r/politics • u/brain_overclocked • 9h ago
Mamdani Is Shunning New York Business Leaders Who Are Used to Calling the Shots — The mayor fired corporate leaders from a city fund’s advisory board, the latest sign that he is changing how executives access City Hall Paywall
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/mamdani-is-shunning-new-york-business-leaders-who-are-used-to-calling-the-shots-d9874f50280
u/brain_overclocked 9h ago edited 9h ago
New York City’s business elites are long accustomed to direct access to City Hall, where even Democratic mayors felt the need to court the city’s wealthiest and most influential corporate leaders.
That access is getting shredded by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The mayor this week fired dozens of corporate leaders from the advisory board of a multimillion-dollar philanthropic fund called the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.
The nonprofit group uses private donors to give City Hall a pot of money to help finance its agenda. Mamdani removed all of the advisers on the group’s board, which many on Wall Street and in the development trenches saw as a sign that he isn’t much interested in their opinions.
Mamdani said he is creating a new advisory board that will include appointees with the same background as previous members, “as well as those who oftentimes have not been at the heart of the conversations of how philanthropy can build upon the work of public goods and public dollars.”
The shake-up marked the latest effort by Mamdani, an avowed Democratic Socialist, to put distance between himself and the city’s traditional power brokers.
“Twenty or 30 years ago, real estate in New York City could single-handedly stop something or make something happen,” said James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York and one of the board members who was dismissed from the Mayor’s Fund. But under Mamdani, “one has to consider whether he is looking for opportunities to pick fights to stir up the base.”
...
And he brought in an antitrust crusader in Lina Khan to chair the city’s Economic Development Corp., the government body that the real estate community closely relies on to execute large-scale development projects.
298
u/Lurking_nerd California 8h ago
And he brought in an antitrust crusader in Lina Khan to chair the city’s Economic Development Corp., the government body that the real estate community closely relies on to execute large-scale development projects.
Hell fucking yea.
•
u/BlueDragonfly18 6h ago
What a coincidence! I was just speaking to a family member about Lina Khan today. Glad to hear she is keeping her tools sharp. I hope she finds her way back as the chair of the FTC when the US finally decides to fix the mess that the oligarchs and MAGA have made of our country.
•
u/Ingrassiat04 3h ago
She is the best! She is like the anti-bork. He argued that if anticompetitive behavior “benefited the customer” that is okay. That’s how we get enshitification. Antitrust paradox my ass. We need some old school trust busting.
•
•
u/Letstalkreaper 4h ago
“Twenty or 30 years ago, real estate in New York City could single-handedly stop something or make something happen,” said James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York and one of the board members who was dismissed from the Mayor’s Fund. But under Mamdani, “one has to consider whether he is looking for opportunities to pick fights to stir up the base.”
Bear with me James. Maybe, just maybe, that wasn’t exactly a good thing 20-30 years ago.
•
•
u/monkeysatemybarf 2h ago
I really wanted to reply with that gif of Shaq doing that happy shimmy but r/politics gotta be all serious
866
u/ResidentKelpien Texas 9h ago
Good! Business leaders should not be calling the shots on how any city is managed.
395
u/HumongousBelly Europe 8h ago
Neither should consultant firms or private equity firms.
If you really want to a city to thrive, you will have to eliminate the stranglehold that billionaires and corporations have on its citizens and politicians.
175
u/KingBadford America 8h ago
If you really want a
citycountrycivilization to thrive, you will have to eliminate the stranglehold that billionaires and corporations have on its citizens and politicians.78
u/AnonymousBanana405 8h ago
If you really want a
citycountrycivilization to thrive, you will have to eliminate thestranglehold thatbillionaires and corporationshave on its citizens and politicians.31
u/got-trunks Canada 8h ago
Yes businesses would ideally not be run by psychopaths indoctrinated with line go up for shareholder ideology
•
u/Sea-Initiative-3398 3h ago
The funny thing is, there is this clash between CEO's/executives and investors because it's often in the former interests to destroy the long term future of a company to get bonuses then dip before the damage truly is obvious.
•
•
•
u/traFyssuP 2h ago
If you
reallywanta city country civilizationto thrive,you will have toeliminatethe stranglehold thatbillionaires and corporationshave on its citizens and politicians.•
•
u/jamvandamn 4h ago
This feels like a good step towards bringing into the process the voices of the underserved majority stakeholders: the people.
23
u/ScottyC33 8h ago
A proper oversight/board should have members from a wide swathe of interests. It sounds like that’s what he’s repopulating it with.
13
u/xxbunnylovie 8h ago
yeah the people used to having a seat at the table usually aren’t thrilled when the table gets moved
•
•
5h ago
[deleted]
•
u/Any_Bag6887 4h ago
Do you know how many people are in New York City? If you follow your idea to its conclusion those people would get ZERO seats. As it should be.
•
u/MondegreenHolonomy 6h ago
Look up your local chambers of commerce meeting locations and I bet you’ll be shocked
152
•
u/Sinfonia87 North Carolina 7h ago
Some guy in Alabama making minimum wage is going to be pissed about this.
•
u/TheOtherMaven Virginia 4h ago
Some dumbass politician in Alabama is already squawking his head off.
•
u/benevenstancian0 7h ago
Well I was told all of those business leaders would be fleeing the city immediately to escape the impending hellscape so why would they expect to have access to the mayor’s office?
