Mamdani Won on Housing. Will Democrats Follow His Lead?
6/21/202618 min
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept into office with a campaign focused on costs and a promise to freeze rents on rent-regulated apartments. That pledge unnerved landlords who own buildings with expensive debt and face higher costs for insurance, utilities and other expenses. Ahead of primary elections this Tuesday, Mamdani has endorsed like-minded candidates with similarly progressive ideas for how to address the cost of housing. That has sometimes put them and Mamdani at odds with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on an issue they all hope will resonate with voters in November.
Host Sabrina Siddiqui speaks with Mayor Mamdani and explains how tenants and landlords are viewing his policy proposals in The Cost-of-Living Election, Part 4.
Listen to previous episodes in the series:
Tariffs’ Messy Reality: The Cost-of-Living Election | Part 1: Ohio
Inflation Is the GOP’s Problem Now. Will Voters Look Past It?
How a Health Insurance Shortfall in Georgia Could Play Out in the Midterms
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
I think the potential of agentic is to rethink how work gets done overall. It challenges all sorts of traditional orthodoxies around how organizations execute the work at hand.
Sabrina Siddiqui· Host0:11
That's Jason Gurzadis, CEO of Deloitte US, talking about the transformational potential of agentic AI. Join him later to learn why agents are a game changer for businesses across industries. [upbeat music] The first thing Willem Holzer checks out when he's visiting a home for sale is the boiler room.
Willem Holzer· Soundbite0:31
The water heater is new, but the boiler looks from, like, the '60s. It just looks rusty. I could be totally off, but it looks like an older boiler. So I mean, that's just something to just keep an eye on because the- Holzer and his spouse, Roxanne Alberts, own a condo a few blocks from here in New York City's Bed-Stuy neighborhood. It's keeping up really well, but it's something- But they'd like more space We're trying to have kids, so that's why we're looking to expand.
Speaker 10:53
Otherwise, our current apartment is actually absolutely perfect.
Sabrina Siddiqui· Host0:56
The home they're visiting is a four-story townhouse listed at $2.35 million, and they say they wouldn't be able to afford it without some help from their family. To make it work for their budget, they'd also have to rent part of it out.
Willem Holzer· Soundbite1:09
I mean, I, I just think the prices are just, like, insane. [laughs] I mean, just my gut reaction is, like, even, like, four years ago when we bought, it was already crazy, but you think you're, like, making some sort of investment for the future. But it's kind of limiting at the same time. Like, I always- If you drew up a list of words often associated with New York City,