‘Boo hoo’: The New Yorkers who cheered Mamdani’s ‘tax the rich’ video – Gothamist

This column originally appeared in The Politics Brief, our weekly newsletter on the people, power and policies that shape New Yorkers’ lives.

Sign up to get the full version where you can ask questions, share news tips and weigh in on the conversation. Hits inboxes on Wednesdays.

Fordham Road in the Bronx is just an hourlong train ride from Billionaire’s Row in Manhattan. But the bustling thoroughfare might as well be a world away.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing an ongoing backlash from the business world for his victory lap over a proposed pied-à-terre tax, which featured him calling out prominent billionaire Ken Griffin by name while standing outside of the Central Park South building where the hedge fund executive paid $238 million for a penthouse in 2019.

But New Yorkers on Fordham Road said they liked the mayor’s decision to get personal with the uber rich. Fordham Road is the same busy roadway where Mamdani made a viral video talking to voters about the affordability crisis while on the campaign trail last year.

“I’m not going to shed any tears for a billionaire,” 66-year-old Bronx resident Edwin Vega said after being shown the one-minute video. “People are suffering, and the 1% are making so much money. It’s just galling.”

“I think it’s absurd if his feelings are hurt,” the retired housing attorney added. “Well, boo hoo. Who cares?”

Critics have said Mamdani crossed a line by using Griffin’s 24,000-square-foot penthouse to highlight the global elite’s practice of using New York City residences as investments that benefit from the local real estate market, rather than as homes.

Griffin, the CEO of hedge fund Citadel Capital, said this week that the mayor had made a “personal attack” against him. At a banking conference in Norway, he said Mamdani “demonstrated a profound lack of judgement.” He has also threatened to pull the plug on a $6 billion Midtown office project.

The vast majority of Bronx residents we spoke to on Fordham Road hadn’t heard of Mamdani’s video — or Griffin. But most had no qualms with Mamdani’s message after watching the video, which had nearly 52 million views on X as of Thursday morning.

Jasmine Jimenez, a 17-year-old Lehman High School student, said Mamdani helped “New Yorkers open their eyes.”

Edward Cahill, a 58-year-old Upper West Sider, called Mamdani’s video “great” and “realistic.” He scoffed at the idea that the mayor may have endangered Griffin.

“I think the head of a hedge fund is one of the most protected and insulated people,” Cahill said. “He’s got so many resources, so much privilege. He’s going to do what the bottom line dictates. If his feelings are hurt, I think that’s his problem.”

Mamdani has since backed away from targeting the billionaire amid the kerfuffle. Last week, he called Griffin “an important employer and business leader.”

The Citadel CEO is planning to meet with Gov. Kathy Hochul later this week – without the mayor present.

The sentiment on Fordham Road was not unanimous. Elton Mugwambi, a 27-year-old business school student, considered both sides.

“Maybe he was just trying to make a point of a proper example of somebody who’s rich, who needs to be taxed,” he said. “Maybe he didn’t like the guy, I don’t know.”

He said that perhaps Mamdani had gone a little too far by showing Griffin’s building.

“It seems a bit personal,” he said. “But other than that, the whole message and everything, I think it’s good.”

Listen

We want to hear from you

This week, we’re wondering: Do you think Mamdani’s video calling out Ken Griffin was inappropriate?

We’ll share responses in next week’s newsletter. (Sign up!)