The debate over who deserves access to New York City’s coveted rent-stabilized apartments has erupted into a fiery political brawl, as former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani trade barbs in the final stretch before November’s mayoral election. What began as a policy dispute has quickly become a referendum on affordability, privilege, and the city’s deepening housing crisis, with both candidates—and even current and former mayors—staking out sharply different visions for the future of the city’s million-plus rent-regulated homes.
On August 11, 2025, Andrew Cuomo, now running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, announced a proposal he dubbed "Zohran’s law." Its aim: to prevent high-income individuals from occupying rent-stabilized apartments, a pointed jab at Mamdani, who currently lives in a rent-stabilized one-bedroom in Astoria, Queens. Cuomo argued, “Rent-stabilized apartments when they’re vacant should only be rented to people who need affordable housing, not people like Zohran Mamdani,” as reported by multiple outlets including WABC and The New York Times.
Cuomo’s proposal would require that, when a rent-stabilized unit becomes vacant, the new tenant’s income could not exceed a threshold where annual rent would be more than 30% of their income. For instance, a $2,500 monthly rent ($30,000 a year) would cap eligible tenants’ income at $100,000. The law would apply only to new leases, not current tenants, and would need approval by the state Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul before taking effect.
Cuomo’s attack was not subtle. In a widely viewed social media post—garnering more than 33 million views—he accused Mamdani of abusing the system. "Somewhere last night in New York City, a single mother and her children slept at a homeless shelter," Cuomo wrote, "because Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman, was occupying her rent-controlled apartment." He continued, "No matter which way you cut it: Zohran Mamdani is a rich person. You are actually very rich. Yet you and your wife pay $2,300 a month, as you have bragged, for a nice apartment in Astoria. That should be housing for someone who needs it. We are in the middle of a historic affordability crisis. Millions of low income New Yorkers need this apartment and an apartment like it. Yet your apartment remains rented to rich people who don’t need it."
For his part, Mamdani, who earns $142,000 as a state Assemblyman, has not shied away from the controversy. He moved into the Astoria apartment when his income was under $50,000, and he now shares it with his wife. At a press conference the same day, Mamdani shot back, “What do we know about this policy proposal beyond the fact that it seeks to evict me from my apartment? Like so much of Andrew Cuomo's politics, it is characterized by a petty vindictiveness. It leaves far more questions than it has answers. How many New Yorkers would this apply to? How many New Yorkers would be evicted from their apartments? How many New Yorkers would have their lives upended by a former governor who is responding to the fact that he was handily beaten by a tenant of a rent-stabilized apartment?”
Mamdani has made housing affordability the centerpiece of his campaign, promising to freeze rent increases for all stabilized tenants if elected mayor. “As Mayor, Zohran will immediately freeze the rent for all stabilized tenants, and use every available resource to build the housing New Yorkers need and bring down the rent,” his campaign website states. He’s also pledged to stand up to President Donald Trump, highlighting anticipated federal cuts to social services, and announced a five-borough tour to showcase his plans.
Cuomo, meanwhile, has tried to frame Mamdani’s occupancy as emblematic of a broken system. “You don’t need to be renting rent-stabilized units to wealthy people,” Cuomo told reporters. “Otherwise, what you are doing is you are abusing the system. I am going to propose not renting out [rent-stabilized] apartments, by law, except to a person who actually needs affordable housing. And, I'm going to call it 'Zohran's law' because it's an abuse of the system.”
The proposal has sparked sharp criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. Mayor Eric Adams, a frequent sparring partner of Cuomo’s, blamed the former governor for signing a 2019 law that removed income caps for rent-stabilized tenants, arguing it contributed to the city’s current housing woes. “Low income apartments should be just for that: low-income people,” Adams said. “People of great wealth, we should really look at how do we make sure that we reach our goal of when it’s low-income apartments, low income apartments should have an opportunity to do so. These are the results of Cuomo’s laws! His laws created the problems that we have to go back and constantly fix.”
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio entered the fray as well, defending Mamdani’s rent freeze proposal and criticizing Cuomo’s opposition. “I did a rent freeze and almost 2 million hard-working New Yorkers benefited. @ZohranKMamdani wants to do a rent freeze. You know who doesn’t want to do a rent freeze? @andrewcuomo, and he thinks he can trick us into forgetting that,” de Blasio wrote on X.
Housing experts have weighed in with their own perspectives. Eric Kober, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, noted that rent-stabilized apartments, designed in the 1970s, now cover over a million city homes. Landlords can’t raise rents unless approved by the city’s Rent Guidelines Board. “The law allows him, like any other New Yorker, to rent a rent-stabilized apartment,” Kober said of Mamdani. He cautioned that barring higher-income tenants could effectively block many from renting at all in certain neighborhoods. Kober also pointed out, “The reason why most economists would say that regulating rents is a bad idea is because doing so perpetuates the very shortage that the energy was intended to address. After 50 years or so of rent stabilization, we are in the midst of a terrible housing shortage.”
Critics of Cuomo’s proposal have not held back. A commentary published on August 12, 2025, described Cuomo’s approach as “pathetic” and “political malpractice,” arguing that labeling someone earning $140,000 in New York City as “rich” ignores the city’s high cost of living. The piece also noted that nearly half of the city’s apartments are rent stabilized, and that these units are not welfare housing—they simply cap rent increases. “Mamdani isn’t blocking a homeless mother from moving in; she couldn’t afford it. His unit costs $2,300 a month,” the commentary pointed out, highlighting the disconnect between Cuomo’s rhetoric and the reality faced by many New Yorkers.
As the campaign barrels toward November, the debate over rent stabilization, income limits, and who truly deserves affordable housing has become a proxy for broader anxieties about inequality and the future of New York City. Both Cuomo and Mamdani have staked their reputations—and perhaps their political futures—on the outcome. With millions of New Yorkers watching closely, the battle over “Zohran’s law” is about more than just one apartment in Astoria; it’s about the soul of the city itself.
