Mayor embraces mayoral residence while pledging bidet upgrades and first feline companion through allergy shots
Mayor Zohran Mamdani officially moved into Gracie Mansion on January 12, 2026, transforming from a cramped eight-hundred-square-foot, rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria, Queens that he had occupied for over a decade into an eleven-thousand-square-foot historic mansion on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The move symbolized both his elevation to executive power and potential contradictions between his populist rhetoric and elite residence, complications the mayor addressed head-on through his framing of the mansion as “the people’s house” and his stated commitment to continue commuting via subway and Citi Bike.
The Symbolic Transition and Public Housing
Mamdani’s former Astoria apartment, for which he paid approximately twenty-three hundred dollars monthly, had become emblematic of his working-class identity and affordability agenda. The mayor frequently referenced the unit’s leaky ceiling and walls vibrating from nearby subway traffic, turning minor housing defects into political metaphors for the city’s broader affordability crisis. Upon his departure, the apartment attracted significant interest from new tenants, eventually commanding thirty-one hundred dollars monthlya thirty-five percent increase that critics cited as evidence that Mamdani’s rent freeze pledges faced steep obstacles.
Mansion Modernization and Feline Companion
Mamdani announced plans to install several bidets throughout Gracie Mansion, jokingly calling this an “aspirational hope” while emphasizing his administration’s commitment to public improvements and modernization. More notably, the mayor disclosed that he is undergoing allergy immunotherapy to enable adoption of a cat, positioning the potential acquisition of a First Cat as part of his transformation agenda. The mayor quipped that he had not yet encountered Gracie’s legendary ghosts, while confirming his intention to maintain the mansion’s historic character while opening spaces more frequently to regular New Yorkers for English-language classes and community workshops.
Continuity Amid Residential Change
Despite the residential relocation, Mamdani insisted his approach to public life would remain unchanged. He committed to continued reliance on public transportation, stating: “While I may be changing where I rest my head at the end of every evening, I will not be changing anything about how I interact with the incredible New Yorkers who call this city home.” The mayor’s wife, Rama Duwaji, a Syrian-American illustrator and animator, participated in the move alongside the mayor, photographed helping to unload boxes.
Reception and Ongoing Debate
According to ABC 7 New York, local Upper East Side residents expressed mixed reactions, with some welcoming the mayor to the neighborhood while others questioned whether his populist brand could survive elite residence. International Business Times reporting examined the symbolic stakes of his transition, noting the historical significance of a democratic socialist assuming residence in a mansion that housed past mayors from the political establishment. The move raised questions about whether Mamdani’s connection to working-class New Yorkers could be maintained from an 1799-built landmark property.