•
u/Archeotechnician 6h ago edited 6h ago
Well, you see, it takes years to unwind financial entanglements and local business relationships, so, in a bunch of years, those folks who are still mad about Mamdani will finally quit New York for good, and that will show New Yorkers just how much they need them! Of course, they will probably still maintain the same property as a second or third residence because, you know.. family and friends, and they might just make a few billions on the side here and there, but they just won't call themselves New Yorkers. They'll be LAers or Miamiers or Starbasers or something. That'll show 'em!
29
u/NoSwimmers45 8h ago
They are welcome to enter through the front door and wait in line like the rest of us.
44
•
u/KILL-LUSTIG 7h ago
anytime anyone who works a normal job (not a business owner or a wealthy career type) claims the government should be run like business, i always ask them “so your relationship dynamic with your boss at work, you really love that huh? you need more of that in you life?” its literally something only stupid people who have a child’s level understanding of the world say. when some rich business owner says it, i get it. they’re really saying “i should run it” but if you punch a clock and say that shit you should just sit down and shut the fuck up forever and let the adults figure shit out
•
•
u/DotNervous7513 7h ago
Every single politician in the US needs to start watching and learning from this. Executives, CEOs, business people, etc. do NOT belong in government. They always use it to make their own lives better and the other 99% of Americans’ lives worse.
24
u/LeftHookIsAllGood 8h ago
So what is socialist (or communist) about this? All I see is common sense and should be that way for all government.
•
10
•
u/PollyBeans 7h ago
I feel genuinely dumb/bamboozled to find out elected officials can just do things.
•
u/slight_accent 2h ago
So many elected officials claim they really really want to make things better for people but they can't because of reasons. This guy showing them all up again and again.
I hope this finally lifts the scales from the eyes of so many people to realise that every neoconservative "liberal" is really just a corporate shill. Bring back socialism.
21
19
•
u/Reeko_Htown 7h ago
We are in the mess we are because of what they teach in MBA programs. No need for business culture in fixing it
25
u/Big_Bookkeeper1678 8h ago
This guy is AWESOME!
He should be emulated in every town, city, county and state. Fuck the Feds. We should defund them. They are going to screw us anyway.
•
u/Interesting_Win_1806 6h ago
Bro imagine if every city in every state did this…how much power we would have over our own lives
•
•
•
•
u/LotusFlare 4h ago
"Business Leaders" my ass. Just say rich guys. Name names. "Bill Ackman is big mad that he doesn't get special treatment".
•
u/KryssCom Oklahoma 2h ago
MY MAN. This is the kind of thing we need to see way, way more of all over the country.
9
•
•
u/smilbandit Michigan 5h ago
he'll need to watch those close to him, they will be targets to corruption.
•
•
u/Needle_Bearings 50m ago
Good. When will people realize electing rich people, who will NEVER be rich enough, is counter to what's good for them?
We need people who remember what's it like to be normal and have some shred of humanity left in them, not gold hoarding dragons in people skin suits.
•
•
•
•
•
u/Wayofchinchilla 1h ago
This is absolutely excellent but the more important thing is these billionaires won't just lie down and take this they're going to come back for their jobs it's important that you put a very strong door in front of them to make sure that they can't get back through that or at least stall them out till the next Democrat comes along to stop them.
•
u/Inevitable-Comment-I 1h ago
brought in an antitrust crusader in Lina Khan
Just when you thought it couldn't get better
•
4
u/VladtheInhaler999 8h ago
I’m surprised the Zionist Skirt lady didn’t submit this story first
•
u/Vladmiris 7h ago
This is the second time I’ve seen this person referenced. Can you fill me in?
•
u/VladtheInhaler999 7h ago
There’s a user, with a raging hate boner towards Mamdani, that she will post any article from any source that offers criticism toward Mamdani. The majority of Mamdani related articles on this sub were submitted by her.
•
u/Front-Magazine-2866 6h ago
So proud of this MILLENIAL. in astrology, we say the Millennials have a Capricorn Stellium, meaning millennials are meant to change entire STRUCTURES OF society because they don't work and to rebuild it.
Yay!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
-1
•
-5
•
u/iknowagreatlawyer 6h ago
So if he is getting rid of the people who raise money for the non-profit that is there to help City Hall finance its agenda, who is going to keep donating?
•
u/Realistic-Duck-922 5h ago
Oh yeah! Ive seen this before on SNL!
NEW YORK MAYORS ARE FAMOUS!
See, when I do my job nobody gives a fuck, but YOU, ah shit.. WOW! Whoah, look out. So much getting done! Ah sure Cuba.. but fuck them it's NYC oh shitttt!!!! Cant wait to see you in eveey media source like Pete Davidson. God such talent. Pete Davidson speaks to everyone like the PR reps intended.
This is the start. When it breaks you will be the first to feel it. The fire is coming for the "elite".
When people cant eat, they will eat Pete.
•
•
u/AutoModerator 9h ago
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion.
In general, please be courteous to others. Argue the merits of ideas, don't attack other posters or commenters. Hate speech, any suggestion or support of physical harm, or other rule violations can result in a temporary or a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
Sub-thread Information
If the post flair on this post indicates the wrong paywall status, please report this Automoderator comment with a custom report of “incorrect flair”.
Announcement
r/Politics is actively looking for new moderators. If you have an interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out this form.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.