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The housing official appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to lead New York City’s newly revitalized Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants previously said, “White, middle-class homeowners are a huge problem for the tenant justice movement” and argued that organizers should “undermine the institution of homeownership” during a 2021 podcast appearance.
Siya Weaver, who was named director of the Mayor’s Office for Tenant Protection on January 1 through an executive order signed by Mamdani, made the comments during a September 2021 episode of the “Bad Faith Podcast” discussing eviction policy and tenant organizing strategies.
The comments have drawn renewed attention because Weaver now has formal executive authority over tenant policy and enforcement in New York City.
According to City Hall, Mamdani’s appointment was announced on his first day in office as part of a list of executive actions revamping the mayor’s office to protect tenants.
NYC Dem reveals how City Council overruled CEA Weaver – now Mamdani is handing over her power without confirmation
CA Weaver, left, speaks during a news conference with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York on January 1. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
During the podcast, Weaver argued that resistance to progressive reform often comes not from large corporate landlords but from homeowners.
“I think the reality is that a lot of the people who are pushing for an eviction moratorium and more rental assistance are not corporate landlords,” Weaver said. “They are homeowners who feel that the moratorium on evictions is an attack on their rights as a property owner.”
He said the protests present a challenge for housing organizers, adding, “White, middle-class homeowners are a big problem for the tenant justice movement.”
Mamdani says he ‘categorically’ disagrees with aide’s longstanding views linking homeownership to white supremacy
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference with Sia Weaver in New York on January 1. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
Later in the conversation, Weaver said that home ownership has become the primary source of stability in America due to gaps in social programs, but argued that the structure itself hinders housing activism.
“Unless we can weaken the institution of home ownership and try to provide stability in other ways, it’s a really difficult organizing situation that we find ourselves in,” he said.
Weaver described evictions as a matter of power rather than economics and said landlords oppose the idea that tenants can live in properties they “consider themselves to own.”
CA Weaver walks through the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY Weaver has been appointed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as the new director of the city’s Office for Tenant Protection. (Gregory P. Mango)
In the same podcast, Weaver supported policies including universal rent control, the right to form tenant unions, freezing evictions, and funding rental assistance through higher taxes on the wealthy. He also argued that extensive government programs could “undermine homeownership” by providing stability through other means.
Weaver has also investigated past social media posts criticizing white homeownership. In an August 2019 post on
In a tweet from the since-deleted (Fox News)
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On his first day in office, Weaver joined Mamdani in announcing the city’s intervention in the bankruptcy proceedings of Pinnacle Group, a landlord linked to housing violations and complaints, according to City Hall.
Fox News Digital contacted the mayor’s press office with questions about whether Mamdani stands by Weaver’s 2021 comments, but did not receive a response by the publication.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
