With help from Amira McKeeIN MEMORIAM: Five candidates running for New York City mayor — as well as hundreds of NYPD officers — paid their respects this afternoon to Didarul Islam, who died in uniform in Monday’s tragic mass shooting. Mayor Eric Adams, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Jim Walden all gathered at the Parkchester Jame Masjid, where Islam’s body lay. The officer’s death became an instant political test for Mamdani, who was away on an 11-day vacation in Uganda at the time of the shooting. Cuomo drew attention to Mamdani’s anti-NYPD activism in the wake of the shooting. And within hours of his return to the U.S., Mamdani was pressed about his prior support for defunding the police and his call to disband the NYPD unit that responded to the shooting. Aside from the mayoral hopefuls, Gov. Kathy Hochul and several other officials attended the funeral, including NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Attorney General Letitia James, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, City Council member Yusef Salaam, and Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Richie Torres. Reporters were there to cover the memorial to the slain officer — and to carefully watch for signs of political differences between the candidates. Adams eulogized Islam at the event and spoke of the pain of losing a loved one — but he made a point to thank the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, the elite police unit Mamdani has previously called to eliminate. “I want to say thank you to the men and women of the New York City Police Department in general, but specifically to the men and women of SRG,” Adams said. “They entered the building while the shooter was still alive, and they conducted a floor-by-floor search. They wanted to ensure that everyone in that building would have come out safely.” Mamdani said Monday he no longer supports defunding the police, but he also doubled down on eliminating the SRG. The unit is tasked with policing political demonstrations and has faced criticism from the New York Civil Liberties Union and others for its use of heavy-handed tactics. Islam, a Bengali immigrant and father of two with a third child on the way, had been working as a security guard when a gunman armed with a military-style rifle entered a Park Avenue building and carried out the deadliest mass shooting in the city since 2000. The three-year NYPD veteran was in full uniform when he was murdered along with three others who perished that day. Unlike the other candidates and officials there, Mamdani sat with Islam’s family during the service and was greeted by them upon his arrival. He also remained to join his fellow Muslims in prayer after the political speeches concluded, as other officials filed out. While the intimate service was limited to family, friends and invited guests, hundreds of men and women, many in uniform, gathered on the surrounding blocks in the hours before the funeral, setting up food trucks and tents to eat and socialize. As the funeral began, police cleared the street outside the mosque to allow space for prayer. “The residents of this city, indeed, this state, must show greater platitudes and gratitude for our police force, they have not received enough in years of late, in my opinion, and that must be rectified,” said Hochul, dressed in a black headscarf in line with Muslim tradition. “They need our support.” — Amira McKee and Jason BeefermanNORTH COUNTRY SPECIAL LOOMS: The impending resignation of Assemblymember Billy Jones will open up a potentially competitive special election in a North Country district that straddles the Quebec border. Jones, who’s serving his fifth term, has been as secure in his seat as any rural Democrat in recent years. He’s run unopposed in three of his past four elections and won the other by 24 points. That was due in part to his personal popularity, but the district is as competitive as can be on paper: There are 30,392 Democratic and Working Families Party members compared with 29,920 Republicans and Conservatives. “Republicans, for the first time in a long time, have a real chance to win this one,” Essex County Conservative Party Chair Bill McGahay said. Malone Mayor Andrea Dumas is among the Republicans being discussed as a candidate for the seat. Several Democrats have expressed interest in running as well, and Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman is “gaining traction,” according to Clinton County Democratic Chair Brandi Lloyd. “Democrats are definitely optimistic that this will hold,” Lloyd said. “We’re seeing a trend across the whole country — in rural areas as well — where seats are staying blue or flipping blue.” Jones announced Tuesday that he’d be stepping down later this summer. Several people familiar with his plans said they expect his resignation will come at a time that would allow Hochul to call a special ele