The Business Freakout Over Mamdani Peters Out, Mostly

By Greg David, The City

Sept. 29, 2025, 5:00 a.m.

Earlier this month, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York used a public forum to send a message to his members who are still desperately trying to stop Zohran Mamdani from becoming mayor.

Saying he sees no reason to doubt the polls that show Mamdani with a double-digit lead, James Whelan told a Crain’s New York Business breakfast that REBNY “will be looking to work closely with Mayor Mandani if he is the mayor on Nov. 4.”

He added that in a private meeting that included REBNY chair and Brooklyn real estate developer Jed Walentas of Two Trees Management, Mamdani came across as “personable” and a “good listener.”

Given that Mamdani’s plan to freeze rent-regulated apartment rents, raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations and increase city spending are anathema to most real estate executives and many other business people, Whelan’s olive branch marked a signal moment in the campaign.

Coverage of business involvement in the mayor’s race continues to focus on the executives — primarily in real estate and finance — who have poured money into the race, backing either former Gov. Andrew Cuomo or Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the race Sunday. But in fact, most business leaders have moved on, believing that Mamdani will win and that it is time to create relationships with him.

“Most business leaders want to be in a position to help Mamdani in pursuit of his goals of making the city more affordable and more equitable,” said Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, which represents the city’s largest corporations. “Their concern is whether his administration will be able to achieve them.”

On Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that the OneNYC independent expenditure group supporting Mamdani is organizing a business advisory committee and that it would include Andrew Milgram, who runs the investment firm Marblegate Asset Management, and Kevin Ryan, the city’s foremost founder and investor in tech companies who is also a key figure in the Partnership and the trade group Tech:NYC.

The sentiment isn’t much different among organizations representing much smaller businesses. Some members of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce are still hoping for an alternative while others are looking ahead to a Mamdani administration, said Chamber President Jessica Walker. She’s already at work on a day-one roadmap for the new mayor on what needs to be done for her members.

“Whoever becomes mayor needs to have a real plan for our economy, period,” she added. “These are non-negotiable: a real plan for safe streets, a serious commitment to cutting the red tape that kills small shops and a clear signal that New York City is open for business.”

Those who continue to hope and finance an alternative fall into three main groups. Owners of rent regulated buildings that see Mandani’s four-year rent freeze plan bringing financial room. Older Jewish executives who see his pro-Palestinian stance as a threat to Israel. And hedge fund titans who would be most affected by his plans to raise taxes on the rich believe that they can impose their will by spending money, even though that strategy failed so badly in the primary.

Some business leaders have decided they are no longer good at taking the political pulse of the city. Ken Fischer, the noted land-use lawyer and former City Council member, said the younger staffers at his firm kept telling him that Mamdani would win. He didn’t think that would happen.

Of course, the vast majority of business people, like other voters, are not following the election news closely. It is now the fourth quarter, the most crucial time for executives as they wrap up the year, notes Julie Samuels, the head of Tech: NYC. When the election is over, they will expect their trade groups to engage with the new mayor on the issues that are important.

Business leaders say they are most concerned with who Mamdani, who has limited executive experience, will appoint to key positions. Every business leader contacted by THE CITY mentioned public safety as a top concern and see the decision whether to retain Jessica Tisch as police commissioner as an early bellwether.

An August New York Times story on Mamdani’s inner circle raised eyebrows because of how young its members were and how progressive their views are. Many of the people Mamdani was reportedly reaching out to were from the de Blasio Administration, which is remembered as inflexibly anti-business.

Comptroller Brad Lander, who is widely believed to be in line for a key appointment given his support of Mamdani during the primary campaign, doesn’t help matters because business leaders regard him as too progressive and unrealistic, especially on issues like property tax breaks.

Maria Torres-Springer, the highly respected Adams deputy mayor for housing and economic development who resigned with two others to protest the mayor’s efforts to bend to Trump Administration policies, has been named head of the Charles H. Revson Foundation, taking her out of consideration for a job in a Mamdani administration. (The Revson Foundation is a supporter of THE CITY).

But no matter what happens with appointments, the leaders of the city’s business organizations are in agreement on their task.

“As an association, we have an obligation to work with whoever the next mayor is to support restaurants and nightlife, while also pushing back against anti-small business policies and proposals when necessary,” said Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York Hospitality Alliance.

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.