Mamdani, housing appointee promote ‘collectivism’ over private property rights, say whites will be most impacted

Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and one of his appointees are boldly promoting “collectivism” over private property rights. 

Mamdani, who was sworn in Jan. 1, vowed in his inaugural speech Friday to “replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” 

The democratic socialist pledged to “return the vast resources of this city to the workers who call it home” by delivering “universal child care for the many by taxing the wealthiest few,” making city buses free and freezing rents. 

“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,” he said, later adding, “I was elected as a Democratic socialist and I will govern as a Democratic socialist.” 

Opposing private property 

One of Mamdani’s first acts was to reestablish the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and appoint Cea Weaver, a longtime housing activist, as its head. Shortly after, concerning posts from Weaver began to resurface online. 

“Private property including and kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy masquerading as ‘wealth building’ public policy,” she wrote in 2019. 

In a resurfaced video, Weaver, who is also a democratic socialist, criticized private property ownership. 

“For centuries, we’ve really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good,” she said, “and transitioning to treating it as a collective good and towards a model of shared equity will require that we think about it differently.” 

And who will be most impacted by the change? 

“It will mean that families, especially white families, but some (people of color) families, who are homeowners as well, are going to have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have.” 

A June 13, 2018, X post from Weaver was more blunt: “Seize private property!” Newsweek reported. 

Weaver also wrote last year that freezing rents “is one of the only things (the mayor) can unilaterally do for 2.4 million New York renters,” she wrote on BlueSky. “Policy plans are great, so is a rent freeze.” 

The city has 1 million rent-controlled apartments, Newsweek reported, although there are questions about whether the mayor has authority on his own to freeze rents. 

National notice 

The nation’s largest city has nearly 8.5 million residents, making it larger than all but 12 U.S. states. Policy changes there receive national, and sometimes international, attention. 

Mamdani, 35, swept into power with a grassroots campaign that saw him defeat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. His campaign included bold promises to make the city more affordable, but some have questioned whether he will be able to deliver. 

President Donald Trump was a noted critic but softened his tone after meeting with Mamdani in November. 

“I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump said. “I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually, and some very liberal people.” 

However, Mamdani reportedly called Trump Saturday to voice his objections to the U.S. capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and detaining him in Brooklyn, New York, and called the move “a violation of federal and international law” in an X post. 

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights with the U.S. Department of Justice, posted Tuesday that the city is “on high scrutiny” and her department is ready to “swoop in and do what’s necessary to protect all citizens and taxpayers and residents of New York.” 

“Just because you’re white doesn’t mean you have fewer rights in this country,” Dillon said in a video posted on X. “We all have equal rights in our country, and we will not stand for New York City violating any federal law whatsoever.” 

The New York Libertarian Party criticized the socialist agenda reflected in Weaver’s video. 

“Property rights represent true freedom, not collectivization,” it wrote.