海角大神

Mamdani and New York business leaders begin a wary rapprochement

In the run-up to New York鈥檚 mayoral election, many business leaders described Zohran Mamdani as a catastrophe in the making. Corporate and Wall Street titans dumped into political action committees to try to prevent the young democratic socialist from winning, saying his proposals on crime and taxes would make New York and companies unable to compete.

Since Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 resounding victory on Nov. 4, however, the business community has adopted a far more conciliatory tone. Though some are still ahead or even threatening to , others have been and saying they want to try to work with the incoming mayor. JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon Mr. Mamdani to . Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who had tried without success to candidates to run against Mr. Mamdani, congratulated him on social media.

鈥淪ome have been surprised by my conciliatory post,鈥� tweeted Mr. Ackman, who has Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 criticism of Israel. 鈥淢amdani won a decisive election. He is going to be our mayor for the next four years.鈥�

The outreach is running in both directions. Since winning the Democratic primary in June, Mr. Mamdani has been quietly meeting with city stakeholders to get buy-in for his affordability agenda and to listen to their concerns. His charm offensive even included a recent high-profile trip to the White House, during which he and President Donald Trump held a friendly news conference after a private meeting in which they New York real estate and utilities.

Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 early administrative appointments 鈥� including Dean Fuleihan as first deputy mayor, under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who will 鈥� have reassured skeptics that he City Hall with experienced hands. He has from 179 Adams administration employees.

Still, many are in wait-and-see mode. By early next year, many of New York鈥檚 well-connected and influential business leaders could find themselves in the unusual position of being on the outside of the new mayor鈥檚 inner circle.

鈥淭he real estate industry is going to be very predictable. They鈥檙e going to work with him on stuff, and if there鈥檚 stuff they don鈥檛 like, they鈥檒l fight it. They鈥檙e going to be engaged. The question is, what is the larger business community going to do?鈥� says Jordan Barowitz, principal at Barowitz Advisory and a former aide to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

鈥淒o they seek to have a voice in the granular operations? Or do they just go back to picking and choosing when they want to get involved?鈥�

A coming fight over taxes

Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 biggest challenge might be navigating Wall Street鈥檚 resistance to his stated priorities on taxes and spending.

He campaigned on raising New York鈥檚 corporate tax rate from 7.25% to 11.5% and increasing taxes by two percentage points on New Yorkers making more than $1 million. Those tax hikes 鈥� decried almost unanimously by New York鈥檚 banking and corporate sectors 鈥� are meant to pay for expensive campaign promises such as a universal child-care program, free bus transit, and a public grocery store pilot.

New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers, who set tax rates, are reportedly . Some lobbyists caution that the burden of funding the incoming mayor鈥檚 ambitious agenda will depress the city鈥檚 economy, making businesses less competitive in a way that ultimately hurts all New Yorkers.

鈥淲e see increased taxes as only contributing to a further affordability crisis,鈥� said Kathryn Wylde, chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, which represents the city鈥檚 corporate leaders. 鈥淭he goal, as far as we鈥檙e concerned, is to reduce costs, so we don鈥檛 have to constantly increase government spending.鈥�

So far, that kind of pushback from corporate influencers hasn鈥檛 deterred Mr. Mamdani, who has also promised to identify government inefficiencies by hiring more auditors, streamlining contracts, and issuing more fines.

But in this fast-paced, sometimes ruthless city, it鈥檚 another Mr. Mamdani priority that could generate even more pushback from executives.

Lina Khan, who chaired the Federal Trade Commission under former President Joe Biden, has joined Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 transition team with specific instructions to explore ways to utilize to crack down on predatory business practices. Some measures will require cooperation with the city council or state legislature. But Ms. Khan says the mayor has standalone power to for things like price gouging through city agencies such as the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.

Some conservatives aren鈥檛 waiting for Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 inauguration to hold the mayor-elect to account.

Recently, supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis, a longtime Trump supporter, of business leaders and politicians on what was initially billed as a 鈥渨atchdog group鈥� to monitor the incoming Mamdani administration on public safety and other issues. Mr. Catsimatidis later insisted he actually wanted to work with the new mayor and try to find common ground.

