Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, has appointed Cea Weaver to lead the city’s Office to Protect Tenants.
Weaver’s resurfaced social media posts include calls to “seize private property,” critiques of homeownership as a tool of “white supremacy” and endorsements for electing more communists.
Her appointment has prompted concern among conservatives and property owners over potential policy shifts.
Weaver, a longtime housing activist and Democratic Socialists of America member, has been a prominent figure in pro-tenant campaigns.
She coordinated Housing Justice for All, advised Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign and lobbied the state Legislature to expand rent stabilization protections.
Her work, according to The Post Millennial, helped shape policies now central to Mamdani’s agenda.
In a 2018 post on X, Weaver wrote, “Seize private property!” and in 2019 added, “Private property, including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership, is a weapon of white supremacy masquerading as ‘wealth building’ public policy.”
Video clips show her advocating a collectivist approach to property, suggesting that families—particularly white ones—may need to adjust their relationship to ownership under a shared-equity model.
Speaking to NY1, Weaver described her office as working “alongside tenants collectively raising their voices and taking part in city government together.”
She plans to coordinate with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Buildings and other agencies to hold “Rental Ripoff” hearings aimed at enforcing tenant protections across the five boroughs.
Her appointment aligns with Mamdani’s housing priorities, including proposals to freeze rents for roughly one million rent-regulated apartments and to increase oversight of landlords who fail to meet city regulations.
While Weaver and Mamdani have not formally advocated property seizures, her past posts have fueled concerns about aggressive interventions in private real estate.
During his Jan. 1 inauguration, Mamdani emphasized redistributing wealth and supporting working-class families while distancing himself from extreme socialist measures, such as closing all prisons or defunding the police.
He pledged to ensure that no New Yorker is priced out of essential services.
On their first day in office, Mamdani and Weaver intervened in the bankruptcy proceedings of Pinnacle Realty, a landlord with more than 5,000 housing violations across 83 buildings, according to Newsweek.
The administration described the action as “an unprecedented step on behalf of renters living in some of the city’s most neglected buildings.”
Conservative commentators and social media users have criticized Weaver’s past statements and the influence of Democratic Socialists in city government.
They warn that combining radical rhetoric with executive authority over housing could threaten private property rights and destabilize New York’s real estate market.
Supporters contend that Weaver’s experience and Mamdani’s policies aim to protect tenants and curb landlord abuses.
Yet the resurfaced posts, combined with heightened city interventions, suggest the mayor’s office intends a more hands-on approach to housing regulation than prior administrations.
As the city begins implementing these policies, observers continue to debate whether the administration’s actions represent overdue tenant protections or a governmental overreach that risks undermining property rights.
With Weaver at the helm, the Office to Protect Tenants is poised to be a highly influential agency shaping the city’s housing landscape.
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