In New York City, It’s Class Warfare. If You Own Anything, Mamdani Wants to Take It.
“Tenants are a majority, it’s time we had a mayor who acted like it,” says Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race.
When Mamdani says it, believe him. If he wins, tenants will be favored, and homeowners will be in his crosshairs.
They already are. Mamdani is vowing to fully enforce Local Law 97, a law that clobbers condo and co-op owners with costly mandates to reduce their building’s carbon emissions at their own expense.
If Mamdani wins, middle- and working-class people who saved and bought a co-op or condo in a high-rise complex will be facing huge cost increases. More than a million New Yorkers — cops, teachers, accountants, retirees — own the 832,000 units impacted by Local Law 97, and many will suddenly be faced with budget-breaking costs.
The law was passed by the New York City Council in 2019, but it sets a 2030 deadline to reduce carbon emissions by 40%, meaning buildings have to start the costly construction process now to convert from oil-burner heating and gas stoves to electric heat and stoves in the name of climate improvement.
Owners at Queensview, Inc., a complex of 14 buildings in Long Island City built in 1950, are told the conversion will cost them $62 million, which will boost their monthly maintenance by $1,155 for a one-bedroom apartment. That’s about double. Owners who can’t afford the increase may be forced to sell — at fire-sale prices since their neighbors will be struggling with the same cost hikes.
Mamdani vows to rigorously enforce this lunatic law, expressly opposing what he calls “loopholes,” like selling owners renewable energy credits or offering time extensions to comply. His website mentions assistance “for middle income homeowners,” but he’s never followed up with any specifics.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa opposes Local Law 97, posting on X on June 7 that the law is “forcing longtime New Yorkers out of their apartments they’ve lived in for decades. The cost is just too high. Especially in a housing crisis …”
Candidate Andrew Cuomo has said he’s open to modifying the law. Of course, that would require the City Council going along — a big maybe. An alternative is for the next mayor to slow-walk enforcement. Unless it’s Mamdani.