New York's Fifth Avenue Transformation Gets Fully Funded With $400 Million
On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams announced he's putting an additional $250 million into his fiscal 2026 budget, adding that to the $153 million previously allocated to fund a dramatic transformation of Fifth Avenue, bringing the total budget to over $400 million.
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Fifth Avenue this year celebrates its 200th anniversary, but the world-famous thoroughfare has never had a major redesign.
The mayor, who is running to be re-elected this year, expects the $400 million project to pay for itself within five years of its completion through increased property and sales tax revenue. He also said it will lead to more jobs.
The transformation plan calls for widening the sidewalks, reducing traffic lanes to three from the current five, adding trees, planters, benches, improved lighting and infrastructure to reduce the impact of storms, and possibly adding more vehicle-free weekends. The idea is to make it easier and more inviting for shoppers to walk up and down the avenue, making it a bit more like the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
'This is a huge, huge economic stimulus for this entire city,' Adams said during a press conference. Construction is set to begin in early 2028.
Fifth Avenue, Adams said, 'was once known as America's Street of Dreams, and those dreams have often remained silent. Well, today we're seeing the alarm clock going off, we're waking up, and we're going to wake up the economic stability of this great community in this great area.
'Two centuries ago, Fifth Avenue was just a dirt road,' the mayor said. 'It's hard to even imagine and believe that. But it has turned and transformed itself, and today it's a busting boulevard of shopping, restaurants, businesses and tourism. It's also home to five lanes of traffic congestion, pollution and high foot traffic. More people walk down Fifth Avenue in one hour than would fill Madison Square Garden tonight when the Knicks beat the Pacers and head their way to the finals. Got to get that in.
'So this current design is not working. It's not modernized enough. It has not evolved with the time. So as part of our Best Budget Ever, we are injecting an additional $250 million to fully fund the … future of Fifth Avenue Partnership's plan to transform Fifth Avenue's entire stretch of real estate from Bryant Park to Central Park.'
First deputy Mayor Randy Mastro added: 'No more crammed sidewalks. No more dodging traffic. We're making Fifth Avenue more walkable, greener and safer. The stretch of real estate that we enjoy walking all the time from Bryant Park to Central Park, we're going to double the sidewalk space, shorten the crosswalks so that the avenue is safer to cross, green the avenue with more than 230 tree planters, and add in new seating and better lighting.
'We don't have to travel to Paris or London to experience the world-class shopping restaurants and green pedestrian-friendly streets. We're going to have that right here to add to all of the other attractions we have,' he said.
The transformation plan is a collaboration between city agencies and the Future of Fifth Partnership, which includes the Fifth Avenue Association, the Grand Central Partnership, the Central Park Conservancy and the Bryant Park Corporation.
The ritzy, internationally renowned thoroughfare, which commands the world's highest commercial rents, has undergone an unprecedented degree of investment, retail development and transformation in Midtown for more than two years.
It all seemed to conspicuously take off around August 2023 with opening of the redesigned Tiffany flagship with its completely transformed interior.
The Tiffany metamorphosis — which some sources pegged at $250 million to $350 million, while other sources estimate that cost was as high as $600 million to $800 million, including the art — was followed by a flurry of property acquisitions at lavish prices by luxury conglomerates.
Prada bought 724 Fifth Avenue, site of its New York flagship, and the building next door where Abercrombie & Fitch formerly operated, for $835 million. Kering, owner of Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Alexander McQueen, bought the 115,000-square-foot retail space at 715–717 Fifth Avenue for $963 million, considered the most expensive high street retail deal in the U.S. Armani will vacate the site and move to the designer's mixed-used project under construction and opening in October at 760 Madison Avenue, and Dolce & Gabbana will also vacate the site and relocate to 695 Madison Avenue.
