Exclusive | Zohran Mamdani’s rent-stabilized Astoria apartment renting for 35% more than socialist lawmaker paid: ‘hypocrisy’
This apartment is fetching an eye‑popping premium. A rent‑stabilized unit in Astoria, Queens—once occupied by newly elected New York City Mayor‑elect Zohran Mam Mamdani—now carries a monthly rate of $3,100, a jump of about $800 (or 35 %) over what Mam Mamdani paid before.
Mamdani, who will move into Gracie Mansion with his wife, the artist Rama Duwaji, after taking office Jan. 1, maintained a one‑bedroom, two‑story loft at 32‑15 35th Street for seven years while paying roughly $2,300 per month. His landlord had offered him a “preferential rent,” a temporary discount that rent‑stabilized landlords sometimes extend to entice tenants in a sluggish market. That discount ultimately fell below what the unit was legally allowed to charge.
The skyline of rent has shifted dramatically since Mam Mamdani signed on. The city’s Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act—banning broker fees that were quietly built into rents—went into effect in June. The prohibition has made many landlords prefer off‑market listings to sidestep the ban, driving up the prices landlords set on rent‑stabilized units. A study by real‑estate consultancy UrbanDigs revealed that listings on New York City’s Residential Listing Service collapsed by 77 % after the FARE Act, as more brokers removed properties from the public grid.
The result has been a supply squeeze for rent‑stabilized apartments, pushing available units to record highs. Consequently, the next tenant has to pay a higher fee than the “nepo baby” did, even though the apartment is still legally protected under rent‑stabilization.
The situation has sparked strong reactions across municipal politics. New York City Council Minority Leader Joanne Ariola (R‑Queens) slammed the policy as an example of “Democratic Socialists of America’s New York in a nutshell,” noting how the landlord’s off‑market move raises the price for everyone else. Council member Robert Holden, a conservative Queens Democrat, echoed that sentiment, saying the mayor’s “affordability” promises are hypocritical if they apply only to him.
Mamdani himself has faced scrutiny for years. While earning $142,000 as a Queens assemblyman and coming from a wealthy family, he lived in this inexpensive unit—paying about $47,000 a year in 2018 as a foreclosure‑prevention housing counselor, according to his own statement. He has also taken to social media to question rent hikes, tweeting in 2019 that his unit now costs $2,000 a month compared to $290.60 in 1984, and urging residents to check their own rent‑stabilization status.
Mamdani confirmed last week his intent to vacate the Astoria apartment and move into Gracie Mansion. He declined The Post’s attempts to get him to comment further on the new rent figure.
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