New York City may be a dream destination, but for millions of residents, the cost of staying is a nightmare.

"A lot of people love this city, but not as many of them can live here," New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Theo Von's "This Past Weekend" podcast on Oct. 1.

Mamdani, who moved to New York at age 7, said his love for the city helped drive his decision to run for mayor. But he also pointed to the steep cost of living and the gap between the city's wealth and its poverty rate.

"Amidst all of that wealth, 1 in 4 New Yorkers are living in poverty," Mamdani said.

The numbers back up Mamdani's concerns. A March report by Robin Hood and Columbia University found that 26% of New Yorkers, or roughly 2.2 million people, lived in poverty in 2024, the highest rate recorded since the study began more than a decade ago.

A separate measure released by Mamdani's administration in April found that 62% of New Yorkers lacked the resources to cover the city's true cost of living, highlighting the gap between household resources and the cost of basic needs.

Mamdani Criticizes Previous City Leaders Over Affordability

Mamdani told Von that frustration with previous city leaders helped push him into politics. He said officials often discussed New York's problems as if they had no power to solve them.

"Somebody's got to figure this out," Mamdani said, recalling the attitude he had encountered. "It's like, you're the mayor."

He acknowledged that the city's challenges cannot be fixed overnight but argued that some leaders appeared unwilling to make a serious effort.

Mamdani also suggested that financial incentives can work against residents when worsening conditions prove profitable for others.

Mayor Says City Government Has Tools To Help

For Mamdani, the issue comes down to responsibility and whether elected officials are willing to use their authority to improve residents' lives.

"The thing about being the mayor is, yeah, it's tough, but also you actually have tools that you can use to help people, to make people's lives better," Mamdani said.

His comments framed affordability as both a personal motivation and a central challenge facing his administration. For a mayor who describes New York as the city he has loved since childhood, the goal is to make sure more residents can afford to call it home.