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New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
Knicks walking a second-apron tightrope
Houston is parting ways with one of its young assets. Meanwhile, the market for the Warriors' restricted free agent is beginning to take shape. Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images Michael Reaves / Getty Images While things are slow ... I don't think the Knicks' tax apron situation has received enough attention. By adding Guershon Yaubsele via the taxpayer midlevel exception, the Knicks will trigger the second apron. It is going to take some serious limbo to stay beneath it. After agreeing to a minimum deal with Jordan Clarkson, New York has two open roster spots left. At the moment, they cannot sign a veteran to either one. The only players they could fit into those spots are ones they drafted — 2024 second-round Kevin McCullar (for $2,048,914) into one spot, and either 2025 second-rounder Mohamed Diawara, 2023 second-rounder James Nnaji or 2021 second-rounder Rokas Jokubaitis (for $1,272,870) into the other. Any other combination of salaries signed this summer would put the Knicks over the second apron. There are two possibilities to get around this. The most likely one is that Yabusele takes slightly less than the full nontaxpayer midlevel exception. If he takes just $36,641 below that number, the Knicks can put a veteran into McCullar's spot and fill the other with any of the second-rounders besides McCullar. The second possibility is that the Knicks sign non-McCullar second-rounders into both spots, but waive Ariel Hukporti's non-guaranteed deal and put a veteran into his place instead. In the meantime, one can see why New York picked up Hukporti's team option. Right now the difference between his $1.955 million salary and the $2.3 million veteran minimum is the glue holding New York's entire salary cap Jenga structure together. Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images Mike Brown's defining trait comes in his attention to detail. He is notoriously organized. After he picks up his mail at home, he stacks up the envelopes, dividing each into different categories before opening them. His office is always 'immaculate,' said Warriors assistant Bruce Fraser, who overlapped with Brown for six seasons in Golden State. He color codes his plays, often carrying various pens — a red one, a blue one, a black one, etc. — so that he can diagram them as clearly as possible. When he was with the Warriors, he would categorize pens in his locker by their colors. Just to mess with him, other coaches would switch them around, removing a red pen from its intuitive group and place it among the blues. Brown would notice quickly and restore order. Brown is a copious note taker. At any given moment around the team, he could be holding a massive folder that contains all his scribbles. 'It's like his basketball bible,' Fraser said. The coach will notice an interesting tidbit another team has added or think of a play and jot it down without hesitation. Later, just to make Marie Kondo jealous, he will go back and reillustrate his diagram, making sure to create a color-coded version. He expects the same attention to detail from those around him, from the players to the coaches to the rest of the franchise. Read the rest of my feature on the likely new Knicks head coach. GO FURTHER Who might the Knicks get in Mike Brown? Two-time Coach of the Year is still evolving Mike Lawrie / Getty Images We gave up another first-rounder pick to avoid the luxury tax! The fourth one of the Nikola Jokić era! Yay? I get some of the enthusiasm about Denver's secondary moves to fill out the bench. Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valančiūnas are all massive upgrades on the flotsam that passed for a second unit a year ago. But they traded an extremely valuable asset — a 2032 unprotected first-round pick — in a swap of forwards that turned Michael Porter Jr. into Cam Johnson. You can nitpick small differences in their games, but this was a deal whose sole driving inspiration was avoiding paying the luxury tax again. That's a sad way to operate while the best player who will ever wear a Nuggets uniform is still in his prime. If you don't think this is bad, just consider: What else could the Nuggets have done with that 2032 pick if they had actually been looking at deals to make the team better, rather than just ones that let them tread water while avoiding spending money? Here's the thing, though: Jokić is so good that this team is a legitimate contender; the Nuggets gave the Thunder all they could handle in the second round in May and have some reinforcements this time around. It's just sad to think of how much opportunity has been squandered by the Nuggets constantly using draft picks to dump money. The one time they used future picks to actually build their team, they landed Aaron Gordon. GO FURTHER Winners (Hawks), losers (July) and more from NBA free agency's first days Caw-caw! Under new GM Onsi Saleh, the Hawks had a fantastic draft week, acquiring Kristaps Porziņģis in a deal to be finalized soon and then burning the New Orleans Pelicans by getting an unprotected first-round pick in 2026 that could land one of