Zohran Mamdani ran on a platform of “affordability.” Let’s check in on how affordable housing has become under the Marxist mayor.

Via ZeroHedge:

New data from The Corcoran Group, a major residential real estate brokerage founded in NYC, shows that rents in the metro area have climbed to a new record high.

Manhattan’s median rent rose 8% from a year earlier to $5,295, while Brooklyn reached $4,350, also up 8%, according to the report. Manhattan’s vacancy rate narrowed to 1.49%. In Queens, Rego Park posted particularly sharp increases, with one-bedroom rents up 12% and studio rents up more than 20%.

Under progressive hyperregulation, new housing does not get built. Landlords cannot afford to maintain what housing already exists due to rent control. Meanwhile, liberals have flooded the sanctuary city with hordes of foreigners, many of them here illegally; a staggering 40% of NYC rental units are occupied by people born in other countries.

Less supply + more demand = higher prices. The economics is so simple, even socialists could understand it. But they choose not to.

Uh oh:

City Comptroller Mark Levine commented on the new report, saying, “NYC’s housing affordability crisis is at DEFCON 1. We need to push harder on every front to address our housing shortage.”

Wrong. They need to stop pushing and let the free market provide people with a place to live, while allowing ICE to do its job, which will decrease the pressure from abroad that has helped drive up housing costs.

Instead, they will double down on Marxist policies until they achieve their objective of 100% government housing. Those who manage to secure a unit will find themselves living in Cabrini-Green. But at least they can force everyone else to pay for it.

On a tip from patthedog.