Andrew Cuomo is demanding that his opponent in New York Metropolis’s mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, vacate his lease stabilized condominium, whereas pushing a longshot proposal that might bar different middle-class renters from accessing a lot of town’s housing.
“I am calling on you to move out immediately,” Cuomo wrote in a widely-viewed social media put up this weekend, casting Mamdani as “a very rich person” occupying an condominium that might in any other case be utilized by a homeless household.
The road of assault drew tens of hundreds of thousands of views on-line and revived a long-standing debate about who ought to have entry to New York’s extremely sought-after lease stabilized models, which make up roughly 40% of town’s rental inventory and are at present open to folks of all incomes.
It additionally illustrated the rhetorical lengths that Cuomo is prepared to go to as he mounts an impartial bid for mayor towards Mamdani, a democratic socialist who defeated him handily within the Democratic major on a platform that centered on affordability and freezing lease on stabilized models.
Mamdani, who earns $143,000 yearly as a state legislator, has mentioned he pays $2,300 monthly for a one-bedroom condominium in Queens that he shares along with his spouse — a residing state of affairs that Cuomo known as “disgusting.”
In contrast, Cuomo, a multimillionaire who beforehand served because the state’s governor, spends roughly $8,000 month-to-month on an condominium in Midtown Manhattan that he moved to final yr from Westchester County, a rich suburb.
In current weeks, the 67-year-old Cuomo has adopted a extra aggressive social media presence, incomes each reward and mockery for his use of millennial internet-speak and repeated references to his opponent’s “privilege.” Mamdani’s mom is a profitable impartial filmmaker and his father is a Columbia College professor.
Within the race for New York Metropolis mayor, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani kicked off a five-borough tour to stump towards towards President Donald Trump, beginning in Manhattan. In the meantime, Andrew Cuomo continued to go after Mamdani over his rent-stabilized condominium in Queens. NBC New York’s Melissa Russo stories.
On Monday, Cuomo went a step additional, releasing a proper proposal, which he dubbed “Zohran’s Law,” barring landlords from leasing vacant lease stabilized models to “wealthy tenants,” outlined as those that would pay lower than 30% of their revenue towards the present lease.
The lease regulation program, which caps how a lot landlords can elevate lease every year on roughly 1 million residences, doesn’t at present embody any revenue restrictions — one thing opponents have lengthy pushed to vary.
Whereas the typical lease stabilized family makes $60,000 yearly, it’s not unusual for middle- or higher-income New Yorkers to dwell within the models, which typically lease for a number of thousand {dollars} monthly.
However Cuomo’s thought drew swift skepticism from some housing specialists, who famous the cap would, by definition, imply all new tenants of lease stabilized models would surrender a considerable portion of their revenue.
“The idea that we should only have people living in apartments they can’t afford seems to be setting people up for failure,” mentioned Ellen Davidson, a housing legal professional at The Authorized Help Society. “It’s not a proposal from somebody who knows anything about the housing market or New York City.”
Below state legislation, hikes on rent-stabilized models are determined by an appointed board, reasonably than landlords.
“Rent stabilization has never been means tested because it’s not an affordable housing program, it’s a program about neighborhood stability,” mentioned Davidson, the housing legal professional, including that the proposal would doubtless current a “bureaucratic nightmare.”
A spokesperson for Cuomo’s marketing campaign, Wealthy Azzopardi, mentioned in a textual content message that “the extremely rich and privileged shouldn’t be profiting from a program meant to aide working New Yorkers,” including that the revenue threshold requirements would fall beneath the identical system that governs town’s different applications for low-income housing.
Mamdani’s spokesperson, Dora Pekec, mentioned the proposal proved that Cuomo was each determined and out of contact.
“While Cuomo cares only for the well-being of his Republican donors, Zohran believes city government’s job is to guarantee a life of dignity, not determine who is worth one,” she added.