the top picks in a loaded draft. They followed it up with stellar work in the free-agent market. Atlanta used its $25 million trade exception from the Dejounte Murray trade to land Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Minnesota at a price just above the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, essentially squeezing out all their competition, and then added Luke Kennard on a one-year deal. Those two additions fortify what was an extremely shaky shooting and ballhandling situation in the non-Trae Young minutes, and in Alexander-Walker, the Hawks added a second lockdown backcourt defender to go with stopper Dyson Daniels. The Hawks also seem likely to get some small bit of compensation for letting Clint Capela go to Houston in a sign-and-trade. Now, for the fun part: Could Atlanta do more? Capela's outbound salary is enough to offset Alexander-Walker's, which means the Hawks could keep that $25 million trade exception alive for something else. They would have to work quickly since it expires on July 6, the first day deals can be ratified in the new cap year, and they would have to send out some salary to stay below the first-apron threshold (where they're hard-capped due to signing Kennard with the nontaxpayer MLE), but it's something to ponder. In the event things stay less spicy, the Hawks still have back-end work to do on the roster with their $5.1 million biannual exception and veteran's minimums; the Hawks are an estimated $7.4 million below the tax line with at least two open roster spots to fill and could use another small forward and a stretch four. Read on for more free agency winners and losers. GO FURTHER Winners (Hawks), losers (July) and more from NBA free agency's first days Jerome Miron / Imagn Jared Dudley, a Dallas Mavericks assistant for the last four years, is headed to Denver to become the Nuggets' lead assistant coach, a league source confirmed. His departure means Jason Kidd's coaching staff in Dallas will look radically different next season. All three of Kidd's top assistants from last season have left in the past five months. In March, Alex Jensen accepted a job as the head men's coach at the University of Utah. In June, Sean Sweeney became the San Antonio Spurs' associated head coach. Now, Dudley leaves Dallas for a promotion. Additionally, God Shammgod is taking a job on Jamahl Mosley's staff with the Orlando Magic. Shammgod began working for the Mavericks in 2016 and has a close relationship with Kyrie Irving. So far, the Mavericks have hired two former head coaches as replacements in Jay Triano and Frank Vogel. Vogel was the head coach of the Lakers' championship-winning team in 2020; Kidd worked under him in L.A. as an assistant. Remember when NBA free agency was an event, something that dragged on for days as players took meetings, teams prepared dog-and-pony shows for prospective free agents and entire front-office staffs huddled up in cramped hotel rooms in The Hamptons? It was only nine years ago that Kevin Durant put the entire league on hold while he figured out his next destination. It was only eight years ago that Gordon Hayward did the same. (I swear to you this really happened.) And it wasn't just the stars who got this treatment; take it from somebody who flew cross-country to make a sales pitch to Solomon Hill. Welcome to the speed chess version of the same game. We're a few days into free agency, and aside from the annual drawn-out saga of restricted free agents, we're basically done. Read on to understand why and to see my early winners and losers. GO FURTHER Winners (Hawks), losers (July) and more from NBA free agency's first days Brad Penner / Imagn After we finished digesting the news of the three terrible Achilles tears of the playoffs, another question emerged: Which teams would rise to fill the void in the battered, miserable Eastern Conference? Going chronologically, injuries to Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton put the immediate fates of the last two conference champions and the team with the conference's best player in doubt. Without those stars, it would be difficult for their teams to compete in 2025-26 and stay financially responsible at the same time. We've seen all three teams grapple with that in June and early July. The offseason is not over, and neither is free agency — the likes of Josh Giddey and Jonathan Kuminga are still out there as restricted free agents, and trades could still develop. In the wake of most of the major action, it seems wise to reassess the status of the conference. Let's get to this before a trade goes down and shakes all of this up. Read on to see how I classified the current state of the East. GO FURTHER Knicks, Magic or Cavs: Which teams are prepared to jump up in the Eastern Conference? There's nothing near the finish line on the Jonathan Kuminga front as the third night of free agency wrapped up, per league sources. There are conversations ongoing with Warriors and several teams on periphery. The Warriors are also waiting on Al Horford's decision. Former No. 1 overall picks from the lottery era to play for the Los Angeles Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal Joe Smith Kwame Brown LeBron James Dwight Howard Andrew Bogut Anthony Davis Deandre Ayton None of them were drafted by the Lakers. Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Deandre Ayton was a surprise addition to this year's free agency class, negotiating a contract buyout with the Trail Blazers on Sunday night and surrendering a reported $10 million of a $34 million deal. Ayton and Luka Dončić are both represented Bill Duffy, the longtime agent who heads WME Basketball. Dončić, according to league sources, is excited about the opportunity to play with Ayton. The Lakers, according to team and league sources, showed serious interest in veteran center Brook Lopez, who agreed to a two-year deal with the LA Clippers on Monday. He was pegged by many around the NBA as the logical player for the Lakers this free agency cycle. Lopez, 37, is still one of the NBA's best inside-outside centers but doesn't play the kind of pick-and-roll, lob-threat style that Dončić has had the most success with in his career. GO FURTHER Deandre Ayton, Lakers agree to two-year deal: Sources To add more detail to Kelly Iko's report below about an "expansive sign-and-trade" involving Houston: League sources tell The Athletic that the Rockets and Suns are working on expanding the Kevin Durant trade into a deal that would involve a league-record seven teams. Other teams involved in negotiations at the moment include the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources say. No trade is imminent, and details are being ironed out as of Wednesday night. In a would-be seven-team trade, there is an unprecedented amount of detail. Unfortunately, while a seven-team trade would make for a thrilling topic at a cocktail party, there haven't been many unexpected developments in these negotiations. At least in the iterations of the deal discussed so far, most of the recognizable names are from trades that have already been agreed to and reported but not yet finalized. The Hawks would be sending Clint Capela to the Rockets in what would become a sign-and-trade, league sources say. Durant would go to Houston. The previously reported return for him, including Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green, would go to Phoenix. Only five players who were in the NBA last season are being discussed in the current iteration of the trade, as of now: Durant, Brooks, Green, Clint Capela and Daeqwon Plowden, league sources say. The rest of the players being discussed are all from already-agreed-upon draft-night trades that are yet to be finalized and can't be until July 6. For now, the largest trade in NBA history is the six-teamer that sent Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks last summer. Before that, it was the five-teamer in 2021, when the Lakers sent Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards. GO FURTHER Why the Rockets changed course, fast-tracked their timeline to land Kevin Durant Dennis Schröder will be joining the Kings as part of a sign-and-trade with the Pistons, a team source tells our Sam Amick, and that improves the flexibility for both teams. The Kings willl take Schröder into their existing $16.8 million trade exception for Kevin Huerter and thus maintain their entire $14.1 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception for other moves; Sacramento is currently $14.7 million below the first apron, where the Kings would be hard-capped as a result of the sign-and-trade. The Pistons, meanwhile, will either generate a $14.1 million trade exception for Schröder or can take back up to $23 million in a simultaneous trade that would almost certainly involve a third team (or more). As a result of this trade, the Pistons would operate as an over-the-cap team, with Paul Reed taking the team's biannual exception and Caris LeVert taking Detroit's nontaxpayer midlevel exception. Detroit still has $25 million in room below the tax line with three open roster spots, although one may be designated for rookie second-round pick Chaz Lanier. The Pistons are already taking on a bunch of salary in another trade, sending Simone Fontecchio out in a sign-and-trade for Duncan Robinson; it appears that Detroit will start Robinson's salary at the maximum allowable $16,865,384 (twice Fontecchio's salary plus $250,000), and then decline his salary by 5 percent each of the following two years on his three-year, $48 million deal. It also remains possible that Detroit unites these two sign-and-trades into one big, ugly sign-and-trade, although right now it doesn't seem to generate any additional advantages versus keeping the two separate. To further what Eric Nehm and I discussed in our story earlier today: The Bucks, after waiving Chris Livingston, can accommodate a four-year, $107 million contract for Myles Turner, provided Vasilije Micić gives back at least $5.4 million of his $8.1 million salary in a buyout with Milwaukee. If Turner's deal ends up being a sign-and-trade, however, Micić would only need to give back $5.15 million. After an active offseason, the Atlanta Hawks' championship odds have jumped from +25000 to +2500 on BetMGM. Trae Young remains the cornerstone, but the supporting cast looks deeper and much more talented with those three additions. Atlanta's regular starting five figures to be Trae Young, Kristaps