Zohran Mamdani, NYC Mayoral Candidate has built his campaign around a vision to overhaul the city’s housing system. He is pushing for rent freezes, property tax reforms, and a redistribution of wealth from “richer and whiter neighborhoods” to underserved, working-class communities in the outer boroughs.
But as he prepares to face off against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in November’s general election, questions are surfacing about the real estate dealings of Mamdani’s own family particularly those of his mother, acclaimed filmmaker and Columbia University professor Mira Nair.
Family’s luxury property raises eyebrows
According to New York Post, Nair, best known for directing films such as Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake, quietly owned a luxury loft in Manhattan’s West Chelsea for over a decade. Public records show she purchased the corner unit at 420 W. 25th St. in 2008 for $1.375 million. The apartment featuring 12-foot ceilings, a high-end Schiffini-designed kitchen, and a lavish en-suite bath was sold in 2019 for $1.45 million. According to real estate platform Redfin, the property is now valued at approximately $1.9 million.
While the ownership was legal and aboveboard, the optics of owning such a high-end property in a “richer, whiter” Manhattan neighbourhood appear at odds with the younger Mamdani’s public calls for housing redistribution.
Mamdani currently represents Astoria in the New York State Assembly and has become a vocal champion of housing justice. His proposals include freezing rents on stabilized units and addressing what he calls a regressive property tax system that favours high-value Manhattan brownstones over modest homes in working-class areas.
“Shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods,” Mamdani’s official housing plan states. Despite his policy stance, his family’s past ownership of a luxury Manhattan property may complicate his message as he tries to present himself as a voice for housing equity.
Mamdani’s personal finances
Mamdani currently lives in a rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment in Queens, where similar units are estimated to rent for around $2,500 per month. According to a 2024 New York Legislative Ethics Commission disclosure, he also owns a 4-acre parcel of land in Uganda, his country of birth, valued between $150,000 and $250,000. He lived there until the age of 7 before moving to the United States. While his own lifestyle aligns with his working-class messaging, his family’s past real estate holdings may prove a point of contention on the campaign trail.
Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary in June, is widely seen as the frontrunner heading into the November election in deep-blue New York City. His main rival, Mayor Eric Adams, is running for re-election as an independent following federal corruption charges in 2024 and increasing calls for his resignation. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa will also be on the ballot, although his chances in the overwhelmingly Democratic city remain slim.