Housing, affordability, and political futures collide as NYC's mayoral hopefuls clash on stage
The three leading candidates for New York City mayor—Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa—faced off Thursday night at Rockefeller Center, sparring over the city’s housing crisis, affordability, and the looming influence of President Donald Trump.
With early voting set to begin next week, the debate underscored the stakes for New Yorkers and the broader implications for national politics.
Polls show affordability is top of mind
Recent polling put Mamdani ahead at 46% to Cuomo’s 33%, with Sliwa trailing. The city’s affordability crisis dominated the night, reflecting what the Fiscal Policy Institute has called “one of the main factors contributing to population loss in the state.”
According to the 2025 Income and Affordability Study by the NYC Rent Guidelines Board, the median New Yorker spent roughly a third of their income on rent last year. Median asking rent reached $3,599 in the third quarter of 2025, a 5.4% increase from last year, according to Realtor.com’s latest NYC Rent Report.
Mamdani’s ambitious housing overhaul
Mamdani, the progressive frontrunner, made affordability the cornerstone of his campaign.
“The number one reason working families are leaving our city is the housing crisis,” Mamdani said.
His plan centers on freezing rent for all stabilized tenants, tripling the production of “permanently affordable, union-built, rent-stabilized homes,” and overhauling the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants.
“As Mayor, I’ll make city government work for you,” he said, referencing his experience as a foreclosure prevention counselor.
Mamdani’s proposals include building 200,000 affordable units over the next decade, streamlining code enforcement, and creating an Office of Deed Theft Prevention.
He has also pledged to make MTA buses and child care free, moves that have resonated with renters but drawn skepticism from some in the real estate sector.
“For real estate values, I’m worried about over-taxation on those that are contributing a lot to the city’s coffers,” Kevin Leibowitz of Grayton Mortgages, told Mortgage Professional America.
Discussing New York’s shifting political landscape, Kevin Leibowitz of Grayton Mortgages said over-taxation risks may affect property values at the high end, yet the city’s robust mortgage system would remain largely unaffected.https://t.co/9lXjmntgvn
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) October 17, 2025
Cuomo’s centrist counterpoint
Cuomo, running as an independent, argued for a centrist approach focused on expanding housing supply and targeted tax relief.
“Our city has always been expensive, but today it is rapidly becoming unaffordable for millions of hard-working New Yorkers at all income levels,” Cuomo said.
His 100-day plan includes unlocking tens of thousands of units through increased revenue bonding, leveraging public land, and boosting city capital funding by $7.5 billion.
Cuomo criticized Mamdani’s rent freeze proposal, warning it could “force building owners into bankruptcy, and fail New Yorkers who don’t live in rent-stabilized apartments.”
He also emphasized job creation as the “first priority,” warning that without economic growth, the city’s affordability crisis would worsen.
Industry weighs impact on mortgage market
Despite the heated rhetoric, experts suggested the mortgage market would remain stable regardless of the election outcome.
“On the mortgage side, I don’t think there will be any issues,” Leibowitz said.
“We’ve got a nationwide mortgage system that’s very robust irrespective of where we are and the neighborhoods that we serve.”
With three weeks until Election Day, New York’s mayoral race has become a referendum on housing and affordability. While Mamdani’s ambitious plans have energized renters and progressives, Cuomo’s centrist platform appeals to those wary of rapid change.
The city’s next mayor will inherit a housing crisis that demands both bold ideas and pragmatic solutions—and the eyes of the nation are watching.
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