Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made recent efforts to reach out to Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, according to several sources in the city’s business community familiar with those efforts.
But the CEO appears in no mood to speak to Mamdani and may be holding out for a public apology for the video Mamdani posted on Tax Day calling out Griffin’s $238 million pied-a-terre, sources with knowledge of the mayor’s efforts to reach Griffin through an intermediary told NBC New York.
That video infuriated Griffin, who has been on the warpath ever since, claiming the mayor had put him in danger and leveling threats to expand his company in Miami instead of Manhattan.
Steven Fulop, President of the Partnership For New York, a business-civic group representing the city’s top CEOs, said he had seen Griffin the day before and that a discussion with the mayor had not happened.
Pressed on whether the two had connected, Fulop said “Look, if you’re Ken Griffin and you were singled out and vilified as if you’ve done something wrong, and the reality is that you donate hundreds of millions of dollars to philanthropy, let alone paying billions of dollars in taxes, and somebody wants to have a private conversation without a public apology or public recognition that that was a mistake? You probably wouldn’t want to have that conversation either.”
Fulop said he did not want to disclose details of his private conversations about the Mamdani-Griffin relationship, but said he thought the mayor “should acknowledge the fact that it was a mistake” and should not have singled Griffin out.
The mayor’s office declined to comment on the status of any efforts on behalf of the mayor to reach Griffin.
A Griffin spokesman said Mayor Mamdani had not directly called Griffin, but would not confirm nor deny whether efforts to reach the CEO had been made through an intermediary. The spokesman did not directly respond to NBC New York’s questions about whether Griffin was awaiting an apology before agreeing to get back to the mayor.
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin is doubling down on his commitment to his Miami office after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a video singling out Griffin’s Central Park penthouse as an example of why he thinks the city needs a pied-à-terre tax. So are other businesses also fleeing the city? NBC New York’s Melissa Russo reports.
“Ken cares deeply about New York City and welcomes thoughtful, serious conversations about the policies that can grow the City’s economy and create more opportunity for all New Yorkers,” said Griffin spokesman Zia Ahmed in a statement. “Reckless political theater serves no purpose and undermines the future of one of the world’s most important cities.”
While Mamdani has not apologized for his video, he has softened his tone toward the business community in recent weeks, saying he wants all New Yorkers to succeed — including CEOs like Ken Griffin. He maintains that the city’s tax system is broken, because it rewards extreme wealth while pushing working people to the brink.
“We want everyone to stay in this city and we also want others to join them here in this city,” Mamdani said during his budget announcement Tuesday, when asked whether he was worried about CEOs like Griffin taking their business elsewhere.
“We want every New Yorker to succeed and when it comes to business owners, we want them to create good paying jobs and to strengthen our economy,” the mayor said, noting that Griffin is a part of that vision.
Mayor Mamdani has said he focused on Griffin’s penthouse because “that home when it was purchased was the most expensive home in the U.S. We want to make very clear that this [pied-a-terre tax] applies to a very select group of properties.”
In a surprising shift, Gov. Kathy Hochul is behind a new proposal to tax the ultra wealthy who own multiple homes in the state. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports.
President Donald Trump warned Mamdani Tuesday not to alienate the city’s big taxpayers.
“When you lose people like that, it’s sort of not recoverable,” Trump said on WABC radio. “You’ve got to cherish them. You got to bring them to the office. You got to meet them. You have to have dinner with them. You have to convince them not to leave.”
Mamdani often declines to discuss his private interactions and conversations when questioned about them. On Wednesday, he met with the CEO of Blackstone as he continues to forge relationships with a business community skeptical of his administration’s policies and emphasis on “economic justice.”
More than four months into his term, Mamdani still has yet to hire a leader in charge of economic development.
“A narrative is hardening around him with regards to being anti-business. And some of that is probably unfair because it’s so early in the administration,” Fulop said.
“This is not an issue about one individual,” Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su told NBC New York when asked what Mamdani might say if he met with Griffin.
“I mean, in the meetings I’ve had with the mayor and also without the mayor, but with companies and with CEOs, it’s very clear that beneath all the noise is a great desire to work together to make New York City better. People understand why there’s a focus on affordability. They understand that they can’t even keep the talent pool that they want in New York City if we don’t make it a more affordable city,” Su said.
