From Fox News: When Zohran Mamdani ran for mayor of New York City, he made one promise unmistakably clear: he would freeze the rent. Now that campaign tentpole is poised to collide with the complex economic factors exacerbating the Big Apple’s housing affordability crisis.
As his administration begins to take shape, that pledge, rooted in a democratic socialist vision of housing as a human right, is likely to be the first major political test for Mamdani. Supporters say it is an urgent lifeline for tenants battered by inflation and record rents. Critics warn it could destabilize the city’s fragile housing ecosystem, deepen building distress, and accelerate an exodus of small property owners.
“I have people walking away. I have two people selling their buildings right now. I have more people selling the buildings and leaving for Texas and Florida,” Humberto Lopes, founder of the Gotham Housing Alliance, told Fox News Digital.
“People already came to me, and I have their buildings on the market already. Since January, my business in the real estate, I’m a licensed corporate broker, has doubled in the number of buildings we are selling.”
WATCH:
Fox News explains that the interview is part of a new “The Rise of Socialism” series, which examines how socialist ideas and policies are increasingly shaping political debates and public policy in major cities across the United States.
The report confirms what DMLNewsApp founder Dennis Michael Lynch has been warning of already.
DML has noted that this is just phase 1 of a 4-part plan to fundamentally transform and take over New York City. Phase 1 is to make life so miserable that native residents flee the city.
Mamdani’s 4-Phase Plan to Fundamentally Change NYC pic.twitter.com/xzaXmCiBNF
— Dennis Michael Lynch (@TrustDML) February 18, 2026
Phase 1 of Mamdani’s takeover: Make life in NYC so miserable that native residents flee. pic.twitter.com/P0SDy5OkOP
— Dennis Michael Lynch (@TrustDML) February 18, 2026
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