Cuomo Accuses Mamdani of Misusing Rent-Stabilized Housing

Andrew Cuomo, the former New York state governor, has escalated his mayoral campaign against Zohran Mamdani by accusing the state assembly member of benefiting from a rent-stabilized apartment that he does not deserve [1]. Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic socialist and mayoral candidate, resides in a one-bedroom apartment in Queens with his wife and pays $2,300 per month, a cost Cuomo dismissed as “disgusting” [2]. In a widely shared social media post, Cuomo demanded that Mamdani “move out immediately,” calling him a “very rich person” and arguing that the apartment could be better used by a homeless family [3]. The statement has reignited a debate over who should qualify for rent-stabilized housing, a system that caps annual rent increases and is currently open to residents of all income levels.

To further the attack, Cuomo proposed a policy he dubbed “Zohran’s Law,” which would bar landlords from renting vacant rent-stabilized units to tenants whose rent would cost less than 30% of their income [4]. This would effectively require new tenants to allocate a significant portion of their earnings toward housing—something critics say sets people up for financial failure [5]. The policy aligns with long-standing calls for income restrictions on rent-stabilized housing, but housing advocates argue that such a move would create a “bureaucratic nightmare” and disrupt the stability of the program [6].

Mamdani, who defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary with a platform focused on affordability and rent freezes, has criticized the proposal as a political stunt rather than a serious housing reform [7]. His campaign spokesperson, Dora Pekec, said the proposal showed that Cuomo is “desperate and out of touch,” adding that Mamdani believes housing is a right, not a privilege [8]. Mamdani has also pointed out that Cuomo himself does not live in a rent-stabilized apartment, instead paying $8,000 per month for a unit in Manhattan’s upscale Sutton Place neighborhood [9].

The former governor’s campaign has defended the policy by stating it mirrors income thresholds used in other public housing programs and does not apply to current occupants of stabilized units [10]. However, housing experts remain skeptical, noting that rent-stabilized housing is not an affordability program but rather one that promotes neighborhood stability [11]. The Real Estate Board of New York, a landlord group that largely supported Cuomo in the primary, has not formally endorsed the proposal but acknowledged that rent regulation is not well targeted and could benefit from means testing [12].

As the mayoral race enters its final stretch, the debate over rent-stabilized housing has become a central issue in New York City’s political landscape. With nearly a million units under rent stabilization, the policy implications of Cuomo’s proposal could reshape the city’s housing market—and its political future [13].

Sources:

[1] Fortune, https://fortune.com/2025/08/12/cuomo-mamdani-rental-apartment-rent-stabilized-new-york-city/

[2] Yahoo, https://ca.news.yahoo.com/andrew-cuomo-swipes-zohran-mamdani-190916812.html

[3] amNewYork, https://www.amny.com/news/mamdani-cuomo-rent-stabilized-means-testing/

[4] Fox News, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cuomo-proposes-zohrans-law-protect-rent-stabilized-housing-from-wealthy

[5] U.S. News, https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2025-08-12/andrew-cuomo-swipes-at-zohran-mamdani-over-a-classic-new-york-topic-rent

[6] The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/nyregion/cuomo-mamdani-apartment-rent-control.html

[8] The New York Post, https://nypost.com/2025/08/12/us-news/zohran-mamdani-mentions-andrew-cuomo-in-same-breath-as-jeffrey-epstein-in-new-video/