Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has sought to paint Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani as an extremist, has homed in on questions about Mr. Mamdani’s stance on prostitution.
Prostitution is illegal in New York City, but district attorneys usually choose not to prosecute, focusing instead on cases that relate to sex trafficking. In recent months, Mr. Cuomo, who is running for mayor on an independent line, has claimed that Mr. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, wants to go further to legalize prostitution, pointing to his previous support for state bills that would decriminalize it.
Mr. Cuomo has said Mr. Mamdani’s past positions show that, if elected, he “would bring New York City back to the bad old days of rampant crime, decreased public safety and deteriorating quality of life.”
Mr. Mamdani has stressed that he has never supported legalization and called Mr. Cuomo’s comments smears. Mr. Mamdani’s campaign has indicated that he broadly supports decriminalizing sex work, but he has not said whether he still favors legislation that would remove criminal penalties for adults 18 or older who buy or sell sex. Here’s what to know about how the issue is playing out in the mayor’s race.
How the Law Is Enforced Now
New York City has come a long way from the decades when areas like Times Square were havens for prostitution, with quality-of-life policing resulting in thousands of annual arrests.
In recent years — particularly under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who advocated ending criminal penalties for prostitutes — the Police Department’s crime-fighting efforts turned instead toward disrupting gang and organized crime activity related to sex work. Between 2014 and 2022, arrests for a variety of charges related to sex trades plummeted, according an analysis of crime data.
Since Mayor Eric Adams took office in 2022, the Police Department has devoted more resources to cracking down on illegal brothels in Queens, particularly on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, a notorious center for prostitution. Arrests on prostitution-related offenses rose from 162 in 2022 to 439 last year. There were 485 arrests through mid-July of this year, according to police data.
The Police Department said in a statement that it “emphasizes providing support services for victims and survivors of sex trafficking over enforcement.”
District attorneys’ offices in Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx prosecute prostitution cases, with a focus on investigating sex trafficking. Those offices said they offer diversion programs when appropriate to those who have been arrested and charged. The district attorneys’ offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn have non-prosecution policies.
Mr. Mamdani’s Past Statements
Soon after his election to the Assembly in 2020, Mr. Mamdani stated that it was his “fundamental belief that sex work is work” and that the safety of prostitutes should be at the forefront of any response.
“Criminalizing clients, friends, family and allies of sex workers makes it extraordinarily difficult for them to meaningfully participate in public life, including paying rent, earning a living or even walking down the street,” he wrote in a questionnaire when running for re-election in 2022.
He also said in the survey that he opposed the “Nordic model,” legislation that would prohibit arresting prostitutes themselves while allowing clients to be detained and charged.
Asked if Mr. Mamdani still opposes that approach, Dora Pekec, his campaign spokeswoman, said the campaign was still weighing the advice of policy experts and advocates.
Mr. Mamdani cosponsored several bills to decriminalize prostitution, none of which advanced out of committee. One would have repealed “statutes that criminalize sex work between consenting adults, but keep laws relating to minors or trafficking.”
In 2021 he was among the overwhelming majority in the Legislature that voted to repeal a decades-old anti-loitering law, which was intended to discourage street prostitution but was viewed by L.G.B.T.Q. advocates as a tool to harass transgender people. (Mr. Cuomo, then governor, also supported the repeal and signed it into law.)
Where the Candidates Stand
Mr. Mamdani has repeatedly praised Mr. de Blasio’s approach. Asked recently how he would address the issue if elected, he said that “anyone who engages in sex trafficking, anyone who commits violence against women, who exploits sex work, will be held accountable.”
But he would not say whether he still supports the bills he previously endorsed decriminalizing prostitution, saying instead that any issue he has not campaigned on would not be part of his agenda as mayor.
Ms. Pekec said in a statement that a Mamdani administration would combat sex trafficking and invest in organizations that help victims, and would “facilitate alternative career paths” for current and former sex workers.
Mr. Cuomo, as an independent mayoral candidate, has argued that prostitution should not be decriminalized; while governor, he opposed efforts in the Legislature to do so. But like Mr. Mamdani, he has said that “the focus of law enforcement should be on going after the criminal enterprises behind the prostitution rings” while prostitutes should receive support services.
Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, also opposes decriminalizing prostitution, saying that “families should not have to worry about this on their streets and children should not be exposed to it.”
Hurubie Meko contributed reporting.
Benjamin Oreskes is a reporter covering New York State politics and government for The Times.
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