New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has confirmed he and his wife will live in Gracie Mansion. This historic building is the official home of the city’s mayor and is located next to the East River.
Mamdani, who is 34 years old, shared the update on Instagram. He posted a picture of a small model of Gracie Mansion from the New York Botanical Garden.
He wrote: “Went to the NY Botanical Garden’s train show last week, and saw our new home! My wife Rama and I have made the decision to move into Gracie Mansion in January.”
Mamdani added that the move is for safety reasons and will help him focus on “enacting the affordability agenda New Yorkers voted for.”
Change from current home
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, have lived in a rent-stabilised one-bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens, for many years. During the campaign, his living situation became a point of argument.
His opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, criticised him and said that his $142,000 state assembly salary was too high for a rent-stabilised home. The New York Times reported that Cuomo once lived in such a property too.
Mamdani focused on affordability during his campaign. He supports a rent freeze for around one million rent-stabilised apartments in New York City.
Details about Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion is 226 years old. It is one of the oldest wooden structures in New York City. The mansion has more than 10,000 square feet, five bedrooms, a ballroom, and views of the East River. This will place the new mayor in a different borough after years of living in Queens. He served Astoria as a New York state assemblyman for four years.
Mamdani wrote, “We will miss much about our home in Astoria. Cooking dinner side by side in our kitchen, sharing a sleepy elevator ride with our neighbors in the evening, hearing music and laughter vibrate through the walls of the apartment. He also added, “To Astoria: thank you for showing us the best of New York City.”
Gracie Mansion became the mayor’s official home in 1942 when Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia moved in. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not live there. Instead, he stayed in his own private residence and allowed Gracie Mansion to be used more by the public.
