Andrew Cuomo on Monday said that as mayor, he’d push to require New Yorkers looking to move into rent-stabilized apartments to pay at least 30% of their income in rent every year.
The 30% requirement would, by definition, make those new tenants rent–burdened.
The proposal, called “Zohran’s Law,” is a political shot at Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani: Over the weekend, Cuomo accused Mamdani, who makes $142,000 as a state assemblymember, of being too wealthy to live in his rent-stabilized apartment.
“They are supposed to be for hard-working men and women, but far too many rich people are taking advantage,” Cuomo said of rent-stabilized units. “We must stop the Zohran Mamdanis of the world from gaming the system and boxing out lower income New Yorkers who are barely scraping by and Zohran’s law will do that.”
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo, noted that other affordable housing programs including Section 8 also require tenants to pay around 30% of their income in rent.
The new proposal, however, wouldn’t actually give Mamdani the boot from his $2,300-a-month Astoria, Queens one bedroom. The new rules would take effect after the current tenant leaves the apartment.
Rent-stabilized units are generally cheaper than market-price units because rent raises are restricted by the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, and low-income tenants make up over half of their occupancy citywide.
“Andrew Cuomo — the disgraced former governor who casually handed a billion-dollar tax break to Elon Musk — wants working New Yorkers to prove how much they are struggling before he approves their lease,” Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said of the plan. “While Cuomo cares only for the well-being of his Republican donors, Zohran believes city government’s job is to guarantee a life of dignity, not determine who is worth one.”
Mamdani has said he moved into the apartment when he was making $47,000 a year.
“Cuomo shells out $8,000 a month for a luxury Midtown apartment — more than most New Yorkers make — no wonder he’s so out of touch,” Darius Gordon, Executive Director of the Met Council on Housing, said in response to Cuomo’s proposal. “He has no idea what it’s like to scrape together rent every month. Every New Yorker deserves the protections of rent stabilization: automatic lease renewal and limits on outrageous rent hikes.”
Earlier on Monday, Mamdani slammed Cuomo’s accusations as a desperate attempt to take him down politically and proof he lives “rent free” in the ex-governor’s head.
“There are important conversations to be had about housing, but this is not what he’s seeking to lead,” Mamdani said at a Midtown press conference.
As governor, Cuomo signed into law a policy effectively blocking landlords from removing a unit’s rent-stabilization status if the tenant earned more than $200,000 in two years back-to-back.
“Instead of admitting that his housing record is a failure, Cuomo is pushing a proposal that would only apply at the point of vacancy, do nothing to address current abuse of the system, and rely on landlords to act as income police,” Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Mayor Adams’ campaign said. “That’s not leadership — it’s political theater.”
Originally Published: August 11, 2025 at 1:39 PM EDT
