Robert Davi, the veteran actor best known for his role in the 1988 action film “Die Hard,” publicly denounced New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after a city map omitted Little Italy.
The map, titled “New York City Immigrant Enclaves,” resurfaced on social media this week after users noticed it highlighted 30 immigrant communities across the five boroughs but left out Little Italy, along with historically Jewish and Irish neighborhoods.
Davi posted a video to X in which he called Mamdani a “jerk” for the perceived snub against Italian Americans and other historically significant communities.
“I hope every New York Italian American and Irish American spits on you when they see you,” Davi said in the video, directing his remarks at the mayor.
“Shame on you, you garbage man. Shame on you. Respect the city you’re in and understand the people who helped build it,” the actor continued.
Davi, who was born in Astoria, Queens, drew on his own family heritage to underscore his outrage, noting that his grandparents emigrated from Sicily and Naples.
“My grandfather enlisted in World War I and got wounded three times… he helped build New York City as an immigrant, an Italian immigrant,” the 75-year-old said.
The actor, also known for his role in “Licence to Kill,” went further by describing the mayor as a “leftist Marxist Communist” and calling on him to leave the country.
“Go back to where you were born, Mamdani,” Davi said. “You don’t belong in America.”
Mamdani, who was born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to the United States at age 7, defended the map during an unrelated press conference, explaining it was originally created under the previous administration in 2023.
“This map was initially created by the prior administration in 2023, and when we inherited it, we added a few additional neighborhoods,” Mamdani said during the press conference.
“It’s clearly not an exhaustive list of the more than 200 ethnic communities that call our city home, and we’re going to be making additional changes in the future to reflect that and that includes Little Italy,” the mayor added.
Following criticism from Italian-American groups, the city confirmed it plans to update the map to include Little Italy, signaling a concession after days of sustained public backlash.
Davi also proposed a constitutional amendment that would restrict individuals like Mamdani from seeking public office, suggesting newcomers spend at least a generation in the country before running.
“You should spend time in America, at least a generation, especially those of you that come from a country that has a totally different philosophical ideology bent,” he said.
According to the Library of Congress, more than 4 million Italians immigrated to the United States between the 1880s and 1924, with roughly one-third of those settling in New York City, underscoring the deep historical roots of the Italian-American community in the city.
