Thursday, the first debate of the general mayoral election, will be a big night for Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa – each for entirely different reasons.

For Sliwa, it’s a chance to prove he’s a serious candidate, that he’s more than the red beret and snarky quips. For Cuomo, it’s his first debate in decades as the underdog, one of the last big opportunities for the independent candidate to reverse his fate ahead of the Nov. 4 election. And for Mamdani, the longshot Democratic primary upstart turned front-runner, it’s a night where he’ll need to stick the landing. That’ll likely entail weathering a barrage of attacks, sticking to his affordability-centric messaging, and proving he’s got the managerial chops to lead the biggest city in the country.

The debate, which will ai

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