{"id":23045,"date":"2026-05-20T21:02:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/jeff-bezos-mixed-bag-for-mamdani\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T21:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:02:07","slug":"jeff-bezos-mixed-bag-for-mamdani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/jeff-bezos-mixed-bag-for-mamdani\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Bezos\u2019 mixed bag for Mamdani"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Amazon<\/p>\n

BEZOS\u2019 BLESSING: <\/b>Mayor Zohran Mamdani found an unlikely supporter today for his push to raise taxes on rich property owners: Jeff Bezos, one of the wealthiest men in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pied-\u00e0-terre tax is a fine thing for New York to do,\u201d Bezos said in a wide-ranging interview this morning on CNBC.<\/p>\n

The billionaire Amazon founder was referring to the new surcharge that the state \u2014 after prodding from Mamdani \u2014 is expected to levy on individuals who own secondary homes<\/a> in the city worth more than $5 million. Bezos, who resides mainly in Miami, gave his thumbs up even though he owns multiple homes in the city \u2014 reportedly worth well over $5 million each<\/a> \u2014 meaning he\u2019s likely to be impacted by the new tax.<\/p>\n

But Bezos, who ranks as the fourth richest man in the world, also had plenty of flack for the mayor and his democratic socialist philosophies.<\/p>\n

On pied-\u00e0-terre, Bezos blasted Mamdani for releasing a social media video in which he stood outside billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin\u2019s Manhattan penthouse to tout the tax.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo go stand in front of Ken Griffin’s house and act like he’s some kind of villain \u2014 Ken Griffin isn’t a villain,\u201d Bezos said in the interview, which was shot inside his Florida space rocket manufacturing facility. \u201cHe hasn’t hurt anybody. He’s not hurting New York. In fact, quite the opposite. And so that piece of it isn’t right, and there was no reason to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s video stunt has triggered a sustained uproar from business leaders who say the video was in poor taste. They\u2019ve also argued a pied-\u00e0-terre tax is flawed because it could drive the rich to sell their properties, depleting the local tax pool.<\/p>\n

Griffin himself threatened to pull the plug on a $6 billion office development project in the city in response to Mamdani\u2019s video. The mayor has since taken pains to meet with local business giants, like the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, though Griffin himself has so far rejected Mamdani\u2019s entreaties<\/a> for a sit-down.<\/p>\n

While Bezos gave Mamdani an unexpected boost on the pied-\u00e0-terre front, the Amazon honcho\u2019s gripes with the mayor went well beyond Griffin.<\/p>\n

Mamdani has long favored raising income taxes on the rich \u2014 on both the state and federal level \u2014 arguing such hikes would create more revenue to fund services for the average person.<\/p>\n

Bezos contends that\u2019s nonsense and pointed to the fact that the city\u2019s public school system spends about $44,000 on every student annually \u2014 a markedly higher sum<\/a> than other major U.S. cities \u2014 with little to show for it in terms of educational outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could double the taxes I pay and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens, I promise you,\u201d said Bezos.<\/p>\n

Instead, he said the focus should be on eliminating taxes altogether for low-income earners. \u201cA nurse in Queens who makes $75,000 a year pays 12 \u2014 more than $12,000 a year in taxes. Does that really make sense?\u201d he said. \u201cSo, people talk about making the tax system more progressive. How about we start by having the nurse in Queens not pay taxes?\u201d<\/p>\n

CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin pressed Bezos on whether billionaires like himself would need to pay more in income taxes if nurses and teachers are given a pass on their bills, given there might otherwise be a revenue shortfall. Bezos replied that is \u201ccertainly a perfectly valid policy debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Mamdani would not comment on Bezos\u2019 support for the pied-\u00e0-terre tax. But responding to a CNBC clip of Bezos criticizing higher taxes on the wealthy, Mamdani wrote on X: \u201cI know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queens holds a special place in Bezos\u2019 mind. In 2019, Amazon canceled plans to build a massive headquarters<\/a> in Long Island City after progressives such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Mayor Bill de Blasio fought against awarding the mega-corporation $3 billion in public subsidies for the project.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Bezos kept coming back to Queens in his CNBC hit, even while talking about what a great career choice he believes Amazon is for working class Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazon, we have our entry level wage for, in Queens, is $23 an hour,\u201d he said. \u201cThat works out to be like $52,000 a year, and this is an entry level job that doesn\u2019t require any educational attainment. It doesn\u2019t require any preexisting skills. We will train you. It\u2019s actually a great first job.\u201d \u2014 Chris Sommerfeldt\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

