{"id":225112,"date":"2026-05-08T21:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/225112\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T21:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:32:13","slug":"nyc-business-owner-kickstarts-million-dollar-campaign-to-combat-mamdani-driven-business-exodus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/225112\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC business owner kickstarts million dollar campaign to combat Mamdani-driven business exodus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>New York&#8217;s political and financial leaders have launched efforts to combat Mayor <a data-ylk=\"slk:Zohran Mamdani&#039;s;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/zohran-mamdani\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s<\/a> policies that they say have driven multiple billionaires to look elsewhere for their business homes.<\/p>\n<p>After Mamdani named <a data-ylk=\"slk:Citadel LLC CEO and owner Ken Griffin;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/chicago-knows-happens-ken-griffin-turns-city-mamdani-may-find\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Citadel LLC CEO and owner Ken Griffin<\/a> in an advertisement for a new tax on second homes in the city, Griffin publicly rebuked him as &#8220;creepy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The COO of Citadel then indicated in a letter to employees that the company may not move forward with plans to continue a $6 billion renovation of a new Midtown Manhattan office skyscraper.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What the mayor of New York has made clear to my partners&#8230; and principally my New York partners&#8230; is that we need to double down on our bet in Miami, because we want to be in a state that embraces business, that embraces education, that embraces personal freedom and liberty, and that embraces people having an opportunity to live the American Dream,&#8221; Griffin said during the Milken Institute Global Conference in New York City on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p><a data-ylk=\"slk:&#039;We&#039;re Taxing The Rich&#039;: Nyc Mayor Mamdani Touts New $500M-a-year Tax On Luxury Second Homes;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/taxing-rich-nyc-mayor-mamdani-touts-new-500m-year-tax-luxury-second-homes\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">&#8216;We&#8217;re Taxing The Rich&#8217;: Nyc Mayor Mamdani Touts New $500M-a-year Tax On Luxury Second Homes<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Billionaire Ken Griffin listens to a question from an audience member at the World Economic Forum in Davos.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/fox_news_text_979\/8f9919f173c382629cb263cdfa57e982.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin described New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s &#8220;tax the rich&#8221; video targeting him as a &#8220;creepy and weird&#8221; political advertisement.<\/p>\n<p> (Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Now, local business leaders are pledging time and money into a campaign hoping to keep business in the Big Apple.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a data-ylk=\"slk:Read On The Fox News App;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS\/mvaj7wvj\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Read On The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Andrew Murstein, founder of Medallion Financial Corp., launched Operation Boomerang in an effort to lure defectors back to New York.<\/p>\n<p>Murstein pledged $1 million of his own money into the effort, which will see him sending New York hot dogs, bagels and Katz\u2019s Deli to businesses that <a data-ylk=\"slk:fled to Florida;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/mamdanis-latest-tax-pledge-makes-sense-exacerbate-florida-exodus-former-mayor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">fled to Florida<\/a>, he told <a data-ylk=\"slk:the New York Post;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/08\/us-news\/ny-leaders-desperately-try-to-stop-billionaire-bigs-from-fleeing-city-over-mamdani\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">the New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The last 10 years with mayors and <a data-ylk=\"slk:governors;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/state-and-local\/governors\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">governors<\/a>, those things pass, and they should be in it for the long run,&#8221; he told the Post. &#8220;I\u2019m trying to convince them not to abandon ship. Whatever it takes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a data-ylk=\"slk:Mamdani\u2019s Class Warfare Against New York Businesses Is \u2018Economic Vandalism\u2019;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/mamdanis-class-warfare-against-new-york-businesses-economic-vandalism\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Mamdani\u2019s Class Warfare Against New York Businesses Is \u2018Economic Vandalism\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Murstein also added that he&#8217;s going to leverage his initial contribution into the campaign to raise more money, which he anticipates will net the project between $20 million and $30 million, according to the Post.<\/p>\n<p>Former Mayor <a data-ylk=\"slk:Eric Adams;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/ericadams\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Eric Adams<\/a> also lent his voice to re-luring efforts, imploring Griffin to &#8220;stand your ground,&#8221; in a post on X.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"New York City Mayor Eric Adams signing executive orders with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani standing nearby\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/fox_news_text_979\/5c3c98772ef0a24315178cae2ba1981f.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams publicly supported Citadel CEO Ken Griffin amid his tax battle with current Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/p>\n<p><a data-ylk=\"slk:Mamdani&#039;s attacks on the rich;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/nyc-mayor-mamdani-calls-threat-rich-people-leaving-nyc-taxes-imagined\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Mamdani&#8217;s attacks on the rich<\/a> have even spooked his own employees, according to the Post&#8217;s sources.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The mayor\u2019s office is feeling pressure around this, and they are looking for ways to change the narrative around business,&#8221; an anonymous local business leader reportedly told the Post.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They\u2019re in a pickle because he\u2019s hearing all the business leaders are <a data-ylk=\"slk:looking for exit strategies now;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/new-hampshire-governor-recruits-nyc-business-owners-fleeing-mamdani-regime\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">looking for exit strategies now<\/a> and Mamdani needs money and needs to keep his base happy,&#8221; the source allegedly continued.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A side by side photo of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Ken Griffin.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/fox_news_text_979\/4b5d48cfbfce59b206070db6584638f2.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Citadel founder is clashing with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over taxes targeting the ultra-wealthy and intensifying crime, reviving the same tensions that drove him to pull his business and billions out of Chicago.<\/p>\n<p><a data-ylk=\"slk:Click Here To Download The Fox News App;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This might be an inflection point because NYC is already a <a data-ylk=\"slk:welfare state supported by very;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/steve-forbes-drive-out-wealth-then-beg-hochuls-new-york-nutshell\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">welfare state supported by very<\/a> few people at the top who can leave,&#8221; the source concluded, per the Post.<\/p>\n<p>Original article source:<a data-ylk=\"slk:NYC business owner kickstarts million dollar campaign to combat Mamdani-driven business exodus;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/nyc-business-owner-kickstarts-million-dollar-campaign-combat-mamdani-driven-business-exodus\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">NYC business owner kickstarts million dollar campaign to combat Mamdani-driven business exodus<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York&#8217;s political and financial leaders have launched efforts to combat Mayor Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s policies that they say&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[88493,21014,18649,3412,9,56,63,65,64,88494,82],"class_list":["post-225112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-andrew-murstein","tag-business-leaders","tag-ken-griffin","tag-midtown-manhattan","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-political-advertisement","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}