NYC Mayor Mamdani says controversial snowball fight “got out of hand”
By Jared Ochacher
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NEW YORK (WCBS) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined Wednesday to say whether he agreed with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on whether or not people who hurled snowballs at police officers in Washington Square Park Monday should face charges.
At a news conference Wednesday, multiple reporters pressed Mamdani about the incident, and whether his stance that those involved should not be charged has changed.
Tisch said what took place with the officers was “criminal,” and the NYPD has released the images of four people it is looking for in the incident, saying that two officers took themselves to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
“I’ve said that what I saw was a snowball fight, it should be treated accordingly,” Mamdani said Wednesday. “It was one that got out of hand, but that’s what it was.”
He again reiterated that NYPD officers, and all city workers, deserve to be treated with respect.
Separately, reporters also asked Mamdani about President Trump’s comments about emergency snow shovelers at the State of the Union. Mr. Trump praised Mamdani as a “nice guy,” but added “if you apply for that job you need to show two original forms of ID and a social security card.”
“Yet they don’t want identification for the greatest privilege in America,” Mr. Trump added, referring to voting.
“I can tell you I didn’t expect this much attention nationwide on our emergency snow shoveler program,” Mamdani said. He added that more than 1,400 New Yorkers signed up.
Mamdani declined to discuss how often he’s in touch with the president.
“I’ll keep the conversations that I have with the president private,” Mamdani said. “Whenever they do happen, they always focus on how to better our city.”
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