Mamdani's New York: 15 CEOs Join a Socialist Mayor's Council

Fifteen chief executives have joined New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Business Advisory Council, a group representing more than 100,000 employees across real estate, film, sports and healthcare. A year into the term of the country's most senior elected Democratic Socialist, business is proceeding as usual in the city — and the council's roster includes some of his fiercest former opponents.

One member gave $250,000 to Mamdani's mayoral opponent, Andrew Cuomo. Another wrote an op-ed predicting Mamdani would bankrupt the city. The council also counts Hamdi Ulukaya, billionaire CEO of Chobani. Neil Blumenthal, co-CEO of the nearly $3 billion eyewear company Warby Parker, frames the ambivalence. "I was very concerned when he was elected," Blumenthal says. He cites DSA policies such as government takeover of private companies that "are deeply unpopular and aren't going to lead to growth and prosperity" — yet Warby Parker is staying. "We're a New York brand, so we're here," he says.

What has Mamdani actually done?

His first year delivered visible, small-bore wins. The city has fixed more than 200,000 potholes in 2026 so far, more than in all of the prior year under Eric Adams. His administration replaced basketball nets, offered free opera tickets, staged public World Cup and Knicks playoff viewings, launched evening childcare and installed modular public bathrooms.

The numbers behind the goodwill are striking. A Siena poll puts Mamdani's approval at 69%. All five ballot initiatives he championed, including faster bike lane and construction approvals, passed handily in the midterms. DSA membership has grown past 120,000 nationwide, with the New York chapter's 15,000 members alone exceeding the entire national organization's 2016 total.

How does a socialist run an economic development agency?

Mamdani stacked his administration with heavyweights. Julie Su, acting U.S. Labor secretary for two years under Biden, serves as deputy mayor for economic justice. Anthony Shorris, former first deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio, runs the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Lina Khan, former FTC chair, chairs the NYCEDC board, focused on growing "the economy in a way that delivers affordability, widespread prosperity, and real opportunity."

The NYCEDC invested $29 million in a quantum fabrication lab at New York University, taking 15% of future revenue from IP generated on city-funded equipment. It also designed a $70 million pilot for five city-owned grocery stores, run by private operators, with the first opening by late 2027. Prices will run about 30% below nearby stores on fresh produce, meat, seafood and roughly 20 other staple categories. Errol Schweizer, a former Whole Foods grocery vice president who helped design the pilot, notes the target market: "There are 1.5 million New Yorkers who are food insecure." A coalition of small grocers and the National Supermarket Association has sued, calling the plan anti-competitive.

The city also won a $131.5 million settlement against DoorDash for underpaying delivery workers.

What about the taxes CEOs fear?

Mamdani's campaign slate included a 2% income tax hike on earners above $1 million, projected at $4 billion annually, and a corporate tax rise from 7.25% to 11.5%, projected at $5 billion a year. Both require approval from Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature — support that currently looks unlikely. His pied-à-terre tax on second homes valued at $5 million-plus for houses and $1 million-plus for condos, at rates of 0.8% to 6.5%, remains tangled in legal challenges.

The tax's announcement video, filmed outside Citadel CEO Ken Griffin's 24,000-square-foot penthouse, angered the business elite. Griffin said it "put me in harm's way" and threatened to halt a new Midtown headquarters. Bill Ackman called it "a huge mistake." Yet available Manhattan office space just fell to its lowest level since 2020, contracts on $10 million-to-$20 million properties rose nearly 40% year over year in the second quarter, Griffin closed his deal with Vornado, and Ackman announced a $660 million brain research institute on the West Side.

Where did business and the mayor align?

Housing and childcare. Mamdani adopted building booms in Austin and Minneapolis as models; The Economist declared in September that "developers are learning to love Zohran Mamdani." He targets 200,000 new affordable apartments over a decade. REBNY president James Whelan, whose group represents some 14,000 members, says: "When it comes to the issue of housing production, our goals are aligned." A free childcare pilot for 2-year-olds, 10 hours a day, 260 days a year, will start with roughly 2,000 children and expand to 12,000 by fall 2027. In September, the Partnership for New York City, Tech:NYC and REBNY formed the NYC Child Care Business Council to push public investment in childcare.

The mayor also retained Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch — the decision business leaders most often praised — and charms even critics. "It's cordial," says Steven Fulop of the Partnership for New York City.

The next three years, or seven if Mamdani wins reelection, will test whether his agenda — free buses, rent freezes on roughly 1 million units, higher minimum wages — can survive confrontation with private capital and a resistant state government. As Brooklyn College professor Corey Robin puts it, Mamdani "hasn't yet had the kinds of confrontations with private capital that are going to have to happen."