New York City’s business community and Mayor Zohran Mamdani aren’t letting their diametrically different takes on the world stand in the way of forging a good working relationship, it seems.
Mamdani has repeatedly called for raising taxes on the rich and has criticized corporations. Tycoons of business bashed the democratic socialist and backed his opponent in the election.
But two-and-a-half months into Mamdani’s administration, a picture is emerging of a mayor who picks up the phone when business leaders call, even if they are bound to disagree.
“I’m not getting into details, but we do talk,” said John Catsimatidis, the Republican billionaire grocer and the owner of WABC, a conservative radio station whose hosts routinely attack Mamdani.
Asked how he feels about their unexpected relationship, Catsimatidis said, “Listen, I shot every bullet I had at him. And look, he is the mayor.”
Political observers have long scrutinized mayors and their ability to cultivate relationships with the private sector. Powerbrokers are incentivized to flaunt a direct line to City Hall even if they disagree with the administration’s politics.
But a cloudy outlook for New York City’s economy is drawing sharper focus on Mamdani’s approach. Veteran economist James Parrott said that not counting health care and social services, private sector job growth experienced a net decline. But Mamdani and his administration officials have said little about job creation, and he has yet to name a head of a key agency tasked with economic development.
At the same time, the city is grappling with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit that has rattled some experts.
The credit ratings agency Moody’s revised the city’s fiscal outlook on Wednesday from “stable” to “negative” because of large projected budget gaps that it said “signal underlying structural imbalance and reduced financial flexibility,” The change does not alter the city’s credit rating – which affects its borrowing costs — it was the first time since the pandemic that Moody’s downgraded the city’s outlook.
Mamdani has said that raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations and having Albany agree to deliver a larger share of aid to the city are the keys to addressing the budget woes.
Steve Fulop, the head of the Partnership for New York City, a business advocacy group, has called Mamdani’s proposal to increase corporate taxes “absolute suicide.” He’s also warned that a tax hike on the rich is misguided because it could potentially drive them out of the city.
“People can resent the wealthy, but the math doesn’t change: a small number of taxpayers fund a large share of the system,” he recently wrote on X.
Nonetheless, he spoke positively about Mamdani’s working relationship and his outreach to business leaders.
“While we may disagree on some policy issues, the mayor has been communicative and engaged with me personally,” Fulop said via text message. “He’s made an effort to maintain an open line of dialogue with the business community, which I think is important.”
Fulop, however, declined to specify how recently Mamdani met with members of his organization, which includes many of the city’s top power brokers.
Julie Samuels, the president of TECH: NYC, a group of industry leaders, said she also speaks with Mamdani. “It’s still early days, but we’re cautiously optimistic that we’re going to find things to work on,” she said.
“The mayor stays in communication with local business leaders across the city because he believes that they have an important role to play in addressing the affordability crisis,” said Joe Calvello, the mayor’s press secretary, in a statement.
Calvello also would not say how often Mamdani meets with business leaders.
Another key sticking point between Mamdani and the business community has been his focus on “economic justice,” which has included new worker and consumer protections, and the mayor joining striking nurses on the picket line.
Some experts say the mayor is rightly pouring his energies into policies that will attract businesses and talent rather than simply being a vocal booster. “That’s the root of his focus on making New York City affordable,” Parrott said. “It will help the city be a magnet for young talent. I think the mayor really understands that.”
Julie Su, the deputy mayor for economic justice, said City Hall was building both a “fairer” and stronger economy.
“Our priorities — child care, housing, accessible public transit, and more — are economic policy,” Su said in a statement. “They make NYC a better place to invest. They make it possible for more New Yorkers to work, build wealth, and live with dignity.”
The mayor’s office said that interviews for the president of the Economic Development Corporation are still underway.
The agency is tasked with leading big job-generating projects like Hudson Yards, but also community-oriented initiatives like city-owned food markets that Mamdani has promised to expand.
City Hall recently posted a job opening for a senior adviser for economic growth, who would report to Su.
The relationship between City Hall and big business has seesawed over the decades. Mamdani’s predecessor Eric Adams made a point of saying that New York City was open for business after many in the community felt ignored by Bill de Blasio, a progressive who ran on a message of tackling income inequality and taxing the rich.
During the election and transition, Mamdani reached out to the business community even though several high-profile wealthy leaders like Barry Diller and Bill Ackman supported his rival, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Kathy Wylde, the former head of the Partnership for New York City who is joining the bipartisan lobbying firm Invariant, likened mayors to “chief marketing agents” for the city’s business community. Part of that job, she said, is cultivating relationships with CEOs and hearing their feedback.
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was widely seen as the darling of the business community.
In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, when many companies started to look into relocating from the city, Bloomberg got on the phone. “He was in touch with the business community and he knew how to give them comfort that New York was a safe and good place for them to be,” Wylde said.
Mamdani has been an outspoken critic of billionaires and capitalism. But given his communication skills and charisma, Wylde said, “I think he could become the best marketer since Mike Bloomberg.”
Brigid Bergin contributed reporting.
