Zohran Mamdani does not take office until January 1, 2026, but the self-avowed Socialist Democrat has already prompted New Yorkers to begin their exit plans. Mamdani, who opposes capitalism and wants to "seize the means of production," has publicly declared that billionaires should not exist:
"I don't think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality," he said in June.
Many political observers are stunned that New Yorkers chose a communist Muslim as their leader, but Brigitte Gabriel, founder and president of ACT for America, has long been sounding the alarm about the "Red-Green Axis" – the leftists and Islamists organizing, networking, strategizing, and running their own elected officials.
"This is the reality we live in today," she tells AFN. "The average American looks at what happened in New York, and they are shocked. He is going to be very bad for New York."
Mamdani's success has been attributed to his promises to make the city more affordable for the working class by freezing rent for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments, providing free childcare for young children, and making all city buses fare-free.
He also promised to build 200,000 permanently affordable housing units over the next 10 years, establish city-owned grocery stores to offer lower cost healthy food to underserved neighborhoods, and raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030.
He plans to fund many of these initiatives by increasing taxes on corporations and incomes above $1 million, but Gabriel does not think that will work out, as she expects to see a "mass exodus of capitalists and of Jews."
"Let's face it; the majority of businesses in New York are owned by Jewish people – very successful financial firms, hedge funds," she submits. "[Mamdani] wants to tax the top 1% of New Yorkers, but the top 1% of New Yorkers pay almost 50% of taxes, and it is those, the top 1%, who can actually relocate."
There has been a measurable uptick in businesses and wealthy individuals signaling relocation or expansion out of NYC because of Mamdani's election. That includes John Catsimatidis of the Red Apple Group, a major NYC grocery/retail operator.
Also, at least 27 NYC companies have reportedly filed to expand operations in Florida, and another nine filed to relocate entirely to Florida after his election was finalized.
However, some of Mamdani's proposed policies will be subject to legal, administrative, and budgetary constraints, so the business climate change may not be immediate.
