Source: Washington Post
by Ilya Somin
“‘Block by Block,’ Zohran Mamdani’s ‘sweeping blueprint’ to reduce housing prices in New York City, comes with a dangerous promise. ‘When necessary,’ the mayor said on May 26, ‘we will take aggressive legal action to remove negligent owners and property managers’ and transfer ownership to ‘responsible stewards.’ The problem: The proposal is an unconstitutional power grab that would exacerbate the city’s housing crisis. … The mayor’s proposal doesn’t just violate the federal and state constitutions, which have nearly identical restrictions on takings. It would also make the city’s shortages worse. Faced with the prospect of potential expropriation, many owners would likely withdraw properties from the market or not list them in the first place.” (06/09/26)