What should have been a solemn goodbye for a fallen Queens soldier turned into an unmistakable snub for New York City’s mayor, who sat silently in the fourth row as speaker after speaker took the podium — and the awkward moment reportedly unfolded in real time.
According to sources inside the church, Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent much of the service reviewing his prepared remarks on an iPad while Gov. Kathy Hochul, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and other dignitaries were called up to speak. Then the ceremony simply moved on without him.
“They kept calling names and then he was never called,” one source said. The mayor reportedly looked over at his staff, visibly frustrated, before eventually putting his tablet away.
City Hall did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the unexpected omission.
The tension around the funeral was reportedly tied to politics. Sources involved in the planning say Rampersad’s family is pro-President Trump and did not want Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has been sharply critical of Israel and US strikes on Iran, to take the microphone.
“The family is more conservative and wanted to limit any political distractions,” one insider said.
Rampersad, 28, was killed July 17 during an Iranian missile attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. She grew up in Ozone Park, graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and joined the Army following her uncle’s path.
Whether Mamdani visited the family in the days after her death is unclear, as no such stop appeared on his public schedule or social media. His week instead reportedly included a double-decker bus housing event and fresh interviews with national outlets.
The mayor’s team later distributed his planned speech, marked “remarks as prepared,” including the line: “It is often said that our fallen ‘gave their tomorrows for our today.’ Sergeant Rampersad had tomorrows waiting for her… But she gave every one of them up so that we could have ours.”
Hundreds packed Calvary Assembly of God, where the soldier’s favorite gospel songs echoed through the sanctuary as mourners wiped away tears.
“She could talk to people in her rank, above her rank, and they would accept it since it was the way she did it,” said Daisy Davis-Credle, president of the Queens Sunday School Association.
Hochul, who did take the podium, said: “I feel after reading and admiring this woman from a distance, I feel like she could be one of my daughters.”
Other speakers included state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., block association president Sam Esposito, and Borough President Richards — while Mamdani watched from a seat near Councilman Frank Morano.
“I was surprised the mayor didn’t speak,” Morano said. “I didn’t understand why they would have lower-level officials speak and not the mayor.”
After the service, NYPD officers carried Rampersad’s coffin to a hearse, joining a police procession that stretched for blocks to her final resting place on Long Island.
Was this a family’s right to shape their hero’s farewell, or a political message that will follow Mamdani through the rest of his term?