Porziņģis, Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels, last year's No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher and Jalen Johnson, who was averaging 18.9 points, 10 rebounds and five assists before missing the second half of last season due to injury. Add Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard to a bench unit in a depleted Eastern Conference, and it's easy to see why Atlanta surged up the odds. GO FURTHER 2026 NBA title odds: How the contenders rank after free agency and trade frenzy The Milwaukee Bucks have waived Chris Livingston. The Bucks selected Livingston, 21, with the final pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, but he never found his footing in the NBA. Livingston appeared in 42 games across the last two seasons with the Bucks and played just 196 minutes. He was on a non-guaranteed contract for the 2025-26 season with a guarantee date of July 15. I'm hearing that the Rockets, who are acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela in free agency, will be expanding one of those into an expansive sign-and-trade that involves multiple teams. Houston can officially finalize those moves beginning July 6. Purely from a standpoint of matching salaries, the Knicks could construct various types of potential trade offers for LeBron James. The most chaotic deal would be flipping All-NBA big man Karl-Anthony Towns for James, straight up — two teams betting on the other's star. Of course, this could leave the Knicks center-less, given Mitchell Robinson's injury struggles. They could pair a couple of wings, OG Anunoby and either Josh Hart or Mikal Bridges, in a trade for James. They could piece together a trio to offer for James: Anunoby, Robinson and point guard Miles 'Deuce' McBride. But Anunoby will make $45 million in 2027-28 and has a player option for the following season, which would eat into the Lakers' possible cap space two summers from now. Meanwhile, the Knicks — or any other team — may not want to part with three key rotation pieces (and three of their four best defenders) for a 40-year-old. James could double as a basketball fit, as well as a giant expiring contract to avoid the second apron in 2026-27 and maybe beyond. In Los Angeles, Towns and Luka Dončić could destroy any defense they face. But the Knicks are also made up of prime-aged contributors. This would make them older. Like in the other hypotheticals, a James trade to the Knicks, even in a world where both he and the Lakers agree it's best for the two to part ways after seven years, isn't likely. The Knicks didn't get in on the hunt for Kevin Durant. Like so many others, they could be saving up salary and assets for a guy in Milwaukee. They may not handle this hypothetical much differently. Read on for more LeBron James trade hypotheticals. GO FURTHER LeBron James trade fits: Cavs, Warriors, Mavericks and more possibilities Page 2
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
Zohran Mamdani wants to freeze rents for New Yorkers. Here's why it's controversial.
The pledge — plastered across T-shirts, tote bags, and campaign mailers across the city — has drawn some of the most energetic support and opposition to Mamdani's campaign. It's not unusual for a New York City mayor to support temporarily pausing rent increases on the city's nearly one million rent-stabilized units, which make up about half of all rental apartments and house more than 2 million people. But Mamdani has gone a step further, promising to replace the members of the Rent Guidelines Board with individuals committed to freezing rents every year of his term. Tenant advocates say that a rent freeze would provide crucial relief to low-income New Yorkers — especially families of color, seniors, and Gen Z renters — in one of the most expensive cities in the country. But landlords say rent freezes would starve many buildings of crucial income needed to maintain and repair stabilized apartments, while some housing economists say depressing rents could discourage much-needed housing construction. Here's what's really going on with Mamdani's rent freeze, and what it would mean for the city. How New York renters are actually doing Mamdani's rent freeze pledge comes as the city's renters are struggling. About a quarter of all city households that don't live in public housing or use a housing voucher are severely rent-burdened, meaning they spend at least half of their income on housing. The typical tenant household earns about $70,000 a year, but citywide median rent hit almost $3,700 a month — or over $44,000 a year — in late 2024. Rent-stabilized apartments make up the biggest share of the city's affordable housing. The median rent in a stabilized apartment was is about $1,500 in 2023 according to the city's latest data — about $141 less than the total median of $1,614 for all rental units. Black, Latino and low-income residents are overrepresented as tenants in rent-stabilized apartments and thus could especially benefit from a freeze. The rising cost of living is making it hard for New Yorkers to stay in the city. "The median income for a rent-stabilized household is $60,000 a year. Any rent hike could push them out of the city," Mamdani said in a campaign video. For now, rents will keep