Red New York: Zohran Mamdani’s Plan to Invest in the People

Last Tuesday, November 4th, Zohran Kwame Mamdani edged out former New York state governor Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral race, winning 50.4% of the vote compared to Cuomo’s 41.6%. 34 year old Mamdani, a Ugandan-born self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is the youngest mayor of NYC, the “finance capital of the world,” in over a century. His supporters champion his focus on affordability for the working class, not just the elite 1%, in spite of the warnings of mass exodus of billionaires and financiers echoed by his fear-mongering critics. These vexatious cries come from his policies specifically targeting land-owning capitalists, such as rent freezes, which send the Western media spiraling down Red Scare levels of critical publishing. Destructive or not, Mamdani will undoubtedly be a polarizing figure in politics for years to come, and will reshape the Democratic Party as we know it; his wildly popular policies catalyzed the biggest city in the USA to vote left after it swung right when Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. The people have spoken, and they are clear: they are tired of being priced out of their homes, and increasingly putting their trust into left wing politicians promising a brighter future. Will Mamdani’s focus on the working person shift NYC’s reputation from one of capital-owning to one of working class freedom? An analysis of his proposed policies, specifically those targeting land-owners, reveals the effect they’ll have on the city’s legacy.

Much to the dismay of landlords, one of Mamdani’s central policies is his proposed rent freeze and support of government subsidized housing. Zohran posts on Instagram on October 29th: “Vote Zohran Kwame Mamdani to: freeze the rent for every rent-stabilized tenant [and] build 200,000 new affordable homes[.]” To understand Mamdani’s goal, let’s define our terms: a rent freeze is a government subsidized program dedicated to “freezing” a tenant’s rent at a certain amount to protect it from future increases by a particularly parasitic landlord. Legally, landlords are barred from raising rent past a certain amount. This is also what is known as a “price ceiling.” Rarely, the landlords are not forbidden from raising rent, and the difference between the actual rent (what the landlord charges) and the paid rent (what the tenant pays) is covered by an abatement (legal reduction) to the landlord's paid property tax. A “rent-stabilized tenant” is one whose rent is increased by a fixed percentage annually, which is meant to make rent resistant to large booms and busts in the market, and also make payments more predictable for tenants. 

Empirically, similar policies have excelled. A 2021 video narrated and hosted by Mamdani posted under The Gravel Institute on YouTube details how in Vienna, Austria, similar socialist policies led to a skyrocketing of home ownership, availability, and quality of homes. Additionally, average rent prices toppled to about 4% of a monthly wage, all in spite of the elite destruction of the city after WWI. Even today, nearly a century later, after countless more battles and ruination, 62% of Viennese residents live in government subsidized housing, with average monthly rent between $400-600, and subsidies for lower income tenants. This is a glimpse into what Mamdani’s policies could do for New York City.

So, what’s the debate? Socialist policies worked in Vienna, and they’ll work in NYC. Well, not quite. New York is not Vienna, and Vienna is not New York; what works in one place may not work in another, especially a century apart. By far the biggest critique of Mamdani’s plan is innovation. Rent freezes typically plateau the income of landlords, as they can’t raise rent, and therefore, their wages. Skeptics say this will stifle repairs and improvements in housing units, as landlords will have less profit incentive to maintain. New York’s already massive $78 billion repair backlog may only get worse, they claim. Another criticism is his housing model’s potential burden on the taxpayer. By capping rent at a certain increase per year (remember rent-stabilized tenants), the government subsidies then required to cover maintenance fees are relayed to the taxpayer. Thus, if maintenance fees surpass the rate at which rent increase is capped, the cost of repairs quickly becomes unprofitable, further burdening the taxpayer. Essentially, free control over rents as a landlord keeps repairs profitable, and consumers pay less in taxes that go to rent-stabilized apartments they’re not living in.

What many of these critics fail to realize is that this is already the reality in New York. The city already provides funding for private corporations to construct affordable housing units, yet they don’t. And, as previously mentioned with the $78 billion dollar repair backlog, landlords are already failing to follow through on repairs, profit incentive or not. Mamdani’s plan is to cut out the middleman of private corporations, and invest directly into the people themselves. Again, empirically, this has worked. In 1973, Co-op City, a New York City building complex, was a large cooperative housing development in the Bronx, and today boasts 15,300 apartments housing 50,000 people. The construction of the co-op was 90% government funded, and tenants today own a stake in the apartments, while empty units are priced accordingly to keep them permanently affordable. Zohran plans to execute this on a city-wide scale, potentially creating a new New York, one where the government pays for the people, and not corporations. Perhaps only time will tell whether his policies will slash prices, or slash the chances of tenants to ever receive repairs.

Sources:

AHURI. (n.d.). Understanding what rent freeze, rent cap, or rent control means. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. https://www.ahuri.edu.au/analysis/brief/understanding-what-rent-freeze-rent-cap-or-rent-control

City Limits. (n.d.). Most NYCHA developments have greater repair needs than partially collapsed Mitchel Houses, inspections show. https://citylimits.org/most-nycha-developments-have-greater-repair-needs-than-partially-collapsed-mitchel-houses-inspections-show/

Co-op City. (n.d.). Living and affordability. https://www.coopcity.com/#:~:text=Living%20and%20Affordability-,Co%2Dop%20City%20is%20a%20New%20York%20State%20Mitchell%2DLama,of%20garden%20and%20duplex%20apartments.

Housing International. (n.d.). Co-op City: The largest housing cooperative in the Bronx. International Cooperative Alliance. https://www.housinginternational.coop/resources/coop-city-the-largest-housing-cooperative-in-the-bronx/#:~:text=Co%2Dop%20City%20is%20a,which%20ensures%20long%2Dterm%20affordability.

NPR. (2025, June 15). How Vienna’s affordable housing helps the environment and fights climate change. https://www.npr.org/2025/06/15/nx-s1-5400642/affordable-housing-environment-vienna-climate-change

Politico Europe. (n.d.). Vienna’s social housing: Architecture without stigma. https://www.politico.eu/article/vienna-social-housing-architecture-austria-stigma/#:~:text=The%20only%20requirements%20for%20accessing%20social%20housing,backgrounds%20and%20aren't%20segregated%20from%20one%20another.

The New York Times. (2023, July 12). NYC Housing Authority struggles with repair needs. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/nyregion/nyc-housing-authority-nycha.html

Instagram. (2025). [Post]. https://www.instagram.com/p/DQZRS91DoVJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MWw3dTNhNnM3aTdjNA==