New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday reiterated his support for decriminalizing prostitution, emphasizing public safety outcomes and drawing comparisons to previous city policies.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old State Assembly member and self-described democratic socialist, cited former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approach to the issue during his tenure from 2014 to 2021. “I found that it created far more safety than what the current administration has done,” Mamdani said, referring to Mayor Eric Adams, who is seeking reelection as an independent in November.
Since first running for State Assembly in 2020, Mamdani has publicly voiced support for legalizing sex work. At a February 2021 assembly meeting, he stated, “I would like to register my support for [decriminalizing sex work] legislation, my eagerness for that debate and for my fundamental belief that sex work is work.”
Mamdani’s stance has drawn scrutiny in part because of his Islamic faith, which prohibits prostitution. Adams addressed this on Wednesday, saying, “I’m a Christian. I’m a person of faith. And nowhere in my religious texts does it say prostitution should be an alternative. And also, I don’t see it in the Quran.”
Related: Mayor Adams Questions Mamdani’s Support of Legal Sex Work
During his administration, de Blasio proposed reforms aimed at decriminalizing prostitution while targeting sex trafficking and providing “community-centered services” for sex workers. Mamdani said Wednesday that his focus remains on public safety outcomes. “What we have seen from this current administration is a theater, one that repeats itself every so often and leaves New Yorkers facing the same problems that they did a year prior,” he said.
Adams has criticized Mamdani’s proposals, highlighting the potential link between prostitution and sex trafficking. “I think he’s lost on the fact that sex trafficking is very much part of prostitution,” Adams said. “We are trying to bring down crime, and he is talking about legalizing sex work.”