From the Capitol<\/h3>\n

\"State<\/p>\n

ZOMBIE FIGHT: <\/b>State lawmakers are expected to grant Mamdani the power to dissolve a Charter Revision Commission launched by his predecessor, providing him with a clear path to kill the controversial panel.<\/p>\n

The new authority, set to be approved in a budget bill scheduled for a Thursday vote, will give Mamdani until June 1 to either approve or rescind the commission\u2019s creation by former Mayor Eric Adams, two people familiar with the deal said.<\/p>\n

The people, who were granted anonymity to discuss details of the yet-to-be released legislation, said Mamdani asked state officials to insert the language into the tax-and-spending plan. They also said Mamdani \u2014 who has for months sought a way to kill the Adams commission \u2014 is expected to use the authority to disband the panel once and for all.<\/p>\n

Kayla Mamelak, Adams\u2019 former press secretary who\u2019s among several aides and political loyalists he appointed to the commission, told Blue Light News on Wednesday that no one from the panel received a heads up from state lawmakers or the mayor\u2019s administration about the new legislation.<\/p>\n

Read more from Blue Light News Pro\u2019s Nick Reisman and Chris Sommerfeldt.<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

LANDFILL LATTE:<\/b> A plastic cup tossed into the recycling bin at a Starbucks in Park Slope traveled 463 miles to its final resting place at Apex Landfill in Amsterdam, Ohio.<\/p>\n

The cup\u2019s long and winding road from eco-minded, brownstone Brooklyn to a tiny Ohio village underscores how little consumer plastic ends up getting recycled \u2014 even through a corporation that touts its sustainability cred<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The journey was tracked by Beyond Plastics, which released a report today<\/a> documenting how it attached trackers to plastic cups in Starbucks recycling bins to see where they ended up. Not a single cup ended up at a recycling facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a company tells you something is being recycled and it isn\u2019t, it doesn’t just mislead the customer, it also takes the pressure off for real solutions, which is using less plastic in the first place,\u201d Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, told reporters Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The group, a non-profit that advocates for ending plastic pollution, is lobbying for the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act to pass in Albany this session. The bill is aimed at reducing single-use packaging in New York and is sponsored by Assemblymember Deborah Glick and state Sen. Pete Harckham, both Democrats.<\/p>\n

The cups in question are made of polypropylene, or No. 5 plastic. And while they are indeed recyclable, Beyond Plastics could only find a handful of commercial recycling operators in the country that claim to recycle post-consumer polypropylene.<\/p>\n

Starbucks is already using fiber to-go cups in hundreds of its outposts across 14 states. The report calls on the coffee chain to use those cups nationwide. Starbucks pushed back on the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur cups are designed to be recyclable, and the \u2018widely accepted for recycling\u2019 designation reflects that,\u201d Emily Albright, a spokesperson for Starbucks, said in a statement. \u201cObviously, recycling in practice also requires local community infrastructure. That’s why we work closely with others, including the recycling companies, to help expand access and help improve the system.\u201d \u2014<\/i><\/b> Mona Zhang<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

FROM CITY HALL<\/h3>\n

\"Council<\/p>\n

EYES ON AI: <\/b>Council member Julie Won is rolling out legislation that would establish an artificial intelligence oversight office in the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.<\/p>\n

