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Zohran Mamdani: “The MTA spent more money on consultants than construction…”

Featuring: Zohran Mamdani, Democratic | Mayor of New York City

Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him

Published October 22, 2025 | Video Starts at 15:21

I think the larger point here is though, that like when you. When. When they did the first phase of construction for the Second Avenue subway. Yeah. The MTA spent more money on consultants than construction [for the Second Avenue subway]. Yeah. So this is part of the issue is that you're right, that we're going to have to transform the inner workings of government, and that means ending a patronage politics. (15:21–15:24)

CLAIM

Asserts that the MTA spent more on consultants than on construction for the Second Avenue subway.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Zohran Mamdani

“Of the $40 billion we spend, we spend about 10 billion on contracts and consultants [in the Department of Education].”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 11:45-11:51
“The city of New York will pay McKinsey a few million dollars to design a trash can.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 12:40-12:45
“About two and a half million New Yorkers live in [rent-stabilized] apartments.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 18:11-18:15
“Landlord profits had increased 12% [for rent-stabilized units] in the same year [the Rent Guidelines Board] decided, let's hike the rent…”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 19:08-19:20
“We're building four homes per thousand people. Jersey City's at seven.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 27:17-27:21
“Tokyo's at nearly ten.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 27:20-27:22
“The city of New York is owed $800 million by landlords who have violated housing codes that the city has not collected a dollar on.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 30:02-30:10
“One third of all homes purchased in Queens were being purchased by unnamed LLCs.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 31:06-31:18
“If you look at the actual studies of free money buses, it costs 700 million. It generates more than double that in economic benefit.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 47:39-47:47
“We have hundreds of sidewalk sheds at city owned properties that have been up for more than three years.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:03:31-1:03:37
“We saw a swing towards Trump here in New York City in the last general election.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 02:38-02:43
“We saw the swing was actually in the heart of immigrant New York.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 02:59-03:03
“I met the vast majority of them were Trump voters.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 03:09-03:13
“It just came back to cost of living.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 03:13-03:16
“It's the number one issue in the city.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 04:41-04:43
“A nurse who after she finishes her shift, she drives for an hour and a half, leaving the state of New York to get to where she can afford a…”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 05:26-05:35
“New York City continues to be a creature of the state.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 06:46-06:49
“If you have an ambition for the city that matches the scale of the crisis, you have to have an Albany agenda.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 06:49-06:55
“He actually overcame the objections of then Governor Andrew Cuomo to get that money to make this a reality.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 07:01-07:07
“Andrew Cuomo... there are a number of things that he has said and done he would not have done if I weren't a Muslim candidate.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 07:03-1:07:11
“Raising taxes on the top 1% by 2%, the top corporate tax to match that of New Jersey, that's something we will do in Albany.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 07:11-07:21
“People in Harlem were promised a subway to 125th street on the Second Avenue decades ago.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 14:37-14:43
“There are a lot of people who have jobs more to do with who they know than what they do.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 15:31-15:36
“I want to increase taxes on the top 1% by 2%.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 16:28-16:32
“We have to have a housing policy for all eight and a half million people.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 19:24-19:28
“Housing [in New York City] has been treated as a means by which to make profit.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 19:25-23:20
“You couple a rent freeze with construction of 200,000 truly affordable homes.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 19:28-19:34
“The median household income in New York City is $70,000 for a family of four.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 19:49-19:55
“I cannot justify a restaurant giving the city every year $25 for the right to sell a frozen dessert.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 20:32-20:39
“I cannot justify someone who wants to open a barbershop, filling out 24 forms, going to seven agencies and then attending 12 in person…”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 20:42-20:50
“The insurance of affordable housing units has doubled in the last few years.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 22:12-22:17
“A number of those landlords came together to create a different risk pool through something called Mil Street Captive.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 22:21-22:29
“You have a property tax system that's broken in New York City, one that effectively penalizes rental apartments and the owners of those…”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 23:11-23:20
“If you had a system that incentivized the construction of rental apartments, you could have a very different landscape of housing.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 23:20-23:27
“The city should produce 200,000 homes.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 23:37-23:42
“The private sector should be doing an immense amount of additional construction.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 23:41-23:45
“City of Yes... makes it easier to construct more housing across New York City. It changes zoning regulations.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 25:26-25:56
“It's estimated to allow for the additional construction of a little less than 90,000 new units.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 25:55-26:00
“The same landlords who are saying we can't afford a rent freeze dropped $2 million against me in the primary.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 30:18-30:23
“One of the issues you're hearing from a lot of landlords is they entered into loans with banks that could only be paid back if they evicted…”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 40:21-40:33
“We understand housing as a human right and also ensure that our affordability agenda is universal.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 40:47-40:54
“The current law is 10% of the five year valuation of real estate in New York City.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 42:03-42:09
“If we don't match that crisis with that ambition, we're going to lose people.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 42:24-42:28
“I've seen legislators and legislative leaders who've had a vision of a city where you tax the wealthiest a little bit more to provide for…”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 42:33-42:45
“Andrew Cuomo is an example of not trying. He had 10 years of running his.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 42:50-42:56
“We, from the beginning of this race, wanted to break out of the bubble of New York City politics and get into the world of New York City.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 43:57-44:04
“When I actually spoke to Trump voters, you know, in Queens and in the Bronx, it felt like here was a campaign that was bridging that divide.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 45:08-45:16
“We have to show that democracy can deliver on their needs.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 45:22-45:25
“The billionaires spending millions against me right now, they're not doing so because they're afraid my plans won't work. They're doing so…”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 47:23-47:33
“We made five bus routes free in New York City.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 58:08-58:11
“People said that we wouldn't be able to deliver [free bus routes].”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 59:19-59:21
“None of those things [more riders, decline in assaults, more homeless people] were true.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 59:27-59:29
“It's an ambitious agenda, but it's one that I'm really confident in delivering.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:00:28-1:00:32
“There will be many New Yorkers for whom I will have to deliver first to earn their trust.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:01:30-1:01:36
“The status quo is standing in our way.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:02:25-1:02:27
“The same people who've spent millions of dollars will still have an immense amount of money that they could use to try and spend an…”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:02:31-1:02:41
“It wasn't a Republican that sent a mailer that artificially lengthened my beard.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:05:46-1:05:50
“Are you going to increase funding for hate crime prevention programs?”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:07:51-1:07:55
“Are you going to ensure that the NYPD are outside of synagogues and temples on the Jewish high holy days?”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:07:54-1:08:00
“Are you going to actually have a curriculum like Hidden Voices taught in schools that celebrates the breath and the beauty of Jewish life?”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:07:59-1:08:07
“Unindicted co-conspirator is translation for man who is not found guilty of anything.”
Zohran Mamdani on Freezing Rent, Making NYC Affordable Again, & Who is Really Stopping Him | Uploaded October 22, 2025 | 1:08:50-1:08:55