Three days after two men were knifed blocks apart on the Upper West Side, the sidewalk near one of the attacks became a stage for outrage.
Demonstrators gathered Sunday on Amsterdam Avenue, close to where one of Thursday afternoon’s stabbings unfolded, to demand accountability — not only from the man charged in the attacks, but from City Hall. As we reported at the time, a Jewish man and an Asian man were wounded in quick succession, and police are investigating the attack on the Jewish victim as a hate crime.
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Several speakers pointed the finger squarely at Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with some calling for his removal from office and accusing him of antisemitism. Among them was Republican gubernatorial nominee and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who addressed the crowd near the scene, NBC 4 reports.“There has been a darkness that has permeated over this city since January 1,” Blakeman said. “Darkness by the leadership, or the lack of leadership, of Mayor Mamdani, with the acquiescence of Gov. Hochul and so many others that will not condemn the anti-Jew rhetoric coming out of this mayor.” He added, “And now we’ve seen, first it was the Jews, now it’s the Asian Americans.”
The mayor pushed back when reporters asked whether a recent video in which he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” had inflamed tensions ahead of the violence.
“I think when it comes to the horrific stabbings on the Upper West Side, my thoughts first and foremost are with both the Asian New Yorker and the Jewish New Yorker who were stabbed,” Mamdani said. He said he was thankful both victims were in stable condition and wished them a full recovery, praised the NYPD for a “quick and swift” response, and said he was “hopeful” the suspect — charged with attempted murder and a hate crime — would be prosecuted “to the full extent of the law.” Both Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul had condemned the attacks within hours.
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The rally landed the same day Netanyahu, speaking on Fox News ahead of a U.S. visit, accused the mayor of “fomenting hate.” “He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers, Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone, but he’s trying to turn one group against the other,” Netanyahu said, adding that Jewish New Yorkers he has spoken with are “afraid right now.”Mamdani has said his office reviewed “every avenue” to have Netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes in Gaza when the prime minister returns to New York for the U.N. General Assembly in September, though he later acknowledged the city does not have that authority.
The accused, 51-year-old Raul Morales, was arraigned Friday on charges that include attempted murder in both attacks along with hate-crime counts in the stabbing of the Jewish victim. Investigators said he used a blade and a screwdriver, and both victims — a 57-year-old Asian man and a 50-year-old Jewish man — are expected to recover. A judge ordered Morales held without bail, and he is due back in court July 30 — a case the neighborhood will be watching as it absorbs a week that left many rattled.
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