FAFO: Ken Griffen Fed Up With Leftist NYC Mayor Mamdani’s Political Stunt

Play foolish socialist games, and watch New York City crumble.

That may be the lesson far-left NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is about to learn, as Citadel’s Ken Griffin appears to be losing patience with the mayor’s latest political stunt.

Recall that, in a video posted last week by the NYC Mayor’s Office, Mamdani unveiled the city’s first-ever pied-à-terre tax: an annual fee on luxury properties whose owners do not live in NYC full-time. The video was filmed outside 220 Central Park South, the building where Griffin owns a four-floor penthouse he purchased in 2019 for $238 million.

Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich. pic.twitter.com/Wky2LFXC9W

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) April 15, 2026

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday afternoon that an internal memo from Citadel’s COO said its massive redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, a $6 billion project that would produce 6,000 construction jobs and more than 15,000 permanent jobs, might be halted. 

“We are about to commence the redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, creating 6,000 highly paid construction jobs and supporting the creation of more than 15,000 permanent jobs in mid-town New York,” wrote Gerald Beeson. “The project — if we move forward — will entail more than $6 billion dollars of spending.”

Beeson sent the letter to employees of Citadel, Citadel Securities, and Griffin’s other businesses. Let’s not forget that Griffin relocated his company from crime-ridden Chicago to Miami. Beeson said the mayor’s video suggested that the mayor doesn’t appreciate how people like Griffin contribute to the greater good.

“It is shameful that he used Ken’s name as the example of those who supposedly aren’t carrying their fair share of the burdens associated with New York City’s often costly and wasteful spending,” Beeson continued. “In doing so, the mayor has once again manifested the ignorance and disdain of the elite political class towards those who have been consistently committed to building one of the greatest cities in the world.”

“We have nearly 2,500 colleagues who have chosen to build their careers here,” he said. “We understand that our hard work and success will, on occasion, make us targets for political rhetoric. But it should not diminish the pride we take in building firms that will continue to help New York City thrive for decades ahead.”

In all seriousness, Griffin has little reason to waste time dealing with mounting political hostility from the far-left mayor when that same redevelopment capital could be deployed in a more business-friendly state where capitalism, property rights, and law and order are still upheld. Mamdani is bad for business – part of a broader unhinged class of socialist politicians, from Baltimore to New York City, who seem more interested in abusing taxpayers than properly governing. Why take the abuse?