鈥淭he one thing that we all hold in common is that we all love New York 鈥� and we want New York to thrive like it always has,鈥� Mr. Catsimatidis said at a news conference.

鈥淭he real estate community is stuck鈥�

City real estate owners might be more familiar with Mr. Mamdani than Wall Street executives, but that doesn鈥檛 mean they will get along with him any better.

One of Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 most prominent campaign pledges was to freeze rent increases for the city鈥檚 1 million regulated apartments by appointing sympathetic members to the city鈥檚 rent guidelines board. Over the past four years, the board has approved a cumulative 12.6% rent hike cap for these homes since Mayor Eric Adams took office, or about 3% per year on one-year leases.

Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 move would halt that trend, worrying landlords who say they need the rental income to maintain their properties, given that insurance, real estate taxes, and utility expenses continue to rise.

鈥淭here is a myth that rent-stabilized housing is financially healthy. The reality is that one-third of the buildings are in fiscal distress and basically bankrupt, and another third will be bankrupt after four years of rent freezes,鈥� said Kenny Burgos, head of the New York Apartment Association.

The mayor-elect鈥檚 plans to build new housing have been better received. Mr. Mamdani has proposed spending $100 billion in public funds to build 200,000 subsidized homes across the city鈥檚 five boroughs over the next decade, essentially tripling the annual production of affordable housing.

If Mr. Mamdani can actually accomplish this goal, he鈥檒l become the 鈥渕ost pro-housing mayor that has ever existed in New York,鈥� says David Schwartz, co-founder of Slate Property Group. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting that we have a mayor who wants to produce tremendous amounts of affordable housing.鈥�

Meanwhile, Mr. Mamdani has with prominent commercial real estate owners to make his pitch and to listen to their views.

He has previously acknowledged the role the private sector plays in addressing the city鈥檚 housing shortage and said he would adopt a Bloomberg-like managerial style at City Hall. But skepticism remains over his approach to development and tax reform.

鈥淭he real estate community is stuck. They are amenable because they have to be,鈥� says Ms. Wylde of the Partnership for New York City. 鈥淭he mayor has much more power over real estate than over any other industry.鈥�

Allies in the tech industry

Some suggest Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 strongest alliances in the private sector might be with the city鈥檚 growing tech industry.

Employees of Google, Meta, and Amazon were among the to Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 mayoral campaign this year, signifying broad support for his agenda among the city鈥檚 young professional class.

Julie Samuels, president and CEO of Tech:NYC, which represents the city鈥檚 tech industry, believes their embrace of the incoming mayor is based on cultural affinity.

鈥淎 lot about Zohran鈥檚 campaigns felt disruptive, and that resonated a lot with tech,鈥� she says. 鈥淧art of it is an age thing, too. You鈥檙e going to have all these digital natives in City Hall, and that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�

At roundtable discussions hosted by Tech:NYC, participants have pressed Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 team to integrate technology, including artificial intelligence-powered programs, to improve the delivery of city services and expedite permit processing. Mayor-elect Mamdani AI a focus of his campaign, though he warned about its potential to eliminate jobs.

鈥淭he tech sector feels more like the genie is not going back in the bottle, and we would all be better served to figure out policy answers,鈥� particularly when it comes to AI, says Ms. Samuels. 鈥淭he answer is to not put their head in the sand and say the tech is not going to come here.鈥�

Still, highly regulated start-ups could find themselves in the mayor鈥檚 crosshairs anyway. The incoming Mamdani administration will face pressure from Airbnb to preventing single-family homeowners from listing their properties on the platform for less than 30 days, which the city began two years ago.

The home-sharing company鈥檚 super PAC spent on a digital ad attacking Mr. Mamdani and two other mayoral candidates who did not support changes to the law.

And DoorDash into a super PAC objecting to Mr. Mamdani鈥檚 call to raise the minimum wage to $30, classify delivery workers as employees, and strengthen licensure requirements for delivery apps.

Chris Coffey, chief executive of Tusk Strategies, who has created media campaigns for both Uber and Bird, expects DoorDash to try to make peace to get what it wants in City Hall 鈥� at least initially.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see them meaningfully fighting the mayor now that he鈥檚 been elected,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to try to work with him and see what happens.鈥