Mayor Zohran Mamdani is calling on big-name CEOs to work with him in growing the city's economy by joining his newest business council.
The mayor has used similar tactics in the past when it comes to working with potential foes, particularly with President Donald Trump, whom he previously had a meeting with in the past to talk about the affordability crisis in New York.
Since he took office, Mamdani has faced criticisms from some of the biggest business leaders in the world, including hedgefund CEO Ken Griffin and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. But on Thursday, the mayor announced the creation of a business advisory council, which includes over 10 CEO's from various industries.
“The doors of City Hall are always open to New York’s business leaders,
and I look forward to welcoming their experience and strategic guidance as we build a stronger, more dynamic economy,” Mamdani said in a release on the move.
“This council brings together the people building the next generation of New York’s economy — in finance, tech, life sciences, and beyond — to help us double down on what makes this city the best place on Earth to start a company, grow a business, and build a career."
Some of the biggest names include Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, New York LibertyCEO Keia Clarke, Etsy CEO Kruti Patel Goyal and Pat Wang, CEO of Healthfirst. The 15 business leaders on the list will meet with the mayor and Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su quarterly to advise moves on the city's economy.
In April, Mamdani released a video explaining his new pied-à-terre tax, which was one of the first plans to target richer residents in the city. Mamdani had used Citadel CEO Griffin's home in a video promoting the new tax, which drew backlash from Griffin himself, alongside Bezos. The company's planned redevelopment of a skyscraper in the heart of Midtown Manhattan is moving forward, however, after Citadel floated the idea of scrapping the project when the video was released.
Bezos previously said that Mamdani was creating a villain of billionaires. "When you don’t know how to solve a problem, create a villain, blame them, but it won’t solve the problem," he said during an interview in May. "I pay billions of dollars in taxes. … If people want me to pay more billions, then let’s have that debate. But don’t pretend … that that’s going to solve the problem."
Despite his previous working relationship with the president, Trump also sharply criticized Mamdani and his work with some of the richest in the city. "I don't understand why he thinks it's OK for all these companies that pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes a year to leave," Trump said to reporters in June. "Because you're not going to have any tax base, and you're going to end up in hunger and squalor and death and destruction."
In April, when Mamdani proposed his tax plan on wealthier residents, Trump slammed it on social media.
"Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance! The United States of America should not contribute to its failure," Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. "It will only get WORSE. The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG. People are fleeing. They must change their ways, AND FAST."
But Mamdani says that NYC wants "the most ambitious people in the world to come here, stay here, and build here.”
“New York aspires to be a city of growth and opportunity for all its people,” saidmember Tony James, the chairman of Jefferson River Capital. “I look forward to helping bring the perspective of business to Mayor Mamdani as he steers us toward that goal.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mamdani reaches out to CEOs to boost city economy; what it means
