Eric Adams is out of City Hall, but he is not exactly retiring from New York’s housing fight. In a new interview, the former mayor lays out a post-office career advising companies and governments on infrastructure, energy and construction technology while taking pointed shots at Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s approach to housing. The message is familiar: build more, keep investors interested, and do not treat real estate like the villain in New York’s affordability saga.
Adams, now a private citizen, appeared on Coffee Talk with Amir Korangy and said he is advising clients on everything from corrosion-resistant rebar to clean-energy systems, according to The Real Deal. He also said he still rides the subway and uses Citi Bikes, a reminder that his political brand remains tied to the city’s daily rhythms even after leaving office. But the more consequential part of the conversation was his warning that Mamdani’s housing agenda could unsettle the developers and investors New York still needs.
City Of Yes Is Adams’ Housing Calling Card
The centerpiece of Adams’ self-defense is City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, the citywide zoning overhaul adopted in December 2024. The plan allows more housing types and greater density in neighborhoods across the five boroughs, and NYC Planning says the final version is expected to enable roughly 82,000 homes over 15 years.
That is a smaller projection than the proposal’s early estimate, but it is still a major policy shift in a city that has spent decades rationing new apartments through restrictive zoning. Adams is clearly trying to make City of Yes the durable part of his legacy, especially as Mamdani seeks to claim the housing issue with a very different political vocabulary.
Mamdani Wants More Housing, But A Different Deal
Mamdani’s administration has not rejected the need to build; it has rejected the idea that private development should be the city’s primary answer. Its Block by Block plan calls for 200,000 new affordable homes and the preservation of another 200,000 over the next decade, backed by a proposed $22 billion housing investment over five years…