New York State Assemblyman and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is facing scrutiny over his occupancy of a rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria while earning a six-figure public salary.
Mamdani pays $2,300 per month for the one-bedroom unit, despite earning $142,000 annually as a legislator, in addition to stipends.
His wife, an artist, also contributes to the household income.
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The controversy escalated Friday after former Governor Andrew Cuomo posted a statement on X that drew 34 million views, questioning why Mamdani and his wife benefit from a housing program intended to provide affordable rents to New Yorkers struggling to afford market rates.
“You are actually very rich, [yet] you and your wife pay $2,300 a month, as you have bragged, for a nice apartment in Astoria,” Cuomo wrote.
“I am calling on you to move out immediately and give your affordable housing back to an unhoused family who needs it.”
Somewhere last night in New York City, a single mother and her children slept at a homeless shelter because you, assemblyman @ZohranKMamdani are occupying her rent controlled apartment.
You grew up rich and married an even wealthier woman. You’ve had weddings on 3 continents.… https://t.co/kWXUI0MxdA pic.twitter.com/mvYZfCO8Af
— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) August 8, 2025
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Cuomo initially claimed Mamdani’s unit was rent-controlled, but later corrected the record to say it was rent-stabilized.
Nearly half of rental apartments in New York City fall under rent stabilization, which limits annual rent increases through the Rent Guidelines Board and guarantees lease renewal rights.
There are no income restrictions for tenants in rent-stabilized units, and access is generally based on availability rather than financial need.
Critics, including Cuomo, argue the system allows higher-income tenants to benefit from housing protections originally intended for low-income and housing-insecure residents.
Mamdani has made housing a key platform of his mayoral campaign, advocating for a freeze on rents for all units under government regulation and for the construction of 200,000 affordable housing units over the next decade.
The arrangement has raised questions about whether policies he supports would benefit residents regardless of income level, including those with salaries and backgrounds similar to his own.
In an interview with the New York Editorial Board, Mamdani expressed skepticism toward means testing for rent-stabilized units, responding to a question about whether higher-income tenants should retain access to such housing by saying he was “deeply skeptical of means testing.”
Cuomo told the New York Post on Sunday that he intends to introduce legislation, dubbed “Zohran’s Law,” to prevent wealthy individuals from living in rent-stabilized apartments.
“We’re not supposed to be providing rent-stabilized apartments to the children of millionaires,” Cuomo said.
Mamdani’s father is a professor at Columbia University, and his mother is a film director with international recognition.
The debate over Mamdani’s apartment has also resurfaced past controversies, including reports that he identified as “African American” on his application to Columbia University despite being of Indian descent and raised in Uganda.
I couldn’t care less about Zohran Mamdani’s race or ethnicity.
What I care about is him lying about being African American while pushing Third World communist policies on America.
Voters deserve honesty. The Democrat Party can’t even give them that. pic.twitter.com/oy2uJZHcjG
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) July 7, 2025
Critics have compared that to his current housing situation, describing both as instances in which he has benefited from programs intended for disadvantaged groups.
As the mayoral campaign continues, the dispute over Mamdani’s rent-stabilized apartment and his position on housing policy has become a focal point in discussions about fairness, eligibility, and the intended purpose of New York City’s rent stabilization system.
The matter has drawn widespread public attention and is likely to remain a point of contention in the upcoming election.
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