NYC mayoral candidates on affordability NYC mayoral candidates on affordability

All three of the New York City mayoral candidates have made their thoughts known on how best to address the issue of affordability in the city. FOX 5 NY’s Lisa Evers recounts their answers.

NEW YORK – The 2025 election for New York City’s next mayor is three weeks away, and polls indicate that housing access and affordability are some of the top issues for New Yorkers heading into the ballot box. 

The cost of housing is one of the main factors contributing to population loss in the state, according to research conducted by the Fiscal Policy Institute.

A sign offering a townhouse for sale is shown in the borough of Brooklyn in New York on Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

The race is down to three major candidates: Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and conservative activist and talk show host Curtis Sliwa.

Here’s where the three candidates stand on addressing the housing crisis in New York.

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What they’re saying:

Mamdani has made affordability the cornerstone of his campaign.

Speaking on Good Day New York, Mamdani called his campaign “a coalition that includes organizations and individuals of a wide variety, all of whom are united on affordability.”

His housing plan, for example, has four pillars, according to his campaign website. 

He plans to freeze rent for all stabilized tenants as mayor and “use every available resource” to build additional housing throughout the city. 

New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks at a campaign rally in New York on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

“The number one reason working families are leaving our city is the housing crisis,” his platform states. “The Mayor has the power to change that.” According to the New York City Charter Revision Commission, NYC faces “what is likely the worst housing affordability crisis in its history.”

As mayor, Mamdani plans to triple New York’s production of “permanently affordable, union-built, rent-stabilized homes” in order to construct 200,000 units over the next decade. He also plans to “overhaul” the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and “coordinate code enforcement under one roof” in order to ensure agencies work together to hold landlords accountable for the conditions of the buildings they own. 

Mamdani also plans to create a new Office of Deed Theft Prevention to protect homeowners from a “system that favors wealthier homeowners in gentrifying neighborhoods.” 

“Home ownership is out of reach for too many,” Mamdani wrote on X in May. “And those who do own face rising costs and predatory scams. I saw these challenges up close as a foreclosure prevention counselor. As Mayor, I’ll make city government work for you.”

Mamdani has also proposed making MTA buses and childcare free. 

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is now running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, states in his platform that New York City faces a crisis of affordability and a crisis of housing.

“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 states on his campaign website. “The existing supply of housing is increasingly unaffordable, and its quality is deteriorating.”

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo during an appearance on Good Day New York earlier this month. (File Photo) 

This is why building “more housing across all income levels” is essential, Cuomo says. As mayor, Cuomo states that he’ll additionally increase enforcement of rent-stabilization to address housing affordability.

Cuomo also wants to provide “targeted tax relief to lower-income and middle-class voters, including homeowners,” as well as “leverage public land” for affordable and mixed-income housing development.

Cuomo also wants to focus on making sure New Yorkers are making money.

“First priority: jobs, jobs, jobs,” Cuomo said on Good Day New York. “We’re losing jobs, we’re losing the economy, we’re losing people. We have to focus on getting those jobs back into New York and growing.” 

While Sliwa agrees that building more affordable housing is important, he claims on his campaign website that “this approach alone will not address the affordability crisis” plaguing NYC. 

New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa campaigns in the New York City subway system, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Sliwa has a seven-point plan that he claims will make housing more affordable for working people. Some of his proposals include “restoring” the city’s vacant rent-controlled apartments, “expanding” housing for seniors, “converting commercial spaces into housing” and “restoring” local zoning control. 

“Rather than handing control to corporate developers, I will ensure that zoning decisions prioritize affordability and community stability,” his platform states.

Sliwa has also proposed an income tax holiday to keep the next generation of college students and young professionals from leaving the city because they can’t make ends meet.

“The income tax is another problem,” he said on Good Day New York. “Student loans are a problem, the rent is a problem, so we can deal with the things that are going to encourage them to stay. They got their education here – why can’t we get them to stay here for five years?”

Why affordability matters to New Yorkers

Dig deeper:

The city faces a housing crisis in general. According to the NYC Department of Homeless Services, roughly 86,000 New Yorkers stayed in a city-run shelter on a typical night this past August. Plus, according to the 2025 Income and Affordability Study conducted by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board, the median New Yorker spent roughly a third of their income last year on rent alone. 

More broadly, the cost of living in New York City is far above the national average. In fact, a report released earlier this year by wealth firm Henley & Partners deemed it the second-most expensive city in the world. 

The Source: Information above was sourced from the Fiscal Policy Institute, the NYC Department of Homeless Services, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board, wealth firm Henley & Partners and previous FOX 5 NY reporting. Information from the New York City Charter Revision Commission, The City, PBS and X were also referenced. 

2025 election for NYC mayorHousingEconomyConsumerPolitics