Zohran Mamdani Proposes Taxing ‘Whiter Neighborhoods’ in NYC

New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has said he wants to “shift the tax burden” to “richer and whiter neighborhoods” if he secures election in November.

A housing policy document on Mamdani’s official website includes a pledge to “shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.”

Newsweek contacted the Mamdani campaign for comment via email on Friday outside of regular office hours.

Why It Matters

Mamdani’s proposal has already sparked a backlash with one conservative commentator branding him racist and urging New Yorkers to support incumbent Mayor Eric Adams instead, who is running in November as an independent.

The New York mayoral election campaign has already turned bitter with several Republicans suggesting Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Uganda, should be stripped of his American citizenship and deported.

What To Know

Mamdani’s official campaign website features a policy memo under the title “Supporting homeowners and ending deed theft.”

The document says that if elected his administration will “Shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.”

It adds: “The property tax system is unbalanced because assessment levels are artificially capped, so homeowners in expensive neighborhoods pay less than their fair share. The Mayor can fix this by pushing class assessment percentages down for everyone and adjusting rates up, effectively lowering tax payments for homeowners in neighborhoods like Jamaica and Brownsville while raising the amount paid in the most expensive Brooklyn brownstones.”

The document asserts that currently New York City taxes “family homes in Black and Latino neighborhoods like Jamaica, Brownsville, and Tremont more than it does in wealthier neighborhoods of the city.”

On Tuesday Mamdani, who began the campaign as a rank outsider, defeated former New York State governor Andrew Cuomo to secure the 2025 Democratic nomination for the New York mayoralty.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is running on a platform that includes a number of radical reforms such as creating city-owned grocery stores, offering free childcare to all New Yorkers with children aged between six weeks and five years and imposing a 2 percent tax on all residents earning more than $1 million annually.

On Thursday bookmaker Star Sports was offering odds of 1/4 (80 percent) on Mamdani winning this year’s New York mayoral election, ahead of Adams in second place on 7/2 (22.2 percent).

What People Are Saying

On X Eric Daugherty, assistant news director for conservative leaning publication Florida’s Voice, said: “WTF? Zohran Mamdani supports taxing ‘whiter neighborhoods” in New York City higher than other boroughs.

“This Ugandan is not only a radical Muslim socialist but a RACIST. NYC, please reject this psycho and choose Eric Adams instead.”

The conservative Right Angle News Network on X shared a screenshot from Mamdani’s policy memo referring to “whiter neighborhoods” adding: “BREAKING – A proposal by NYC Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to shift tax burdens to “Whiter neighborhoods” has resurfaced.”

What Happens Next

The New York Mayoral election will take place on November 4, with the winner expected to assume office in January.