Mamdani's new tenant advocate called to 'seize private property,' says homeownership is 'white supremacy'

New York City’s Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly appointed director of the Office to Protect Tenants has called for the seizure of private property, criticized homeownership as a tool of “white supremacy,” discriminated against white property owners, and urged the election of more communists.

Cea Weaver, a longtime housing activist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, was recently named to lead the tenant protection office. A series of posts from her now-deleted X account reveal a history of radical rhetoric. In a June 13, 2018, post, Weaver wrote, “Seize private property!”

In August 2019, she said, “Private property, including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy,” and argued for a fundamental shift in how property is treated in society.

"I think the reality is, is that for centuries we've really treated property as an individualist good and not a collectivist good, and transitioning to treating it as a collective good and towards a model of shared equity will require that we think about it differently and it will mean that families, especially white families, but some POC families who are home owners as well, are gonna have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have," she said in a resurfaced clip.

In December 2017, she encouraged followers to “Elect more communists” during events surrounding the renaming of a Harlem street corner in honor of former Manhattan Rep. Vito Marcantonio, a known communist. During nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, Weaver wrote, “The Police Are Just People The State Sanctions To Murder W[ith] Immunity.”

Speaking with NY1, Weaver said her office will be one that "runs and works alongside tenants collectively raising their voices and taking part in city government together."

Weaver has been involved in housing policy and Democratic politics for years. She previously served as a campaign coordinator for Housing Justice For All and was an adviser to Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign. According to The New York Post, she was one of the progressive activists shaping Mamdani’s inner circle. Weaver was also a key figure in lobbying the Democratic-controlled state Legislature in 2019 to strengthen New York City’s rent stabilization laws.

Her appointment is in line with Mamdani’s plans to freeze rents on approximately one million rent-regulated apartments, a move that would require approval from the city’s Rent Guidelines Board. Mamdani also had a campaign proposal that would see taxes raised on white areas of the city. There are also plans to seize the private property of landlords who do not make city-ordered repairs or pay fines for violations.

Mamdani also signed an executive order establishing “Rental Ripoff” hearings across all five boroughs. The initiative directs the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Buildings, the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to hold hearings in coordination with the newly created Office of Mass Engagement.