Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist New York City mayoral candidate, is facing intensifying scrutiny as past statements and resurfaced videos reveal an agenda indistinguishable from old-school communist dogma. While Mamdani has brushed off accusations of being a “communist” as cheap distractions, footage paints a far more radical picture. In a 2021 speech to socialist activists, Mamdani explicitly urged allies not to compromise on “seizing the means of production,” language long synonymous with communist revolutionary movements. In another video, released that same year by The Gravel Institute, Mamdani laid out a sweeping plan to transform housing in New York City from a private commodity into a public asset. He called for replacing luxury condos with communal-style living arrangements featuring shared kitchens, laundry rooms, food cooperatives, and public bathhouses. He pointed to postwar communist-era Vienna as a partial model, even as he acknowledged that many residents there still live in private housing and pay rent. Mamdani argued that treating housing as a market product was the root cause of homelessness and inequality, railing against developers and landlords for prioritizing profit. “Housing doesn’t have to be seen as a market at all,” Mamdani declared, promoting community land trusts as a mechanism to gradually buy up private housing stock and convert it into collective ownership.   His vision of “full de-commodification” of housing, in which high-quality homes would be guaranteed to all as a human right rather than bought and sold, has drawn fierce condemnation from conservatives and centrists alike. President Donald Trump has branded Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and vowed to “save New York City” should Mamdani win the mayoralty. Trump even suggested he might withhold federal funds if Mamdani “doesn’t behave,” warning on Truth Social that, “I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)