Although Zohran Mamdani aims to bleed rent-stabilized building owners with a four-year rent freeze, he and the real estate industry agree on a few things. The socialist Assembly member poised to become mayor in January could actually deliver some victories for property owners.
Their differences on socialism, rent control, policing, Israel, taxes and spending have been well-documented by The Real Deal, but several commonalities bear mentioning.
Let’s start with housing supply. Mamdani wants for-profit developers to build more homes, preferably in well-to-do neighborhoods.
That requires upzoning, which has to go through Ulurp. In the final stage of this months-long public review, the local City Council member often holds the rezoning hostage. Whether the hostage is released, wounded or killed, the process adds cost and uncertainty, making housing more expensive.
The good news for real estate is that Mamdani has never served on the Council, owes nothing to it and cares little for its traditions. He told the Citizens Budget Commission that he wants to “move away from member deference” and streamline project reviews in areas that have not produced much housing.
He promised the group that “citywide comprehensive planning will allow Council members to set long-term goals for their districts instead of only weighing in when Ulurp is triggered.”
To be sure, a mayor cannot simply tell the Council what to do. But mayors have ways of getting what they want. Time will tell if Mamdani is adept at using his political capital and powers of persuasion to govern. It’s a different skill from running for office.
However, his campaign skills could help real estate on certain issues.
When the Charter Review Commission puts pro-housing reforms on the November ballot, including a proposal to allow smaller projects to avoid Ulurp, Mamdani is likely to urge New Yorkers to vote for them. Perhaps he will even put out one of his slick videos.
Mamdani and real estate are also aligned on parking mandates, which the Adams administration partially eliminated with its City of Yes legislation. He wants to finish the job by ending the mandates citywide. That will be a challenge, because he got few votes in the neighborhoods that clung to the mandates.
Fears that Mamdani, who hails from the Democratic Socialists of America, will spend the city into bankruptcy are overblown. Guardrails erected after the 1970s fiscal crisis make that virtually impossible, and when Mamdani was asked if he supports mandatory contributions from the city budget to a rainy day fund, he said yes.
Mamdani also plans to increase rental voucher funding — from $1.2 billion in fiscal 2025 — and to direct the Department of Homeless Services to improve efficiency so more of the rental vouchers it issues are used.
The Adams administration just made the program less attractive, saying it will no longer pay landlords one month’s rent to hold an apartment while a placement is approved. Mamdani could reverse that.
He has called for more funding and staffing for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, a longtime bottleneck for the real estate industry.
Property tax is a potential area of agreement as well. Mamdani has pledged to propose comprehensive reforms by the end of his second year, and can be expected to support reducing the heavy burden on rental buildings. Any changes would have to be approved by the state.
Mamdani has abandoned his support for defunding the police and lists public safety as one of the three most important factors in attracting and retaining residents and businesses. The other two: housing affordability and child care.
Read more
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