Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani doubled down Sunday on his plan to jack up property taxes on “richer and whiter neighborhoods” — while asserting billionaires shouldn’t exist.
Mamdani — dubbed “the Fidel Castro of New York” by one deep-pocketed critic — claimed his soak-the-rich proposal was “not driven by race” despite his campaign platform explicitly targeting white homeowners.
“That is just a description of what we see right now. It’s not driven by race. It’s more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being under-taxed versus over-taxed,” Mamdani told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“We’ve seen time and again that this is a property tax system that is inequitable. It’s one that actually Eric Adams ran on, saying that he would change in the first 100 days,” the pol said.
The presumptive Democratic nominee for New York City mayor shrugged off concerns that invoking race could alienate voters, arguing he’s “just naming things as they are.”
The socialist bemoaned the shrinking tax base in the Big Apple but pinned the blame on the soaring cost of living pushing people out of the city while touting his plans to raise taxes on the 1%.
“We are talking about our tax base growing smaller and smaller each day, with New Yorkers leaving to New Jersey, to Pennsylvania, to Connecticut,” Mamdani said.” If we do not meet this moment, we will lose the city.”
While acknowledging that he doesn’t have the power to raise taxes at the level he wants without the state government’s approval, Mamdani pointed to his ability to take what “is considered a nonstarter and make it seem inevitable.”
He also suggested that billionaires shouldn’t exist.
“I don’t think that we should have billionaires, frankly,” he said.
New York City is home to more billionaires than any town in the world — with 123.
Mamdani was specifically asked about billionaire John Catsimatidis, who owns the Gristedes supermarket chain and has threatened to sell his stores if the Democratic Socialist is elected mayor.
“In order to run New York City suddenly as mayor, do you not need the support of a billionaire businessman like John Catsimatidis?” host Kristen Welker asked.
Mamdani replied, “I don’t know if I need his support specifically.
“But I want to make clear that my vision for this city is a vision for every single New Yorker, including business leaders across the city,” he said.
“And the reason I say that is that my proposals, even the ones to increase the top corporate tax rate of New York to match that of New Jersey, are ones that would also benefit those business leaders. Because when I have conversations with them, what I also hear is just how expensive this city is, which is preventing them from attracting and retaining the talent they need to grow their business.”
Catsimatidis, who also owns WABC radio, did not take kindly to Mamdani saying billionaires like him shouldn’t exist.
“Zohran is trying to be the Fidel Castro of New York,” Catsimatidis told The Post.
Cats said that in 1990, he visited Cuba, which he described as a failed country.
“If Zohran is elected mayor, he’ll make New York City the next Detroit,” Catsimatidis added.
Mamdani, during Sunday’s interview, also again refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which many people believe is a rallying cry to harm or kill Jews. Welker asked him three times why he wouldn’t condemn it.
“That’s not language that I use. The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead this city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights,” he said.
“I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech in the manner.”
But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents parts of Brooklyn, said on ABC’s “This Week” program Sunday that “globalize the intifada” is clearly inflammatory language.
” ‘Globalizing the intifada’ by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing. He’s gonna have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward,” Jeffries said of Mamdani.
Mamdani said he is confident he will win the general election in November.
He’s up against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams running as an independent, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom he defeated in the primary and may campaign on an independent ballot line, and independent Jim Walden.
“Ultimately, it’s a referendum and how [Adams] made this city so unaffordable,” Mamdani said of the race. “For too long, politicians have pretended to simply be bystanders to a cost of living crisis. They’ve actually exacerbated it. And our vision is one that will respond to it and make this a city affordable for every New Yorker.”
