Politics and policy changes under Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani were central concerns for leading figures in New York’s commercial real estate sector at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate capital markets conference on Wednesday.
Jeff Blau of Related Companies described the industry’s main concern as “political risk at all levels,” referring to uncertainty stemming from national, state, and city government decisions. He was joined by Bill Rudin of Rudin Management, Winston Fisher of Fisher Brothers, and Mary Ann Tighe of CBRE for a panel discussion focused on how upcoming political shifts could impact the market.
The group discussed Mamdani’s proposed social programs, such as free childcare and subsidized transportation. Winston Fisher argued that these measures are not just social policies but also have economic implications that could help retain families in New York City. He highlighted the high cost of early childhood care as a significant burden on working- and middle-class residents and suggested targeted free bus service, particularly for CUNY students, to help more people complete their education.
“There’s a real estate angle that he’s talking about, but it is infinitely deeper than that,” Fisher said. “We are tethered to New York. We have to help him solve these problems because they are growing every day.”
Mary Ann Tighe cautioned against combining housing legislation with broader social mandates. “One of the challenges for this mayor is there’s a lot of virtue signaling going on — free this, free that,” she said. “But the reality of it is, you have to understand if you want to build housing, focus on building housing. Because if there’s anything that history has shown us, you make a clear, crisp piece of legislation that has a target, and these folks will make it a reality.”
Blau expressed hope that Mamdani would continue policies designed to attract companies to New York City. “The reason companies come here is because talent wants to be here,” Blau said. “In my opinion, it’s the mayor’s job to make New York City the place where people want to continue to come.”
Panelists also addressed the city’s ongoing housing shortage. Bill Rudin pointed out issues related to vacant rent-stabilized units being kept off-market due to restrictions on rent increases: “Raise that cap, you would see within six months these units come back on the market,” he said. Rudin added that this point had been communicated directly to Mamdani and his team.
The need for collaboration between city officials and private developers was another recurring theme. Panelists criticized aspects of the 485x tax break program—specifically its wage floor requirement for larger projects—which they argue makes large-scale development less feasible.
“There’s a plethora of opportunities to continue to create more housing,” Fisher said. He stressed the importance of incentives: “That’s the rub. I think if he allows private capital to come in and have an adequate return, private capital will build.”
Despite their concerns about uncertainty under new leadership, participants remained cautiously optimistic about New York City’s future resilience and adaptability in changing political circumstances.
Fisher noted Mamdani’s learning curve as he transitions into office: “He sort of plays the ‘I didn’t realize how complex it was gonna be’ card very often, and with that, he says, ‘I’ll be more pragmatic now,’” Fisher said. “I just don’t know if that’s true or not. We’ll find out shortly, but he is learning very quickly that there’s a ton of powerful constituencies that have a real voice, and when they speak, you have no choice but to listen.”
