The victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York City signals far more than a shift in political rhetoric: Life can potentially get a lot more expensive for Jews in New York.
As a financial strategist involved in the Jewish community’s finances daily, I believe two distinct ripple effects deserve urgent attention. Our rising security costs may lead to higher tuition membership burdens at local schools and synagogues. The potential skyrocketing costs of real estate ownership and rental prices are also concerning matters.
Jewish day schools, synagogues, and communal institutions across New York face a heightened threat environment. A recent report by the Teach Coalition of the Orthodox Union found that in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, Jewish day schools averaged $184,228 annually for security in 2022-23. By 2024-25, that average jumped to $339,297 - an 84% increase.
Security spending, once about 1.66% of a school’s budget in that region, is now estimated at 3.09% on average.
Before October 7, there were fewer schools charging discrete security fees. Now, 52% of respondents report such fees, and 26% report tuition increases explicitly tied to security.
For the Jewish community, this means that educational budgets are facing new non-negotiable line items. If communal institutions cannot offset these costs via charitable giving, tuition will rise (or security fees will be added). Synagogues and organizations may follow suit because the logic is essentially the same: heightened threats lead to higher fixed operating budgets tied to security measures, which, in turn, will push costs downstream to families and members.
Cost of living pushed to the brink
Although New York Jewish households have some of the highest incomes nationally, with about 23% of Jewish American households reporting incomes of $200,000 or more according to the Pew Research Center, the cost of living a Jewish life in the city is already pushing families to the brink. Adding even more costs to meet the requirements of our lifestyle will be nearly impossible.
In short, a Mamdani era of heightened risk (given heightened antisemitism, contentious political climate, and communal visibility) may translate into higher tuition and membership/fee burdens. Jewish families and institutions will need to plan proactively.
Some of them may even plan to leave the city, leading to school vacancies that, in turn, may affect the cost of tuition as well. Less than 24 hours after Mamdani won the election, Magen David Yeshiva in Brooklyn was vandalized with swastikas. Who knows what can be next?
Mamdani has also vowed to put a freeze on rents for rent-stabilized apartments. Let’s break down the potential effects of such a ridiculous policy on Jewish lives.
From a Jewish life standpoint in New York City, the rent freeze raises two interconnected problems. First of all, many Jewish families, institutions, and investors own rental real estate in New York. While precise breakdowns are not publicly aggregated by religion, recognition of Jewish participation in New York real estate is long-standing. For example, according to a 2016 article, the 20 largest residential landlords in New York held more than 150,000 units and netted over $2 billion at the time, and many of those owners were Jewish.
A rent-freeze under regulation cuts into the business model of rent-stabilized landlords. The New York City Rent Guidelines Board reports that the median legal rent of newly-registered rent-stabilised apartments in 2023 was $3,059, which is up 28% from the prior year.
The implication: the potential value of rent-stabilized units will decrease, affecting refinancing options and cash flow in what is already a low-margin, high-interest rate environment. Given how common real estate endeavors are within the Jewish community, many may decide to completely abandon a now too-risky business.
Needless to say, fair-market-rate apartment prices can potentially increase, directly affecting Jewish renters as well. Add to it potentially higher tuition costs, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster, potentially forcing Jews to flee and completely blowing up the very essence of the city’s Jewish middle class.
Jewish New Yorkers should be prepared
So what should we do? How should Jewish New Yorkers tackle what’s to come, or what’s potentially to come? Let’s use this moment to recalibrate and address the next four years of chaos proactively. From where I stand, there are two warnings we must be aware of: Every day, Jewish New Yorkers should prepare for higher tuition and membership fees alongside the increased cost of living, both in terms of ownership and rental.
If we don’t start planning, we’ll be caught off guard.
In the end, Mamdani’s win is not just a threatening political story but a financial one for the Jewish community in New York. Communities need to come together to address how they want to weather the shift because help is not on the horizon. Consider this a call to action.
Yair Klyman is an Investment Adviser Representative of Klyman Financial, a DBA of ThePartners Wealth Management, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.