Parramatta might be over 15,000 kilometres away, but Sydney's second-largest CBD has still managed to become caught up in New York City's mayoral race.
That's courtesy of Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa — the beret-wearing 71-year-old vying to become the mayor of New York — who mentioned his "bad" experience visiting Parramatta in a video interview with independent new media operation, The Last Place on Earth.
"I was in Sydney and I was invited to set up Guardian Angels in Parramatta," told the Western Australian publication on Monday.
"Took me an hour to get all the way out to the suburbs. I go: 'How bad could it possibly be?' And then when I walked around: 'Oh, they got gangs here'."
The video comes as New Yorkers are set to go to the polls on Tuesday local time.
Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels, famous for citizen anti-crime patrols of the NYC subways during the gritty 1980s.
He's expected to come last in the polls, which predict the winner to be democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani.
However, while Sliwa's comments about Parramatta may have put the western Sydney hub on the map, members of the community say his remarks are a reminder of the outdated stereotypes still associated with the city.
'Surprised and disappointed'
Shuoyan Zhu, founder and president of Parramatta Multicultural Community Association, said the comments don't reflect the "real Parramatta", the community lives and works in every day.
"I was surprised and a little disappointed to hear those comments," Zhu told SBS News.
"Parramatta today is a thriving, inclusive, and forward-looking community, far from the negative image implied. It's a place where people from all walks of life come together, build small businesses, raise families, and contribute to Australia's future."
Parramatta Multicultural Community Association founder Shuoyan Zhu said comments like Curtis Sliwa's can be "frustrating" for western Sydney residents, who still struggle with stereotypes. Source: Supplied
Despite this, she said stereotypes still linger.
"They can be frustrating for residents who know how much this area has evolved. For our multicultural community, these misconceptions can make people feel overlooked or misunderstood."
Former lord mayor and Parramatta state MP Donna Davis said the strength of the city was in its "incredible diversity".
"We're a welcoming, energetic and creative city, home to families, students, small businesses and people from all over the world who contribute to what makes Parramatta so special," she said.
"If Mr Sliwa spent a little more time here, he'd see what our community is really about."
Trumpet of Patriots candidate Ganesh Loke (right) said Parramatta was a beautiful and culturally diverse city. Source: Supplied / Ganesh Loke
While he's concerned by ineffective transport systems and crime, he said Sliwa has missed the multiculturalism that stamps the city.
"We have people from diverse cultural backgrounds, which makes Parramatta a beautiful and culturally diverse city in the world," Loke told SBS News. "Curtis probably did not know that."
'Parramatta has radically changed'
Sliwa did not say when exactly he had visited Parramatta, but he may have been referring to his 1992 trip to Sydney, where he tried to establish an Australian version of Guardian Angels there.
Mark McCrindle, principal and founder of McCrindle Research, said his views are hinged on outdated stereotypes of the area.
"Parramatta has radically changed since then," McCrindle told SBS News. "It's different to what it was even a decade ago."
Investment in Parramatta has surged in recent years.
Parramatta has the second-largest economy in NSW, worth over $30 billion.
With a goal of creating 150,000 new jobs over the next 25 years and becoming a 'global city' by 2050, significant investment is being poured into the city. Investments have led to the creation of a new light rail link, a revitalised town centre, and new retail and commercial office towers, among plans to transform it into a 24/7 city.
"It's changed dramatically and that's where I think the comments are a bit perplexing for modern Sydneysiders, particularly those from western Sydney," McCrindle said. "The negative comments made about Parramatta do not resonate at all."
McCrindle said stereotypes have long followed western Sydney, adding that a "failure to understand the changing nature of cities" means even those within Sydney struggle to comprehend what it looks like now.
"[Sydneysiders] tend to stick to their area and don't recognise just how much is taking place and transforming in western Sydney generally, and in Parramatta specifically," he said.
He also pushed back against narratives of gang violence.
"Parramatta is actually a safe place, not only in terms of statistically the evidence bearing that out, but in terms of the perceptions and the sentiment now," he said.
"It's a bustling, thriving place rather than the stereotype that people used to have."
'He doesn't know our community'
Amar Singh is the founder of the charity Turbans 4 Australia, which provides food and grocery hampers to those experiencing food insecurity in western Sydney.
He said Sliwa's statements are "immature", but said there's a silver lining in them.
Turbans 4 Australia founder Amar Singh has invited Curtis Sliwa to Harris Park for a curry and naan, in hopes it will help him better understand his city. Source: Supplied / Amar Singh
"The Parramatta community is very wide and multicultural and robust. I think not many people will pay attention to these comments because we know what our community is like," he said.
"He might be coming out of jealousy," Singh said.
"Get this bloke on the phone to me and we'll catch up for a bit of nice curry and naan at Little India and have a yarn — good old Aussie style — and welcome him to the land Down Under.
"I can't really sit down and let somebody put us down because he doesn't know our community and he doesn't know our people."
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