Extremely rich New Yorkers are having what The New York Times is calling a “freakout” over the New York City mayoral race.
“The Hamptons is basically in group therapy about the mayoral race,” Robert Zimmerman, a political fundraiser, told the Times.
At the root of this panic is Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won the Democratic primary mayoral primary in June. He is running to freeze rents, crack down on bad landlords, raise the minimum wage, and tax the rich.
“I don’t think we should have billionaires,” he said in June. (New York City has more billionaires than any other city.)
“What they’re discussing is not just Mamdani and his policies, but [former Gov. Andrew] Cuomo and [Mayor Eric] Adams and whether anyone can beat him,” Zimmerman said.
“Everyone’s talking about it all the time,” writer Molly Jong-Fast, who has a house in the Hamptons and votes in New York City — which is not uncommon among New York’s elite — told the Times.
Mamdani beat Cuomo 56 percent to 44 percent in the primary in June, despite being hugely outspent. It sent a signal to the establishment that they may not have the ultimate power.
Elites have threatened to leave New York City and its taxes if Mamdani is elected, but history and data shows they will stay.
As Mamdani and his 50,000 volunteers campaign across the five boroughs, Cuomo and Adams, who are both running as independents, are turning to the Hamptons, where Mamdani has not held any events.
“While they’re wining and dining billionaire types, Zohran is bringing thousands of New Yorkers together,” political consultant Rebecca Katz told the Times. Her firm, Fight, produces ads for Mamdani.
One person who is in the so-called “Anyone But Mamdani” set is billionaire grocery store tycoon John Catsimatidis. Mamdani has proposed creating city-owned grocery stores that would keep prices low by not making a profit. Catsimatidis told Fox Business in June that if Mamdani wins, he will close his grocery store chain, Gristedes.
“If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations,” he said.
Democratic donor Patricia Duff, who married real estate billionaire Richard Cohen in June, told the Times, “Mamdani has a great smile and is wonderfully articulate. His social media is entertaining, and his promises sound fine until you look at the fine print and they’re not realistic. It’s fantasy land.”
“Even overpriced lobster salad can’t seem to make people out here feel better,” said Zimmerman, the fundraiser.
