New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani is learning fast that governing is harder than campaigning. Four months into his term, a multibillion-dollar budget deficit is forcing him to find creative, and controversial, ways to pay for signature promises like free buses and city-owned grocery stores.
Often in the company of leading democrats such as Senator Bernie Sanders, or last week former President Barack Obama, Mamdani is clearly a popular figure in the party. However, national leaders like Senator Chuck Schumer or House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries have been slow to support him. One of his biggest supporters is Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has emerged as one of his closest progressive allies
Mamdani even met with President Donald Trump in the White House in the early days of his leadership. A strong mutual love for NYC brought the two leaders together, for a time. More recently Trump has become more adversarial, accusing Mamdani of “destroying New York” on the Truth Social platform.
Those tensions boiled over publicly on Tax Day when Mamdani took his pied-à-terre tax pitch straight to the doorstep of Citadel’s CEO.
Trump’s sharpest rebuke yet.
Is New York’s Mayor Destroying the City?
On April 15, a normal Wednesday in the Big Apple, Mayor Mamdani posted a video on the X platform. The video, about a pied-à-terre tax, showed the mayor committing to a new tax that would raise $500 million to help fund things like free childcare, cleaner streets, and safer neighborhoods. The tax would hit only properties valued above $5 million.
In the backdrop to the video, you can see a large, tall building. The mayor informs viewers of the video (that has now been seen over 50 million times) that the penthouse in this building belongs to Kenneth Griffin, the CEO of Citadel, the leading hedge fund. Additionally, the mayor adds how the property was bought for $238 million, implying that the owner of the property won’t mind a little extra tax on a property the mayor explains is rarely inhabited.
It was likely this tweet from Mamdani that got a reaction from President Trump. But it wasn’t only the President who reacted to the video.
Citadel’s COO Responds to New York’s Mayor
In an internal memo seen by Reuters last week, Citadel has objected to Mamdani’s attempt to use Griffin’s name to push his tax policies.
“It is shameful that he used Ken’s name as the example of those who supposedly aren’t carrying their fair share of the burdens associated with New York City’s often costly and wasteful spending,” Citadel Chief Operating Officer Gerald Beeson said in the memo.
Beeson added how Citadel’s principals and team members have paid nearly $2.3 billion in taxes in NYC in the past five years.
To make matters worse, Citadel may now reconsider its investment into a big Midtown Manhattan project:
“We are about to commence the redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, creating 6,000 highly paid construction jobs and supporting the creation of more than 15,000 permanent jobs in mid-town New York. The project – if we move forward – will entail more than $6 billion dollars of spending,” Beeson said.
Mamdani Responds to Citadel’s concerns
On Friday the Mayor responded to the leaked memo.
“That home, when it was purchased, was the most expensive home in the United States of America, publicly reported, and it was described as such,” Mamdani said.
The New York Post reported that on Friday the mayor was asked if he was concerned about the possibility of Citadel’s reversal on the project. Mamdani didn’t answer directly but said he wants all New Yorkers, including Griffin, to succeed.
“I want New Yorkers to succeed. I want them to build businesses, to grow our economy and to create good paying jobs. And Ken Griffin has been a part of that. He’s an important employer and business leader in our city, and as I do with every New Yorker, I do want him to succeed, as mayor,” he said.
“I will continue to work with business leaders, including Mr. Griffin, as partners in building a city that continues to be the economic engine, not just of this state, but also of this country,” he continued.
“We all want this city to succeed, and that is something that I’m committed to, no matter a question of unanimity on every single political issue,” he said.
Mamdani added that he was intent on balancing the city’s budget “in a manner that asks the wealthiest and most profitable corporations to pay that a little bit more so that everyone can afford to live in the city.”
“And that means Ken Griffin, and that means so many others across the city, and that also means those who would love to join us.”
“I say these things not because I do not want these individuals to be here in New York City or to purchase property in New York City,” he insisted, “but rather to outline that we are talking about a proposal that will have a very narrow impact, and one that is being driven by an intention to ensure that everyone can remain in the city, including those that are taxed.”
Whether business leaders like Griffin will accept the olive branch, or take their projects elsewhere, may define how far Mamdani can push his agenda.
Author: Andy Samu
See Also:
How Citadel’s Peng Zhao is Disrupting Capital Markets | Disruption Banking
‘Mapping uncertainty’ | Is Kenneth Griffin Banking on Trump?
