New York, New York - Democratic socialist sensation Zohran Mamdani sparred with former New York governor Andrew Cuomo in the first of two televised debates ahead of the November 4 NYC mayoral elections.

Mamdani and Cuomo were joined by Republican Curtis Sliwa on stage in a sometimes tense event.

Mamdani attacked Cuomo for his alleged sexual misconduct and "sending seniors to their death in nursing homes" during the Covid pandemic as governor.

"Thank God I'm not a professional politician because they have created the crime crisis in this city," Sliwa said, gesturing at his two rivals.

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"There's high levels of testosterone in this room," he said later.

Mamdani pulled off a stunning upset in the Democratic Party primary, running a historic grassroots campaign that trounced Cuomo, who had been the favorite for weeks, and becoming the party's official nominee.

The 33-year-old has promised free bus services, rent freezes, and city-run supermarkets, which Cuomo has panned as fanciful and unaffordable. Mamdani in turn pointed out that his opponent had not even mentioned the word "affordable" during a two-hour debate.

The race to govern the city's 8.5 million people was again upended when sitting Mayor Eric Adams, who has been engulfed in corruption allegations, quit the race without endorsing another candidate.

Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from Mamdani's administration if he is elected, calling him a "communist."

The Queens assemblymember responded on Wednesday: "I would make it clear to the president that I am willing to not only speak to him, but to work with him, if it means delivering on lowering the cost of living for New York."

Cuomo conversely fear-mongered that "Trump will take over New York City, and it will be Mayor Trump" if Mamdani won – mirroring the takeover of much of the administration of the capital Washington.

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Trump said Wednesday he had "terminated" the $16 billion Hudson Gateway tunnel linking New York to New Jersey, a years-long megaproject.

Asked in the debate for his dream news headline, Mamdani said it would be "Mamdani continues to take on Trump."

In the latest polling Sliwa, a 71-year-old who founded the Guardian Angels vigilante group in 1979, is trailing a distant third with 15% in the most recent poll, behind Cuomo's 33% and Mamdani's 46%.

Sliwa insisted he would not bow to inducements he alleged were arranged by Cuomo – who denies the claim – to quit the race, like lucrative jobs with fat salaries and a driver.

"I said, 'Hey, this is not only unethical, it's bribery, and it could be criminal," Sliwa told AFP ahead of the showdown.

One of the most acrimonious exchanges in the debate, held without an audience, centered on the safety of New York's significant Jewish community.

Cuomo falsely accused Mamdani of not condemning Hamas. In response, Mamdani pointed out that Cuomo is helping to run the legal defense of an accused war criminal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.

"What I’m looking to do as the first Muslim mayor of this city is to ensure that we bring every New Yorker together – Jewish New Yorkers, Muslim New Yorkers, every single person that calls the city home," Mamdani insisted.

He also shot down suggestions that he is too inexperience to be mayor, telling Cuomo: "What I don't have in experience, I make up for in integrity, and what you don't have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience."

A second debate will be held on October 22. Early voting in the election begins on October 25.