New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has announced he will move into Gracie Mansion when he takes office in January. He decided to move into the historic mayoral house in order to ensure his family’s safety and focus on his agenda. Mamdani will be moving from his current rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria, Queens.

Zohran Mamdani bids farewell to his Astoria apartment

Mamdani will move to Gracie Mansion with his wife, Rama Mamdani. He noted how much he will miss his former apartment, a rent-stabilized unit he paid about $2,300 per month for, according to the BBC. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in New York City is $3,500.

“My wife Rama and I have made the decision to move into Gracie Mansion in January. We will miss much about our home in Astoria. Cooking dinner side by side in our kitchen, sharing a sleepy elevator ride with our neighbors in the evening, hearing music and laughter vibrate through the walls of the apartment,” Mamdani wrote in a statement released on Monday, according to CBS News.

Mamdani noted how he will miss the neighborhood of Astoria, which is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the U.S.

“To Astoria: thank you for showing us the best of New York City. We have called this neighborhood home as our city weathered a devastating pandemic, cruel attacks on immigrants, and years of an affordability crisis. Time and again, this community has shown up for one another,” Mamdani wrote.

“We will miss it all — the endless Adeni chai, the spirited conversations in Spanish, Arabic and every language in between, the aromas of seafood and shawarma drifting down the block. This decision came down to our family’s safety and the importance of dedicating all of my focus on enacting the affordability agenda New Yorkers voted for,” he added.

As Mamdani prepares to move into Gracie Mansion, he reiterated his commitment to his agenda and the people of New York City.

“My priority, always, is serving the people who call this city home. I will be a mayor for the line cooks on Steinway, for the children swinging at Dutch Kills Playground, for the bus riders waiting for the Q101. While I may no longer live in Astoria, Astoria will always live inside me and the work I do,” he wrote in his statement.

What is Gracie Mansion?

Gracie Mansion is a federal-style home built in 1799. It is located on East End Avenue and 88th Street in Manhattan and overlooks the East River. The home features five bedrooms, as well as enhanced security to protect Mamdani and his family.

Gracie Mansion has housed nearly all of New York City’s mayors since the 1940s. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg chose to live in his own Upper East Side townhouse during his three terms. He pushed for the renovation of Gracie Mansion and said it should be a space for public city functions, according to the BBC.

The mansion is also rumored to be haunted. Former mayor Bill De Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, said she would hear doors open and close by themselves and the floorboards creaking. Mayor Eric Adams also alleged the home has supernatural inhabitants.

“I don’t care what anyone says,” he said in 2022, per BBC. “There are ghosts in there, man.”