Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is vacating his rent-stabilized Astoria pad, and the next tenant is in for a rude awakening with a 35% rent hike.
According to the New York Post, as Mamdani prepares to move into Gracie Mansion after his swearing-in on Jan. 1, 2026, his one-bedroom apartment at 32-15 35th Street in Queens, once rented for a discounted $2,300 a month, will now cost the incoming renter a hefty $3,100 monthly.
For hardworking taxpayers in Queens, this stings—especially when skyrocketing rents are already crushing budgets, with the NYC rental market in absolute chaos and prices at record highs since Mamdani first moved in, piling on a direct financial burden for anyone hunting for a place to live.
Mamdani, a self-proclaimed champion of affordable housing, has lived in this rent-stabilized unit since late 2018, paying a preferential rate well below the legal cap while earning a comfortable $142,000 annually as a Queens assemblyman.
Back when he first rented the apartment, Mamdani made about $47,000 as a housing counselor and claims he didn’t even know the unit was rent-stabilized—a curious oversight for someone now shaping city policy.
Meanwhile, critics point out the irony: the son of a millionaire filmmaker and a tenured Columbia professor benefiting from a discounted lease while everyday New Yorkers scramble to pay market rates.
Adding fuel to the fire, Mamdani lobbied for the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act, effective since June 2025, which banned broker fees but has backfired spectacularly.
Instead of easing costs, fees are now baked into rents, driving prices even higher, while new listings on the Real Estate Board of New York’s service have plummeted by 77%, as brokers dodge the ban with off-market deals like Mamdani’s apartment.
This isn’t just a quirk—it’s a disaster for renters, compounded by 2019 rent reforms that have incentivized some landlords to leave stabilized units empty, shrinking supply and jacking up costs for everyone else.
Now, as Mamdani confirmed to The Post last week that he’s leaving the Astoria spot, the rent spike for the next tenant—still rent-stabilized at $3,100—has drawn sharp rebukes from city leaders.
“This is exactly what New Yorkers are sick of: politicians who benefit from housing arrangements while pushing policies that make rents higher and listings disappear for everyone else,” said Councilman Robert Holden, a conservative Queens Democrat. Holden’s frustration echoes a broader sentiment—how can leaders preach fairness while their own deals seem so out of touch with the struggles of ordinary folks?
“Isn’t that just the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York in a nutshell?” said NYC Council Minority Leader Joanne Ariola (R-Queens), pointing to a pattern of progressive policies that seem to benefit the well-connected.
While Mamdani prepares to settle into Gracie Mansion with his wife, Rama Duwaji, the off-market leasing of his old apartment underscores how broken the system is—landlords and brokers are forced to skirt rules just to stay afloat under laws Mamdani supported.
Ultimately, Gotham’s rent-stabilized framework, meant to protect tenants, often ends up favoring a select few while distorting the market, leaving regular New Yorkers to foot the bill with higher market-rate rents—a mess that demands real scrutiny, not just soundbites, as Mamdani steps into the mayor’s office.
