Staff Reports
Mayor Zohran Mamdani flew into Wall Street this week to do damage control after his viral “tax-the-rich” stunt outside a billionaire’s penthouse. He met separately with JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon and with Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon. Reporters called the sessions “constructive” and said the mayor talked about cutting red tape and keeping New York competitive — but there was no clear, on-the-record apology to Ken Griffin for the video that started all the fuss.
Mamdani’s Wall Street outreach: friendly words, shaky footing
The meetings with Jamie Dimon and David Solomon were billed as part of a broader Wall Street outreach. JPMorgan said the talk with Dimon was “constructive” and “friendly,” and City Hall says the focus was practical: boosting competitiveness, trimming waste and exploring public–private partnerships. That sounds like governing on paper. In practice, it’s hard to see how warm words erase a clip of a mayor standing outside a CEO’s home to pitch a pied‑à‑terre tax.
The video everyone keeps whispering about
The reason Mamdani had to hustle to Wall Street in the first place is plain: he filmed a social‑media spot outside the Midtown address linked to Ken Griffin to promote a “tax-the-rich” plan. Griffin called the stunt in poor taste and said it put him at risk. Citadel has reportedly put a huge Midtown redevelopment — a multibillion‑dollar project — into internal debate. That is not just theater. That is real investment, jobs, and tax revenue on the table.
Why this matters for New York City competitiveness
You can argue policy all you want. But when the mayor of New York makes a spectacle of targeting one of the city’s biggest investors, business leaders hear a threat, not a policy debate. If firms start shifting permits, projects, or people elsewhere, the city loses more than Twitter fights. Mamdani can talk about cutting red tape until the next election, but he should know that trust from the private sector is hard to earn and easy to lose.
What to watch next — and how this should end
Keep an eye on three things: whether Citadel moves forward with its Midtown project, whether Ken Griffin agrees to meet and whether Mamdani changes tone — publicly and privately. A private, frank conversation would be a start. A genuine public apology would be better. If Mamdani wants to lead, he needs to stop performing and start persuading. New Yorkers deserve a mayor who can hold a meeting without staging a viral ambush.
