The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County jumped on the primary victory of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, working through a weekend to assemble 500 relocation packets to send to Big Apple executives who may be looking for a more business-friendly environment.
Board President and CEO Kelly Smallridge said Mamdani wasn’t on her radar before the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary where the 33-year-old democratic socialist beat out former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the chance to run in November.
“The second the results came out, my phone started lighting up,” Smallridge said. “It’s a good thing we are very nimble; we can act quickly and strike when the iron is hot.”
Mamdani’s platform, which includes new government programs paid for by higher taxes on affluent New Yorkers and companies, has led politicians, Realtors and business leaders to predict another migration of Empire Staters to the Sunshine State.
In interviews since his election, Mamdani has rejected assertions by President Donald Trump and other conservatives that he is an extremist. He has said his goal is to address New York City’s affordability crisis by taking actions such as freezing rents and opening city-owned grocery stores. Mamdani has also rebuked Trump noting that as a candidate Trump ran on lowering costs and inflation, but the president is “uninterested and unable to deliver” on those promises.
A ‘Mamdani effect’ would be third such migration to South Florida
Smallridge said if a Mamdani-motivated migration occurs, it will be the third wave of New Yorkers to Florida that started in 2017 with the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, which hit residents of higher tax states especially hard. The tax deduction was temporarily raised to $40,000 in the federal budget reconciliation bill, known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4.
The influx of new Floridians increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic as people from the Northeast sought to escape strict lockdowns. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 254,097 New York state residents moved to the Sunshine State between 2021 and 2023.
“Here’s something one of my clients shared, even if Mamdani is stopped in November, the idea that New York is one election cycle away from becoming a socialist-run city creates an enormous risk for companies,” said John Boyd, a principal with the Boca Raton-based corporate site selection firm Boyd Company. “We are terming this the Mamdani effect and it’s very real.”
Boyd said New York firms whose leases are expiring over the next two years are evaluating options for relocation, and Florida is about to become even more popular for commercial ventures.
Legislation passed during the 2025 session eliminates the 2% sales tax that the state had charged on commercial rental leases. That goes into effect beginning Oct. 1.
“We have 50 offices, and that’s hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings,” said Mike Pappas, Keyes Co. CEO. “There is a self-selection of people who want free enterprise and capitalistic opportunities, which is what Florida has.”
The business development board’s direct-mail campaign targeted an already-established database of potential companies, but also real estate brokers, and firms whose commercial leases are expiring in 2026 and 2027.
The board is also restarting its “Wall Street South” campaign in New York City’s Time Square with an electronic billboard that says “Dear NYC, It’s Not You. It’s Me” on an image of West Palm Beach’s waterfront.
Brett Forman, a managing partner of Delray Beach-based commercial debt provider Forman Capital, said the relocation rate from New York won’t be as robust as during the pandemic, but that the “fear factor” will drive some south.
“I think it’s frightening to a lot of people, myself included, to see how a city built on capitalism can have this change,” Forman said. “There is also a lot of sensationalism. There is a lot of wood to chop for him to become mayor of New York City.”
Smallridge isn’t expecting a flood of companies to move their entire enterprises to South Florida over the June 24 primary results, but said every week through August she has appointments with heads of firms interested in what Palm Beach County can offer.
“With the political tide turning in New York, businesses are calling us before the ink is even dry on the headlines,” she said.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County Business Development Board sends 500 mailers to NYC firms after Mamdani win
Reporting by Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