The director of the office would be responsible for investigating \u201callegations of the use of artificial intelligence in violation of the consumer laws\u201d and for implementing an \u201coutreach and education campaign to raise public awareness regarding the use of artificial intelligence to harm the rights, safety, or interests of consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Council has long attempted to regulate AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Won is running for Congress in the competitive Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez. As part of her campaign, she\u2019s put out a technology policy platform<\/a> focused heavily on AI and using the technology \u201cresponsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to change the public sentiment from being so afraid of becoming obsolete to making sure there\u2019s protections so that people don\u2019t become obsolete,\u201d Won said in a recent interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The debate over the path forward for AI has reshaped elections across the country \u2014 especially in the Democratic primary for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler\u2019s seat, where millions of dollars have poured in<\/a> from groups on both sides of the regulation conversation.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no indication, though, that those entities are planning to get involved in this race, where Won is up against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Assemblymember Claire Valdez. \u2014<\/i> Madison Fernandez<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

BUFFERING, PLEASE HOLD:<\/b> City Council Speaker Julie Menin is planning to introduce a revised version of the \u201cbuffer zone\u201d protest bill for educational facilities, scaling back the proposal after Mamdani vetoed the original measure in late April.<\/p>\n

The new legislation narrows the definition of educational facilities to early childhood sites and most K-12 schools, explicitly excluding libraries, teaching hospitals and \u2014 notably \u2014 colleges and universities.<\/p>\n

The bill, similar to the buffer zone protest bill for religious institutions<\/a>, would require the NYPD to create and publicize security perimeter plans around those schools during protests. Both measures have undergone significant revisions compared to earlier versions, which initially proposed 100-foot buffer zones between protestors and the sites in question.<\/p>\n

The changes mark a significant concession from Menin on the bill\u2019s core scope, as she moves to address member concerns rather than attempt an override \u2014 despite saying she had the votes to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the ability to do an override, but to jam through an override on an issue where even members who were going to support the override had real concerns \u2014 I don’t think that’s a responsible path forward,\u201d the speaker said. \u201cIt’s my job as speaker to build consensus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changes to the school-focused bill also include replacing its original prime sponsor, Council member Eric Dinowitz, with Council member Elsie Encarnacion. Under the new version, Dinowitz will appear as second co-prime sponsor.<\/p>\n

Menin pushed back on criticism that the revisions weaken the legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t view it as a watering down. I actually view it as a strengthening,\u201d Menin said. \u201cIt means we’re going to get more members involved in supporting this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original proposal \u2014 part of the Council\u2019s five-point plan to combat antisemitism \u2014 was driven in part by concerns over campus protests tied to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza. Mamdani vetoed it in April, citing constitutional concerns and the bill\u2019s broad definition of educational institutions, which he argued could have applied to libraries, museums and hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mamdani administration has not seen the specific legislative language, and we look forward to reviewing it,\u201d a spokesperson for the mayor said. \u201cThe Mayor believes New York City must remain a place where students can access their schools safely as well as exercise their constitutional right to protest.\u201d \u2014<\/i><\/b> Gelila Negesse<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

IN OTHER NEWS<\/h3>\n

\u2014 CHECKERS, NOT CHESS:<\/b> OpenAI is pivoting to a state-by-state lobbying strategy to shape AI regulation, aiming to build momentum as federal efforts stall. (POLITICO<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u2014 CASE NOT CLOSED:<\/b> Citizens Union, a government watchdog group, is urging the Manhattan district attorney to pursue state charges against Eric Adams despite the Trump administration dropping a federal case against him. (The New York Times)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NO PLAYING AROUND:<\/b> New York health officials say they are closely monitoring an Ebola outbreak in the Congo as international travel ramps up ahead of the World Cup. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. <\/b>Read it here<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEZOS\u2019 BLESSING: Mayor Zohran Mamdani found an unlikely supporter today for his push to raise taxes on rich property owners: Jeff Bezos, one of the wealthiest men in the world. \u201cThe pied-\u00e0-terre tax is a fine thing for New York to do,\u201d Bezos said in a wide-ranging interview this morning on CNBC. The billionaire Amazon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}