M
ayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani is leaving his rent‑stabilized one‑bedroom in Astoria, Queens, to move into Gracie Mansion after his inauguration. The Astoria unit, which he rented for seven years at about $2,300 a month thanks to a preferential rate, is now listed at $3,100 a month—an $800, or 35%, increase for the next tenant. The apartment remains rent‑stabilized, but the new renter will pay the market‑adjusted rate because landlords can no longer offer the discounted “preferential rent” that Mamdani received.
The price jump reflects broader shifts in New York’s rental market. The Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act, enacted in June, banned broker fees, forcing landlords to embed those costs into rents. Since the law, off‑market listings have surged, and the supply of rent‑stabilized units has shrunk, driving prices to record highs. Mamdani, a former Queens assemblyman earning $142,000 and the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and professor Mahmood Mamdani, has long been criticized for living in a cheap apartment while campaigning on affordability. He first secured the Astoria unit in 2018, claiming ignorance of its rent‑stabilized status, and later complained publicly about rising rents.
The new tenant’s $3,100 a month will be the first time the apartment’s rent exceeds the rate Mamdani paid. Critics argue that politicians like Mamdani benefit from special housing arrangements while supporting policies that inflate rents and reduce available units. The FARE Act’s broker‑fee ban has also led landlords to keep listings off the market to avoid the fee, further tightening supply. The rent‑stabilized system, intended to protect tenants, has become a tool that favors well‑connected individuals and high earners, distorting the market and forcing landlords to raise market‑rate rents to subsidize stabilized units. Mamdani’s decision to move to Gracie Mansion has drawn attention to these contradictions, as the next occupant will face a steep increase in rent, underscoring the tension between political promises of affordability and the realities of New York’s housing crisis.
