New York City’s mayoral race is heating up as Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani faces renewed criticism for past calls to seize luxury condos and remake housing into a communal system.
Key Facts:
- Mamdani’s March 2020 social-media post urged government to “seize” empty luxury condos during COVID-19 and “house the homeless” under a #HomesGuarantee plan.
- He has publicly pushed “full de-commodification of housing,” advocating community land trusts that would replace private condos with shared kitchens, laundries, and co-ops.
- At a 2021 Young Democratic Socialists conference, Mamdani told attendees not to compromise on goals such as “seizing the means of production.”
- Mayor Eric Adams, now an Independent, rebuked Mamdani for quoting Karl Marx’s line “Each according to their need, each according to their ability.”
- Former President Donald Trump branded Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and warned he would consider withholding federal funds if Mamdani wins.
The Rest of The Story:
Mamdani’s 2020 post appeared after news broke that a homeless New Yorker had died from COVID-19.
“The oligarchs… have thousands of luxury condos… sitting empty while NYers die on the streets,” he wrote, adding, “Seize these properties. House the homeless.”
Mamdani wants to seize your property pic.twitter.com/lw7gj0ndkb
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 8, 2025
His broader housing blueprint surfaced in a Gravel Institute video in which he promoted community land trusts that would “gradually buy up housing on the private market and convert it to community ownership.”
Mamdani argued, “If we want to end the housing crisis, the solution has to be moving toward the full de-commodification of housing.”
Critics say those ideas echo classic socialist—and even communist—doctrine.
Mamdani’s 2021 remark about “seizing the means of production” reinforced that perception.
Mayor Adams seized on a Marx quotation Mamdani posted online, saying the candidate’s words “come straight from the Communist Manifesto.”
Mamdani rejects the communist label.
Asked by NBC News if he is a communist, he replied, “No, I am not,” describing himself instead as a “Democratic socialist” inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for a fairer distribution of wealth.
Commentary:
New Yorkers should not be fooled by semantic wordplay.
Whether Mamdani calls himself a “Democratic socialist” or something softer, his program shouts old-school communism.
Government seizure of private property is the cornerstone of that ideology, and he has already demanded exactly that.
Communist leaders worldwide have always promised comfort for the poor—only to deliver shortages, queues, and crumbling infrastructure.
Turning Midtown penthouses into communal bathhouses might sound egalitarian, but it would slash property values, scare off investors, and gut the tax base that funds schools, transit, and police.
Fact-checkers insist Mamdani cannot be a communist because he avoided the term during the primary. Labels aside, actions speak louder.
“Seizing the means of production” is not a slip of the tongue; it is the movement’s ultimate goal.
If he reaches Gracie Mansion, that goal walks in with him.
Businesses are already skittish after years of crime and high taxes.
Add forced expropriation, and headquarters will stampede to Florida or Texas.
Wealthy residents—the same people who bankroll social programs through astronomical city taxes—will follow.
The middle class will shoulder the bill for a utopia that never arrives.
Some voters argue any change is better than the scandals of Mayor Adams.
Be careful what you wish for.
Even a flawed mayor who respects private property is preferable to one plotting to replace it with collectivist experiments.
New York survived bankruptcy in the 1970s, but it needed decades of disciplined policing and fiscal realism to rebound.
Mamdani’s blueprint would rewind that progress at lightning speed.
The Bottom Line:
Zohran Mamdani’s own words reveal an agenda rooted in property seizure and communal control—hallmarks of communist theory.
Electing him would likely accelerate the flight of capital and talent already straining New York’s finances.
Voters must decide whether they want revival or a radical economic gamble that history shows ends in failure.
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