rising. Less than a week after Mamdani's primary win, the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board voted on Monday to raise rents for one-year leases in stabilized units by 3%, and by 4.5% on two-year leases. The board raised rents by a total of 9% during the first three years of Mayor Eric Adams' term. That's up from Adams' predecessor, Mayor Bill De Blasio, who oversaw three rent freezes during his eight years in office and a 6% increase in stabilized rents overall. One of the Rent Guidelines Board members who voted in favor of the rent increase, Alex Armlovich, called it "a nuanced compromise" between competing testimonies from landlords and tenants. The pros and cons of a rent freeze Critics of rent freezes point to a few major issues. They argue that rent increases are needed to allow landlords to keep up with their costs, including building repairs and maintenance. Proponents of freezing rents argue landlords can tap other resources to fill the gap in revenue. Sam Stein, a housing policy analyst with the Community Service Society — a nonprofit focused on aiding low-income New Yorkers, said that city-run targeted programs designed to aid landlords who can't cover the costs are better-suited to address the problem rather than raising rents for all stabilized units. Mamdani and other rent freeze advocates argue that many landlords of stabilized units are doing fine. Indeed, a report by the Rent Guidelines Board found that these landlords' average income, after subtracting expenses and adjusting for inflation, was up 8% between 2022 and 2023. But that number doesn't give a full financial picture, as landlords could have mortgages and other debts, and it's an average across a very diverse array of buildings. Buildings with rent-stabilized apartments range from brand-new, high-end complexes with sky-high market rents and a small number of stabilized units, to 100% rent-stabilized buildings that have had controlled rents for 70 years. That diversity makes it especially tricky to fit a citywide rent increase to all those units. "We have both the newest, healthiest, most expensive rental buildings in the city and the most distressed, low-rent buildings in the city all under one system, and we're supposed to pick one number," Armlovich said. Addressing the housing shortage Fundamentally, New York's affordability problem is caused by a shortage of homes. Recently, apartment vacancy rates hit a more than 50-year low of 1.4%. Some housing economists worry that freezing rents on stabilized units could discourage housing construction, further depressing the supply of homes and hurting affordability. They point to real estate developers who accept tax incentives on new and converted buildings that include a certain amount of rent-stabilized units. Some argue builders would be less likely to take advantage of these programs if the stabilized units brought in less revenue under a rent freeze. Armlovich said that several rent freezes under a future administration would likely only have a modest impact on housing construction broadly. But he worries that an environment of frozen rents could scare off some developers and financiers. "It's just like old conservative, middle-aged bankers being like, 'Oh my god, you want to underwrite a construction loan under socialism?'" Armlovich said. Mamdani has also floated other pro-building housing policies. The candidate has proposed building 200,000 subsidized affordable homes and doubling the city Housing Authority's funding for preserving existing affordable housing, while he's expressed some interest in loosening land-use regulations to spur new construction. What renters and landlords think about a rent freeze While Mamdani's win was something of an upset, lifelong New Yorker John Leyva said it was a reflection of renters' desire to see a mayoral candidate promising to tackle affordability issues head-on. Leyva has been organizing tenants in Brooklyn who he said have been squeezed with rents for the past decade. "I was paying $400 a month for a two-bedroom when I first got here," said the 54 year-old, who's lived in his rent-stabilized apartment for the past 30 years. At the time, he was able to afford college, a car, and rent on a minimum-wage job. "Tenants now have two and three jobs just to try to pay what they can now." Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association, said that renters' and landlords' interests don't need to be opposed in solving New York City's affordability crisis, but that a rent freeze isn't the solution. "When it comes to affordability, the only proven way to reduce the rent is increase the supply," Burgos said. With the volume of new housing that New York desperately needs, Burgos said Mamdani will have to work with developers and the private sector to meet that demand if he wins this fall. Property taxes in New York City are the "single largest expense in operating their housing," Burgos said. Without raising rents, landlords are facing a "dire" situation. But Leyva said it's not as simple as supply and demand. It takes time to build new, permanently subsidized housing, and the private sector isn't sufficiently incentivized to do so, he argued, adding that renters need immediate relief.
