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Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa faced growing pressure to drop out of New York City's mayoral race Monday -- this time from his billionaire longtime friend and boss.

John Catsimatidis called on Sliwa to quit the race, joining a last-minute effort by Andrew Cuomo and his supporters to clear the field for the former governor, who is running as an independent. The call touched off a disagreement between Sliwa and Catsimatidis over the Guardian Angel founder's job status, highlighting his estrangement from the city's donor class as Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani holds the lead in recent polls.

"Look, I love Curtis," Catsimatidis said during an interview with WABC host Sid Rosenberg. "But Curtis has to realize that he should love New York more than anything else. And it certainly looks like Curtis should pull out right now."

"We cannot take a chance on Zohran winning," Catsimatidis added, referring to the democratic socialist state assemblymember from Queens.