New York City mayor–elect Zohran Mamdani confirmed that he and his wife, Rama, will move into the official mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion, once he takes office on January 1, 2026. Mamdani announced the decision on Monday in a statement shared on social media, saying the move was driven by safety considerations and his need to focus entirely on the “affordability agenda New Yorkers voted for.”
“My wife Rama and I have made the decision to move into Gracie Mansion in January. We will miss much about our home in Astoria. Cooking dinner side by side in our kitchen, sharing a sleepy elevator ride with our neighbors in the evening, hearing music and laughter vibrate through the walls of the apartment,” he wrote. Mamdani reflected warmly on his years in Astoria, where he has been living in a one-bedroom rent-stabilized apartment costing $2,300 a month. “While I may no longer live in Astoria, Astoria will always live inside me and the work I do,” he said, adding that he would miss “the endless Adeni chai” and “the aromas of seafood and shawarma drifting down the block.”
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A move after campaign scrutiny
Mamdani’s housing arrangements were frequently discussed during the mayoral campaign, with some opponents questioning whether he should have remained in a rent-stabilized unit while earning more than the income he had when he first moved in. Speaking to the New York Times Editorial Board earlier this year, Mamdani said his experience searching for an affordable apartment while earning $47,000 as a foreclosure-prevention counselor shaped his housing policies. He has since advocated for a citywide rent freeze covering roughly one million regulated units.
According to Time Magazine, Mamdani will be the 14th New York City mayor to live in Gracie Mansion since it became the official mayoral residence in 1942 under Fiorello La Guardia. Michael Bloomberg was the only modern mayor who did not use the residence during his three terms.
Inside Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion, located inside Carl Schurz Park at East End Avenue and 88th Street, was built in 1799 as a summer home for Scottish merchant Archibald Gracie. The 11,000-square-foot federal-style house is among the oldest surviving wooden structures in Manhattan and includes five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The mansion became city property in 1896 and briefly housed the Museum of the City of New York before being designated as the mayor’s home.
The building remains open to the public for tours and is widely regarded as both a residence and a symbol of the city’s executive office.
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A symbolic shift for the incoming mayor
Mamdani acknowledged the contrast between his current apartment building which is a 1920s prewar structure known as the Princess Martha and the Upper East Side townhouse he will soon occupy. “If I was able to put in a rent freeze, I wouldn’t be in a rent-stabilized apartment,” he told the New York Times. “I would actually be on the Upper East Side, in a new apartment.”
His move marks a new chapter for the incoming administration as he prepares to succeed Mayor Eric Adams at a time when affordability, housing access and safety remain central concerns for New Yorkers.
