likes of which is not required when voting in any elections held in New York City.

As first reported, five forms of ID were required in order to hit the streets and sidewalks of New York City as part of Mamdani’s snowjob team. Later in the same day, that number was reduced to two, which is still two forms of ID more than are required to vote in New York City.

According to the New York City Department of Sanitation, the eligibility requirements for the big dig (no, not that Boston construction monstrosity that took more than 30 years from conception to completion) are all persons must be at least 18 years of age, must be eligible to work in the United States, and able to perform heavy physical labor. 

So, while enterprising teenagers 13-17 (if there are any) can go house to house and earn money (tax free) shoveling out their neighbors, they can’t do likewise for the City. Of course, that’s called Capitalism, something Mamdani abhors in favor of state controlled, and heavily taxed and regulated, labor. And, with no cap on the age requirement, good luck to Mamdani’s New York City that some asthmatic 70 year old doesn’t have a heart attack and drops dead somewhere on Canal Street and the family sues the City for millions. Even the US military has age limitations.

Additionally, in order to register for these shoveling assignments, each applicant must provide the City of New York two photos “1-½ inch square,” two original forms of ID - plus copies, and a Social Security card.

This is from the Socialist mayor of New York City who virulently opposes voter identification, but demands it for shoveling snow. Kind of like the circus coming to town and then the city needs folks to shovel up the shit after the circus has left. Except in the case of New York City, the circus just arrived on January 1 of this year, and is expected to stay for four years. Imagine the amount of detritus there will be to shovel after four years of circus roustabout Mamdani and his clowns.

Again, this is from the Socialist mayor of New York City, who doubled down in support of protecting illegal aliens in this so-called sanctuary city, but hypocritically won’t even hire them to shovel snow. Mamdani repeatedly calls any voter identification laws racist. If that is true, what of his snow shoveling policies - just as racist? 

Make no mistake, this is in no way an endorsement of hiring illegals in New York City, or anywhere else in the United States. This is an endorsement of law and order (bum-bum-bum-bum-bum), where there are no sanctuary jurisdictions, no protection of illegals who continue to commit crime - beyond the crime of simply crossing the border illegally - and undermine the sanctity of what it means to be an American.

How can Mamdani defend his sanctuary city politics when the very illegals he purports to protect won’t be hired by that very sanctuary city to shovel its citizens out in order for them to go to work and earn money in the capitalist system that is the United States of America? And, if this system of requiring identification is not racist to shovel snow, and does not exclude women and minorities as those who oppose voter ID laws say they do, how do they justify their opposition to voter ID laws? People need the same form(s) of ID to shovel snow as they should to vote. 

Is the shoveling of snow in New York City more sacrosanct than casting one’s ballot to determine who will represent them? Who the people will approve to govern over them? Welcome to Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s New York City circus of hypocrisy - be careful what you step in, folks.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.