NYC real estate developer schools Mamdani over pricey housing plan
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is rattling real estate developers and landlords over his sweeping proposal to tackle the city’s housing crisis. The Queens assemblyman wants to build 200,000 new publicly-subsidized affordable homes and immediately freeze rents for the city’s 2.4 million stabilized tenants.
"You don't build housing by attacking the people who build it," Jared Epstein, president of Aurora Capital Associates, told FOX Business. "I'm a developer. And by attacking me, my company, our peers, it's not effective."
Mamdani ran a campaign focused on making one of the country’s most expensive places to live more attainable for average residents. His proposals call for multi-year rent freezes and massive investment in public housing. Critics argue his proposals could worsen existing problems in the rental market, including Epstein.
"A rent freeze is a housing freeze, plain and simple," he argued.
Many landlords say thousands of rent-stabilized units are already sitting vacant due to costly repairs they can’t afford without being able to raise the rent. A rent freeze would only make that situation worse.
Mamdani’s campaign website acknowledges the steep $100 billion price tag his plans would cost the city over 10 years. To pay for the projects, he’s proposed steeper taxes on wealthy New Yorkers making over a million dollars, and a higher corporate tax rate.
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Despite the backlash from the real estate industry, Mamdani is finding strong support among progressive and younger voters frustrated by rising costs. According to Realtor.com, the median rent in New York City has reached $3,397, a nearly $200 increase since 2024.
Tenant advocates say landlords can absorb the tax hikes and rent controls.
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"Landlord's profits are up 12% in just the last year alone, while one in four New Yorkers are struggling to afford the basics," said Cea Weaver, director of the New York State Tenant Bloc.
"A modest increase in taxes is not going to drive New Yorker's corporations out of the city."
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