President Donald Trump claims New Yorkers will flee his hometown after the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor, but that hasn't happened so far.
Two of the city’s top commercial real estate executives told CNBC that leasing activity and new building investments have not dried up since it became clear the self-described Democratic Socialist would win the Nov. 5 election weeks ago.
“New York City is back,” said Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty. “The people who work here, live here, they feel the energy, they have the conviction, and they have every right. In our business right now, we are seeing CEO after CEO committing to the city. We’re seeing a record level of leasing in office buildings, and it’s not just for next year – it’s for 2028, 2030, 2032."
Bill Rudin, co-executive chairman of Rudin Management, told CNBC his company expects to hit over 40 million square feet in commercial office leases signed by the end of the year, and customers haven't expressed any misgivings about the city's incoming administration.
“Companies are growing here,” Rudin said. “We haven’t seen any diminishment in meetings with brokerage firms. People keep saying, ‘any impact?’ No one has put their pencils down. No one is calling the moving trucks. Companies are expanding and taking space."
Ken Griffin of Citadel Securities, an outspoken conservative hedge fund manager, is partnering with Rudin, Steve Ross and Vornado Realty on construction of a new 2 million square-foot office building at 350 Park Avenue, and while the plans started before Mamdani shot to the lead in the mayor's race, they have no intention of delaying the project and recently filed for a building permit.
“[Griffin] is moving ahead and very excited about it and very much involved in the design and development of the project," Rudin said. "How’s that?”
Both Rudin and Rechler have met personally with Mamdani and came away impressed, and Rechler noted that New York's governor Kathy Hochul has significant authority over the city's finances and would likely cool the mayor-elect's "tax the rich" rhetoric.
“At the end of the day, the governor has the veto pen on taxes,” Rechler said, "and I had breakfast with her yesterday and she said income taxes won’t be raised under her watch.”