Mamdani promotes NYC where 'every family can afford a home,' rips ICE's 'cruelty' amid budget blowback

Mamdani made the remarks while paying tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson at an event hosted by Al Sharpton's National Action Network. 

"When New Yorkers link arms with someone they have never met before and marched for the voiceless and the downtrodden, hope is alive. When New Yorkers sacrifice their precious free time in a city where every child can have the education that they deserve, where every family can afford a home in the stability that it holds, where our criminal justice system is fair and our economy is just, when New Yorkers link arms in the fight for those things, hope is alive," Mamdani said. 

"Hope is the light. And we know this, that while Reverend Jackson may not be with us any longer, his purpose has not dimmed, his clarity has not faded. As we work every day towards a New York that delivers dignity for all, towards a nation that rejects ICE's cruelty and violence, towards the stranger among us, and towards a society where compassion is not a rarity, where solidarity is not abstract, let the reverend's words be our guide," he added.

This increase would affect approximately 3 million homes across working and middle-class New Yorkers. 

Some New York City residents now argue that Mamdani is reneging on his affordable housing campaign promises by floating potentially hiking property taxes.

Mamdani admitted that middle class New Yorkers would bear the brunt of his proposal.

"This would effectively be a tax on working and middle class New Yorkers, who have a median income of $122,000," Mamdani said. 

Fox News Digital's Lindsay Kornick and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.