After stepping off a flight from Uganda at JFK airport Wednesday morning, Zohran Mamdani headed directly to the Bronx, where he met with the devastated family of slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam in their home, News 4 has learned.
A source familiar with the meeting said Mamdani met with the Islam family for almost two hours, including with Islam’s heartbroken father, who was released from the hospital Wednesday morning after learning of his son’s murder and suffering a stroke.
The source said Islam’s parents were preparing their son’s funeral and traditional Muslim burial Thursday and had invited Mamdani to attend. Islam received a ceremonial dignified transfer Tuesday from the medical examiner’s office to a mosque in the Bronx.
Mayor Eric Adams is also planning to attend Islam’s funeral, according to a spokeswoman.
Mamdani planned to discuss the meeting in more detail at a news conference in Manhattan Wednesday afternoon where he is expected to be joined by Smith Etienne, the brother of Aland Etienne, the security officer killed in the lobby of 345 Park Avenue during Monday’s mass shooting.
It will be Mamdani’s first public appearance following a 10-day trip to his country of origin to celebrate his marriage at New York City Hall earlier this year.
The Democratic nominee will likely face questions about his past criticism and calls to “defund” the NYPD, which have been resurfaced by his rivals in the mayor’s race.
Earlier in the day Wednesday, on CNBC, Mayor Eric Adams ripped into Mamdani for his claims that he would cut the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group (SRG) — the task force that responded to Monday’s deadly mass shooting.
“When you start dismantling the pieces of the law enforcement apparatus that are specifically designed to carry out functions, that is extremely dangerous,” Adams told Squawk Box.
During an interview on CNN Tuesday, Andrew Cuomo said Mamdani doesn’t understand the importance of the NYPD. It wasn’t clear if he planned to attend Thursday’s funeral.
