New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is eight months into his term of office, and reality has stepped up and whacked him upside the head.
He had a decent start. After fulfilling a campaign promise to “tax the rich,” Mamdani saw three of his endorsed candidates coast to primary victories. He also presided over a feel-good moment when he joined the celebration of the New York Knicks’ first championship in more than 50 years.
But at some point, Mamdani had to come back to Earth. His anti-Israel rhetoric has become more toxic since the election, leading to a drop in his popularity ratings. He’s insulted the business community by making high-profile public appearances that directly target prominent corporate leaders, such as filming a promotional video outside the Manhattan residence of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin to announce new tax policy proposals. He also stacked the Rent Guidelines Board with allies to enforce rent freezes across roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments, publicly arguing that “landlords are doing just fine” and positioning real estate investors as profit-driven obstacles to affordable housing.
Leaders across real estate and finance have voiced frustration over his rhetoric, with CEOs arguing his messaging paints success as inherently suspect and actively drives investment and corporate headquarters out of the city.
This week, “a judge swiftly paused a new tax on luxury second homes after a group of residents, including one of Mamdani’s own supporters, filed a lawsuit accusing the city of botching the rollout,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
What possessed Mamdani to post a list of more than 900,000 properties he claims “might” be subject to the new tax, but many more than likely won’t?
Justice Wayne Ozzi questioned why the list needed to be so broad. “I’m sure it caused concern amongst people,” the judge said. “Some may be embarrassed, some may be quizzical.” He also pointed out that the city had made “missteps” and criticized the administration for doing a poor job of vetting before sending out the mail notices.
His rabid supporters are still “all in” with his socialist agenda. But others are not.
Hellbound and Down 