Op-ed: Mamdani economic fallout ahead as socialist agenda takes hold in New York City

New York City is headed into uncharted territory as Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani prepares to implement the sweeping promises he made to redistribute property in the city.

Mamdani promised everything from rent freezes and publicly owned grocery stores to free bus rides and an aggressive tax hike on the wealthy.

Analysts warn the fallout will soon trigger damaging consequences.

On the housing front, Mamdani has pledged a root-and-branch approach that could see prices tumble. 

Mamdani’s “housing justice” dream reads like an eviction notice for the middle class. 

Critics say rent freezes will choke supply; Soviet-style “tenant protections” will make landlords flee; and 200,000 “affordable units” no one can afford to build without heavy subsidies provided by government will squeeze out the middle class.  

“Developers are reluctant to build in areas where their properties may become subject to rent controls,” Shannon McGahn, chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors, told Fox Business. 

McGahn noted there is already a nationwide shortage of about 5 million units, with experts saying about 10% of that total is in New York City alone. 

Adding to the burden would be Mamdani’s proposed fare-free bus and transit rides and universal childcare. 

Nathan Willett, a Republican member of Kansas City’s City Council, where free buses have been tried, warned in a New York Post op-ed, there’s no such thing as a free bus. 

“Kansas City learned that Zero Fare, like the other socialistic policies Mamdani is proposing for New York, had dire real-life consequences that are never contemplated at the Democratic Socialists’ organizing meetings,” wrote Willett. 

Plus, tax hikes of the magnitude needed to support so many free services require state legislative approval and may trigger capital flight, slower business investment or reduced city revenues when high earners relocate. 

A recent survey showed that even before Mamdani made all his big money promises, New York and California were losing the most numbers of high earners. 

In New York, the adjusted gross income per household lost due to 2024 migration was estimated at $1,194,676.  

Then there’s the grocery proposal.  

Mamdani wants a network of city-owned supermarkets (one per borough) that operate at cost, avoid rent/property tax burdens and pass savings onto consumers. 

Sounds good if someone else will pay the tab forever, but eventually the money runs out.   

Already grocery stores operate on 1.7% net margins for food.  

Similar experiments elsewhere failed – because it’s hard to pass along savings when the net profits are so small.  

The Lion reported earlier this year about a city-run market in Missouri recently shuttered after failing to stock basic goods despite millions in taxpayer backing. 

Mamdani’s plan relies on higher taxes to boost new city-run enterprises.  

But implementation risk in any business is high. 

For example, billionaire Mark Cuban, who is no conservative, admitted the parts of the Mamdani campaign, such as cutting rents and government grocery stores, have no chance.   

When things go wrong, New York City will face a triple whammy of housing stagnation, daily service strain and budget shock. 

For a city that already spends nearly $120 billion annually and is facing a financial strain of $17 billion and counting, there is no margin for error. 

“Given the recent unpredictability of federal fiscal and economic policy choices, the city should be preparing for scenarios where its federal, state and locally derived resources may be impacted,” said Democrat State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. “This would include curtailing new discretionary spending unless a funding source is identified.” 

Mamdani’s problem is that the funding sources are fleeing the state already at a rate of 12,000 high income households annually, according to SmartAsset’s review of IRS data.  

And as Willett warned about Kansas City buses, New York City, if not careful, could end up being what amounts to a “dangerous homeless shelter” disguised as the largest city in America as the outflow continues.