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
New pro-Adams poll still has NYC mayor trailing Cuomo by double digits
A stunning poll aimed at drumming up support for Mayor Eric Adams' re-election bid still has the incumbent trailing ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo by double digits as the pair jockey to take on socialist Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani, the 33-year-old Queens state assemblyman who shockingly trounced Cuomo in the Dem primary last month, leads the ex-gov and Adams by double-digits himself with 41% of the vote in a theoretical general election — while Cuomo garners 26%, and Hizzoner takes home 16%, the survey said. Both Cuomo and Adams are still listed as running as independents in November. Advertisement 3 A new poll shows support for Mayor Eric Adams' re-election bid still trails behind ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani by double digits. Gabriella Bass 'If both [Cuomo and Adams] are in the race anywhere near the election, Mamdani can go pick out drapes for Gracie Mansion,' said Stephen Graves of Gotham Polling & Analytics. 'It's surprising.' Advertisement The poll surveyed a little more than 1,000 voters between June 30 and July 2 — just days after Adams formally kicked off his reelection bid on an independent line and the stunning Democratic primary win for Mamdani. The primary upset has left moderate Dems and those in the business community scrambling to figure out which of the remaining moderate candidates they can line up behind to challenge the upstart socialist. Adams and Cuomo have both been making their cases to prominent New Yorkers that they are the only one who can take down Mamdani. On Thursday morning, Adams nabbed the support of billionaire Bill Ackman, who urged Cuomo to drop out. Advertisement A day earlier, Rev. Al Sharpton made a similar call telling Cuomo to throw in the towel. 3 Mamdani leads Cuomo and Adams by double-digits himself with 41% of the vote in a theoretical general election. Getty Images But even with the new poll being heavily skewed when surveying voters to try to help boost Adams' numbers and tarnish others, the mayor failed to garner much support, much to the chagrin of his campaign. One of the questions read, 'Some people believe Andrew Cuomo's re-entry into politics shows strength and experience, while others believe it reflects old political habits and unresolved controversies. Which comes closest to your view?' Advertisement Another asked the potential voter if they were 'concerned' about Mamdani for various reasons, such as his 'too extreme' policies, support for defunding the police, lack of experience or his 'focus on symbolic or foreign issues, not local problems.' Graves pointed out that Mamdani largely benefits from the fractured moderate vote split among Adams and Cuomo, as well as GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa, who came in with just under 10% of support. 'If [Adams or Cuomo] drops out, [the other has] a chance, but based on this, Cuomo has the better chance,' Graves said, highlighting Adams' high levels of hard-no voters. 3 Cuomo received only 26% of the vote, while Mayor Adams only got 16% of the vote, as both mayoral candidates are running as independents in November. Matthew McDermott According to the poll, 51% of voters said they would never vote for Adams, while Cuomo came in 12% lower at 39. Around 46% of voters fell into the never-Mamdani category. Adams and Cuomo head into the general with years of political baggage, with the mayor's first term being dominated by federal raids of his top officials and a historic indictment. The ex-governor resigned in 2021 in disgrace amid a series of sexual harassment allegations and fallout from the controversial COVID response. Advertisement Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Both have vigorously denied any wrongdoing, but the scandals have repeatedly shown in the polls to drag each of their numbers down. Adams' campaign spokesman, Todd Shapiro, slammed the survey. 'The Adams campaign will be bringing over one million new voters to the polls, many of whom will be voting for the first time,' Shapiro claimed. Advertisement 'These are real New Yorkers — working families, first-time voters, and everyday residents from across the five boroughs — who are energized by the results they've seen under Mayor Adams.' 'Let's be clear: Andrew Cuomo spent nearly $30 million in the primary and was soundly rejected by voters,' Shapiro said. 'If all that money and national attention translates to just a two-point lead in one early poll, that's not a show of strength — it's a ceiling.' Advertisement 'Meanwhile, Mayor Adams is just beginning to campaign, and as more voters hear his message and see the facts, that gap will close and the momentum will shift decisively.' 'Mayor Adams is focused on what matters: lower crime, more jobs, and a stronger, safer New York City. And with over one million new voters backing that vision, Eric Adams will win — because New Yorkers believe in progress, not politics.'
