The most recent drama in the fight for City Hall has centered on a question that might seem absurd in much of the rest of the country but is all too relevant in New York City, one of the most expensive places on the planet.
Is someone making $142,000 a year rich?
That’s the annual salary earned by Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor — an amount that his chief rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, argues is too much to be living in a rent-stabilized apartment, as Mr. Mamdani does.
“You make $142,000 a year plus stipends, and your wife works too, meaning you together likely make well over $200,000,” Mr. Cuomo said on social media. “No matter which way you cut it: Zohran Mamdani is a rich person. You are actually very rich.”
Mr. Mamdani, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens, has consistently said he considers himself privileged and financially comfortable. Aside from his salary as a state assemblyman, he owns land in Uganda, where he was born, valued at between $150,000 and $200,000. And he has said that he plans to move out of his apartment, which costs $2,300 a month.
Earlier this week, Mr. Mamdani joked that he is living “rent-free” in Mr. Cuomo’s head.
Mr. Cuomo, who moved into the city less than two years ago after years in Albany and Westchester County, pays about $8,000 a month for his rental in the Sutton Place neighborhood of Manhattan, and earned more than half a million dollars in consulting fees in 2024. His net worth is estimated at about $10 million.
Beyond political mudslinging, the debate over what salary makes a New Yorker wealthy has highlighted how warped the citywide conversation about money has become.
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The post Does Earning $142,000 in New York City Make You Rich? appeared first on New York Times.
