Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo met with at least 80 business leaders in Manhattan on Tuesday as pressure to consolidate support against New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is escalating with less than two months until Election Day.Cuomo's high-profile business meeting came as The New York Times/Siena College poll conducted from Sept. 2 to 6 and released Tuesday morning revealed Mamdani is leading the pack of mayoral hopefuls at 46% and far outpacing Cuomo, at just 24%. However, the survey suggested an extremely tight race in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup between Mamdani and Cuomo, with Mamdani picking up 48% of the vote compared to Cuomo's 44%.The former governor spoke to business leaders at The Pool event space in The Seagram Building in Midtown Manhattan for about 25 minutes on Tuesday morning about his pathway to victory in New York City's heated mayoral race.As men and women of all ages dressed in expensive business attire exited the event space, one man who works in finance told Fox News that an "energetic" Cuomo assured the crowd that he believed incumbent Mayor Eric Adams could drop out of the race as early as this week.MAMDANI RIVALS DEFIANT AGAINST DROPPING OUT DESPITE FACING LONG ODDS IN NYC MAYOR BATTLE"New York City is not for sale. The backroom scheming from Donald Trump and the billionaire class is backfiring, as New Yorkers see Zohran Mamdani is the only candidate who will fight to make the most expensive city in the country more affordable," Mamdani campaign spokesperson, Dora Pekec, said in a statement responding to the latest poll.TRUMP SAYS CUOMO'S GOT A 'GOOD SHOT' OF BEATING MAMDANI IN NYC MAYOR ELECTIONThe poll follows last week's report by The New York Times indicating President Donald Trump's advisors are floating roles in the administration for Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa if they drop out of the race."I don't think you can win unless you have one on one," Trump told reporters before a White House dinner on Thursday, while also denying that he's personally encouraged any candidate to drop out.Both Sliwa and Adams have affirmed their commitment to staying in the race through November.Cuomo dismissed the poll when questioned by reporters on Tuesday, arguing that he doesn't take "any of them all that seriously." He said that even if Adams and Sliwa stay in the race, "people aren't going to waste their vote" and it will eventually become a two-person race between him and Mamdani.While the latest polling indicates otherwise, as Cuomo shores up just 24% of the vote when Adams and Sliwa stay in the race, one person who attended Tuesday's meeting with business leaders told Fox News that Cuomo said he could win even if Adams stays in the race. Cuomo defended that claim while speaking to reporters on Tuesday.Cuomo said it wasn't just business people who attended Tuesday morning's meeting, but "people from all walks of life" who are "worried about the possibility of Mamdani winning.""Theres no comparison. Its like being in a ring with Muhammad Ali versus an amateur," the businessman told Fox News Digital, defending that Cuomo "knows what he's doing" and is "going to get these people off the streets" and "put them in mental institutions."CUOMO, ADAMS TRADE SHOTS OVER WHO SHOULD DROP OUT IN RACE AGAINST MAMDANI FOR NYC MAYORMarc Altheim, the owner of the yoga studio, Know Yoga Know Bliss, in Manhasset, N.Y., spoke to Fox News as he departed the meeting with Cuomo on Tuesday morning. He said he was previously the founding partner at a real estate development firm, Atlantic Development Group, in New York City."I'm here because Andrew is obviously the better candidate to be running this city. I'm very concerned that New York City's gonna be decimated if the other guy takes office. And I think that it's very, very important that people understand what Andrew is about. He's about creating a better, safer New York City. He's for the police. He wants to build housing. He doesn't believe things should be free," Altheim said.Altheim added that Mamdani has "no clue what he's doing.""He never managed anything. So for me, I want a mayor who's competent. I don't want someone who's just paying lip service and giving things for free," he said, while adding that it's time for Adams to leave the race.Cuomo's push to consolidate support against Mamdani also comes as another independent candidate, Jim Walden, dropped out of the race last week and urged the other candidates to unite against Mamdani.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPSen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who rallied against "oligarchy" with Mamdani in Brooklyn on Saturday responded on X to The New York Times, which first reported the details of Cuomo's meeting with business leaders on Tuesday."The oligarchs are panicking. They will spend as much as it takes to try to defeat Zohran Mamdani. Theyve got the money. Weve got the people. Together, lets elect Zohran and stop billionaires from buying elections," Sanders said on X.Fox News' Kirill Clark contributed to this report.