New York City Mayor Eric Adams has ripped into Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s so-called “socialist” agenda, saying he “doesn’t have the authority” to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers.
In a political upset Tuesday night, Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, beat former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.
Mamdani will be on the ballot against Adams, who dropped out of the primary to run as an independent after his corruption charges were dropped by the Trump administration. Cuomo is also staying in the race on the “Fight & Deliver” ballot line, CNN reported, citing unnamed sources.
Mamdani, who started as a little-known Queens assemblyman, is campaigning on affordability for average New Yorkers. He has promised to freeze rent for stabilized units and make buses free.
In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett Thursday evening, Mamdani said freezing the rent doesn’t cost the city any money, but making buses free would cost around $700 million. He defended his proposed social programs, saying they would be paid for in part by increasing the income taxes on the top one percent of New Yorkers by two percent.
Adams criticized Mamdani’s platform while on The Lead with Jake Tapper Friday evening, telling the CNN host, “I’m competing against him because this is not a socialist city.”
It’s unclear what Adams meant by a “socialist city.” The key characteristic of socialism is that the government controls the means of production rather than private citizens. The New York Times described democratic socialism in a recent article as “an ideology rooted in its opposition to capitalism and wanting to shift power to workers from corporations.”
Adams said Mamdani “ doesn’t have the authority to raise income tax on the top one percent of New Yorkers. Assemblymens have that authority, and that’s who he is. He couldn’t do it in the [New York State] Assembly. How you gonna deliver it as the mayor of the city?”
The mayor also said Mamdani had the authority to make buses free in the Assembly, and that he gave Mamdani a pilot project for it, which he “failed” to carry out.
Adams argued with Tapper when the host said Mamdani has the authority to freeze the rent.
“There’s an independent rent guideline boards that independently make their decisions, so he does not have the authority to do that,” the mayor insisted.
Mamdani did say during his interview with Burnett that freezing the rent is “something that’s determined by the rent guidelines board, composed of nine members.” But that “the mayor picks each of those members.”
Since Adams took office in 2022, the board has raised the rent each year, The City reported.
While Mamdani may wish to replace members of the board if he’s elected, it may not be that easy, as board members are appointed to terms as long as four years.
