Cuomo tears into Mamdani’s ‘freeze the rent’ plan with scorching critique that left the debate room stunned.NH
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo skewered mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani’s key “freeze the rent” policy proposal — dismissing it as “blather” — throughout Wednesday’s final mayoral debate.
The heated takedown came as Mamdani held firm on his signature campaign platform from the stage at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City.
“I’m going to deep freeze the rent. People think it applies to all of them. No, just the 25% of the units that are really stabilized,” Mamdani said.
Cuomo, who came to the debate stocked with withering zingers, cast Mamdani’s proposal as as an unrealistic slogan for social media.
“It doesn’t work,” he said. “It’s a canard and just a great three-word slogan for TikTok.”
The back-and-forth came amid the rapid-fire, contentious second debate between the pair and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
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Mamdani, in keeping with his focus on affordability, stressed that Big Apple residents deserve relief as he proposes tougher rent controls across New York City.
“We’ve seen a lot of inflation in recent years” the democratic socialist said.
“You know, we’ve seen time and again mayors use their power with the Rent Guidelines Board to hike the rent on those same more than 2 million New Yorkers,” he continued.
“Their response? Hike the rent on rent to rent stabilized tenants who have a median household income of $60,000.I believe the tenants across our city deserve relief, and I also believe that city government can work to alleviate the pressures for landlords of those units without having to put that burden on those same tenants,” he said.
“It’s possible to keep New Yorkers in this city and to help landlords with rising insurance costs, water bills, Con Edison and a broken property tax system.”
The rent regulation program, which caps how much landlords can raise rent each year on roughly 1 million apartments, does not currently include any income restrictions — something opponents have long pushed to change.
While the average rent stabilized household makes $60,000 annually, it is not uncommon for middle- or higher-income New Yorkers to live in the units, which sometimes rent for several thousand dollars per month.
Mamdani himself would benefit from his rent-freeze plan.
He earns $143,000 annually as a state legislator, but he pays just $2,300 per month for a rent stabilized one-bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens that he shares with his wife.
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Cuomo contended that despite Mamdani’s lofty promises, as mayor he couldn’t do much of anything to stabilize rents.
“And by the way, it’s all because the mayor doesn’t have the power to do it anyway. The Rent Guidelines Board does, and he doesn’t control the Rent Guidelines board, so nothing is going to happen,” he said to applause.
“It’s just the old political blather, Mr. Mamdani.”
The mayor does appoint members to the Rent Guidelines Board who are supposed to represent varied interests, including both landlords and tenant interests.
Mamdani acknowledged that rent reality, but smoothly turned it into an attack on Cuomo’s persistent naysaying.
“If you want a candidate for mayor who tells you everything that he cannot do, then Andrew Cuomo should be your choice,” he said. “If you want a candidate for mayor who will use every tool at their disposal, including the nine appointees at the Rent Guidelines Board, all of whom are appointed by the mayor, then I am the candidate for you.”
Mamdani is currently leading the polls with 43% of the vote, with Cuomo following behind with 29% of support, and Sliwa in third with 19%, according to data released Monday.
If the beret-wearing GOP firebrand dropped out of the race, Mamdani would hold only a slim lead over the former governor – 44.6% to 40.7%, according to the poll.
Wednesday’s debate is the final face-to-face meeting between the candidates before the Nov. 4 general election.
Early voting will begin on Saturday and end nine days later on Sunday, Nov. 2.
