Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Rising Favorability Amid Record-High NYC Rents

A Siena Research Institute poll released Wednesday shows Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds a 69 % favorable rating among New York City voters, up nine points from the previous month. The same poll recorded a 28 % unfavorable rating, down from 31 % in September. Statewide, his favorability sits at 47 % with 43 % unfavorable, unchanged since September. The survey sampled 807 likely New York state voters from October 19 to 22 and carries a margin of error of ±4.1 percentage points.

Newsweek

Realtor.com reports that median asking rent in New York City reached a record $3,785 in the third quarter of 2026, a 4.5 % year-over-year increase and roughly 27.5 % above pre-pandemic levels. Manhattan led the rise with a median rent of $5,375, up 8.3 % YoY; Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island also saw increases. Smaller units (studio to two-bedroom) rose 7.1 % YoY, outpacing the 4.2 % rise in average hourly earnings for private-sector workers in August. Under the 30 % affordability guideline, a renter would need an annual income of $215,000 to afford Manhattan’s median rent, far above the borough’s median household income of $106,403 (U.S. Census Bureau).

Newsweek

Since taking office on January 1, Mamdani has pursued a “Block by Block” plan that targets the construction of 200,000 affordable homes and the preservation of another 200,000 over ten years, backed by a proposed $22 billion housing-capital investment across five years. A rent-freeze for roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments was enacted in June after approval by the Rent Guidelines Board. On October 1 (scheduled), the mayor announced that twelve neighborhoods with historically low affordable-housing output will enter the voter-approved Affordable Housing Fast-Track program, slated to begin in January. On October 21, Mamdani nominated five housing and planning experts to the City Planning Commission; the appointments await City Council confirmation.

Newsweek

Mamdani emphasized that zoning and land-use decisions are critical to keeping New Yorkers in their neighborhoods and that the new Planning Commission must grasp the urgency of the housing crisis. He framed the Fast-Track program as a means to spread affordable-housing development across all five boroughs, acknowledging that new construction will take time to alleviate current rent pressures.

Newsweek