‘Socialism is a disaster’: Bill Ackman says Zohran Mamdani’s bad left-wing housing policy is worsening New York’s affordability crisis

Bill Ackman has criticized New York City's housing policy, specifically Mayor Zohran Mamdani's rent-freeze agenda, stating that it is worsening the city's affordability crisis. Ackman argues that New York's housing market has been split in two due to the rent stabilization system, with landlords raising rents on the market-rate side to compensate for frozen income on the rent-stabilized side.

He also points out that about 60,000 units are off the market due to renovation costs that can't be recovered under current regulations.

Ackman extends his critique to New York's energy costs, which he attributes to policy choices such as shutting down nuclear power plants and banning fracking. He suggests these policy decisions rather than market forces have led to high energy costs. Ackman points to Florida and Austin as examples of well-managed states with more affordable housing, attributing the success to policies that encourage real estate development.

He criticizes Mamdani's proposed "pied-à-terre" tax on second homes owned by non-residents, likening it to other wealth taxes that have failed to stay contained. Ackman believes that the top 10% of earners in the city generate 70% of tax revenue and should be encouraged to stay in the city, rather than being discouraged by punitive policies.