How Mamdani Rode High Rents into Office

How did Zohran Mamdani win middle- and high-income renters? One explanation is backlash.

“Market rent growth has been going through the roof in the last few years,” said Robert Nelson of Nelson Management Group. “At the end of the day I think that’s why our mayor is in office right now.”

Nelson was speaking at Ariel Property Advisor’s Coffee and Cap Rates event Thursday. The runaway price growth, he told the crowd, was concerning.

It’s true, market-rate rents have been on a record-setting tear for more than a year, with still strong growth before that.

Median rent for a brokered, market-rate apartment in Manhattan reached $4,720 at the top of this year, showing a 9 percent annual increase.

“How long can this continue?” Nelson said at the event.

The rent growth is spurred by a huge demand, including by wealthy workers, to live in New York, matched with a dearth of supply to meet them.

“People feel frustrated, which is why I think he won the election,” Nelson told me.

One may note that Mamdani’s marquee campaign promise, to freeze the rent in rent-stabilized apartments, doesn’t help market-rate tenants. In fact, it may put slight additional pressure on their rents. A hefty injection of supply is one thing that would really bring down rents.

Of course, there are some low-information market-rate voters who may have believed that the rent freeze would apply to them. But the bigger factor is that Mamdani spoke to their frustration. Market-rate tenants are currently on the losing side of the struggle for power between renters and landlords. Many young-ish people with college educations and “just OK” white-collar jobs are crammed in with roommates, or otherwise paying half their salaries in rent.

Mamdani, who was elected while living with his wife in a rent-stabilized one-bedroom in Astoria, seemed like one of them, and gave a voice to their feelings of unease.

His message of fighting for renters is one that resonated, in a way that those of Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams did not. Whether his housing plan, which pairs YIMBY reforms with tenant rights enforcement, will keep them engaged remains to be seen.

What we’re thinking about: The Real Deal’s publisher Amir Korangy asked former mayor Eric Adams where his City of Yes housing initiative ranks among his accomplishments. Adams’ answer? Fourth place — behind dyslexia screening, and public safety and health care efforts.

A thing we’ve learned: Jalen Brunson scored 68 votes in the New York primary election just over a week after the Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years. Other write-in candidates for state comptroller and the 7th, 10th, 12th and 13th Congressional Districts included former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who got 16 votes, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who got 12, and two Bernies — Madoff and Sanders — who each secured two votes.

— Spencer Davis

Elsewhere…

— Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is set to announce a major revamp of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the City Reporter writes. The cash infusion will “complete reconstruction designed to honor its original vision while ensuring full accessibility for children of all abilities,” a parks official told the publication. At least $17 million will be used to overhaul the park’s historic playground.

— Three months after suffering a stroke, state Sen. Liz Krueger is getting back into the swing of things. She spoke with City & State about her recovery, missing out on the state’s budget negotiations and what she’s focused on when she returns to Albany. When asked about reelection, Krueger said, “yes, I would run again.”

— The Department of Finance posted a database of more than 900,000 properties that “may” be subject to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax, but only sent letters to 17,000 addresses it suspects of being second homes worth more than $5 million, Gothamist reports.

Closing time

Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Thursday was $15.4 million for a 2,761-square-foot condominium at 15 Central Park West on the Upper West Side. The unit was listed for $16.95 million in February 2025.

Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $36.9 million for a portfolio of five apartment buildings at 3–5 and 7–9 West 108th Street and 4, 8 and 10–16 Manhattan Avenue in Manhattan Valley. Quality Capital USA sold the properties to Delshah Capital.

New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $15.5 million for a co-op unit at 860 Fifth Avenue in Lenox Hill. Elizabeth L. Sample and Brenda Powers with Sotheby’s have the listing.

Breaking Ground: The largest new building permits filed had a combined 276,646 square feet for three apartment buildings with 99 units each. Hamish Whitefield at Fisher Rasmussen Whitefield Architects filed the permits on behalf of Developing NY State.

— Matthew Elo