Mamdani housing czar called ‘White, middle-class homeowners’ a ‘huge problem' during 2021 podcast appearance

By Fox News · Fox News

The housing official appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to lead New York City ’s newly revived Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants previously said, "White, middle-class homeowners are a huge problem for a renter justice movement" and argued organizers must "undermine the institution of homeownership," during a 2021 podcast appearance. Cea Weaver, who was named director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants on Jan. 1 through an executive order signed by Mamdani, made the remarks during a September 2021 episode of the " Bad Faith podcast " while discussing eviction policy and renter organizing strategies. The comments have drawn renewed attention as Weaver now holds formal executive authority over tenant policy and enforcement in New York City. Her appointment was announced on Mamdani’s first day in office as part of a slate of executive actions reviving the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, according to City Hall . NYC DEM REVEALS HOW CITY COUNCIL REJECTED CEA WEAVER—NOW MAMDANI IS HANDING HER POWER WITHOUT CONFIRMATION During the podcast, Weaver argued that resistance to progressive reform often comes not from large corporate landlords but instead from homeowners. "I think the reality is that a lot of the people who are pushing back on the eviction moratorium and more rental assistance are not corporate landlords," Weaver said. "They are homeowners who feel as though an eviction moratorium is an attack on their rights as a property owner." She added that this opposition presents a challenge for housing organizers, saying "White, middle-class homeowners are a huge problem for the renter justice movement." MAMDANI SAYS HE ‘OBVIOUSLY’ DISAGREES WITH AIDE’S OLD VIEWS LINKING HOMEOWNERSHIP TO WHITE SUPREMACY Later in the conversation, Weaver said homeownership has become the primary source of stability in the U.S. because of gaps in social programs, but argued that structure itself poses an obstacle to housing activism. "Unless we can undermine the institution of homeo…