Zohran Mamdani to turn housing in NYC highly expensive? Barry Sternlicht, real estate billionaire, raises concerns as he criticizes NYC's new mayor’s housing policy; here’s what he said

Billionaire real estate investor Barry Sternlicht criticized New York’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, over rent and housing policy in the Big Apple. Sternlicht, who is Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, blamed extremely expensive development and management costs on unions. He asserted that things are expected to get worse under the Mamdani administration.

Starwood Capital Group has both commercial and residential holdings and joint ventures in the city, as well as its own offices in Midtown Manhattan.

“Over $100 million, every project in New York has to go union, and it’s super expensive. It leads to extremely expensive housing. And other developers have tried to cut deals with the unions, but they rule New York, and that’s one of the key reasons the blue states are so expensive and they’re so difficult to add supply of housing to,” Sternlicht told CNBC in an interview.


“And then the far left gets really nuts and says the tenants don’t have to pay. Well, you can’t kick them out if they don’t pay. So the neighbor finds out the neighbor isn’t paying, and they don’t pay, and the next guy doesn’t pay, and then you’re basically going to turn New York City into Mumbai,” the billionaire said.


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The central housing platform of Mamdani focused on freezing rents, but Sternlicht has expressed disagreement with his strategy. He emphasizes that Mamdani should focus on core issues facing the city and should increase housing.

“The core issues are not what he’s focusing on. We need to increase housing. That’s not going to happen easily, right? You need serious subsidies from the government if they want us to work with unions. The unions have to be more accommodative on their work laws and the wages and everything else, otherwise you can’t add economically,” Sternlicht said.

Meanwhile, members of the New York real estate industry have been bracing for the ripple effects of Mamdani's affordability and housing policies, according to Reuters. They are now seeking to engage with the New York City mayor-elect as he attempts to freeze rent and spur development in the city.