Betsy McCaughey Was on Fire on CNN’s News Night

In New York City, It’s Class Warfare. If You Own Anything, Mamdani Wants to Take It.

by Betsy McCaughey

“Tenants are a majority, it’s time we had a mayor who acted like it,” says Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race.

When Mamdani says it, believe him. If he wins, tenants will be favored, and homeowners will be in his crosshairs.

They already are. Mamdani is vowing to fully enforce Local Law 97, a law that clobbers condo and co-op owners with costly mandates to reduce their building’s carbon emissions at their own expense.

If Mamdani wins, middle- and working-class people who saved and bought a co-op or condo in a high-rise complex will be facing huge cost increases. More than a million New Yorkers — cops, teachers, accountants, retirees —- own the 832,000 units impacted by Local Law 97, and many will suddenly be faced with budget-breaking costs.

The law was passed by the New York City Council in 2019, but it sets a 2030 deadline to reduce carbon emissions by 40%, meaning buildings have to start the costly construction process now to convert from oil-burner heating and gas stoves to electric heat and stoves in the name of climate improvement.

Owners at Queensview, Inc., a complex of 14 buildings in Long Island City built in 1950, are told the conversion will cost them $62 million, which will boost their monthly maintenance by $1,155 for a one-bedroom apartment. That’s about double. Owners who can’t afford the increase may be forced to sell — at fire-sale prices since their neighbors will be struggling with the same cost hikes.

Mamdani vows to rigorously enforce this lunatic law, expressly opposing what he calls “loopholes,” like selling owners renewable energy credits or offering time extensions to comply. His website mentions assistance “for middle income homeowners,” but he’s never followed up with any specifics.

Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa opposes Local Law 97, posting on X on June 7 that the law is “forcing longtime New Yorkers out of their apartments they’ve lived in for decades. The cost is just too high. Especially in a housing crisis …”

Candidate Andrew Cuomo has said he’s open to modifying the law. Of course, that would require the City Council going along — a big maybe. An alternative is for the next mayor to slow-walk enforcement. Unless it’s Mamdani.

Here’s the biggest outrage. Local Law 97 takes a million or more modest New York homeowners to the cleaners to pay the tab for a scheme that offers no demonstrable benefit to the city’s air quality or the health of its residents. Zero.

City Council members should have examined the facts before mandating these high-rise buildings convert from oil-burning heat to electrical heat. It’s an example of legislative malpractice. Left-wing climate ideologues are happy to spend other people’s money without asking if the scheme makes sense.

A report from New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine and School of Global Public Health published in Frontiers shows how scientifically farcical Local Law 97 is. The two authors, both climate activists, caution that the benefits of the law “may only materialize in future generations — and only if similarly ambitious policies are embraced worldwide.”

The authors add that there’s “scant literature” demonstrating any health benefits from Local Law 97.

Here’s the kicker. Although the co-ops and condos are being forced to convert from fossil fuel heating to electrical heat, these buildings will then be buying their electricity from suppliers who still generate it using fossil fuels. The NYU scientists conclude “building electrification is unlikely to yield net benefit without a transition to renewable energy sources” citywide, something the city has not done.

Message to the condo and co-op owners: You are getting shafted. The climate ideologues pushing Local Law 97 didn’t bother to get the facts.

Mamdani is vowing to actualize “the vision of Local Law 97.” The condo and co-op owners facing financial stress and even the loss of their homes because of the law should go to the polls this November and vote for anybody but Mamdani. They should also vote against any City Council members who supported the law.

These co-op and condo owners likely number more than 1 million voters. The issue is who will turn out: these homeowners or the 1.7 million tenants Mamdani is promising rent freezes. Middle-income co-op owners slamming Local Law 97 can turn this election, predicts Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf.

Protecting the Earth against climate damage and preparing New York City for climate changes are worthy goals. But Mamdani and the extremists’ push to enforce Local Law 97 ignores the facts and treats New York City homeowners with utter disrespect.

Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State and founder of SAVENYC @SAVENYC.org. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Gov. of New York.