‍New York, NY

The Anti-Capitalist Image Meets a Corporate Power Network

Is New York’s “anti-capitalist” mayor actually tied to one of NYC’s most powerful real-estate lawyers?

Zohran Mamdani ran—and won—as the mayor who would finally take on New York’s “greedy landlords,” the developers, the big money that controls housing, and the corporate forces shaping city government.

But what if the real power behind his incoming administration comes from the very world he claims to oppose?

To answer that question, you need to look at the Coro New York Leadership Center, an elite leadership pipeline that quietly trains and places political talent across the entire city: City Hall, agencies, nonprofits, political campaigns, and major civic institutions.

And one person at the top of Coro stands out more than any other:

Tom Regan — Treasurer of Coro, and one of NYC’s most influential real-estate attorneys

Coro Isn’t a Club — It’s a Political Talent Pipeline

• Mamdani’s incoming Chief of Staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, is a Coro alum.
• Coro places fellows inside city agencies, state government offices, developers, foundations, and major civic institutions.
• Alumni then rise into positions of power—precisely where they shape the city’s housing, land use, zoning, and budget decisions.

So the people who run Coro shape the political class before they ever take office.

Which means the question becomes:

Who shapes Coro?

And what do they want New York to look like?

The Man With His Hand on the Pipeline

Tom Regan is not just a board member.

He is Coro’s Treasurer—one of the key gatekeepers of who gets selected, trained, and elevated.

More importantly, Tom Regan is:

• Partner & Real Estate Practice Group Leader at Brown Rudnick LLP
• One of NYC’s top attorneys representing:
  • major real-estate developers
  • corporate property owners
  • institutional investors
  • entities navigating land-use approvals
  • clients seeking tax-incentivized public-private deals
  • construction and development corporations

This is not conjecture—it is his profession.

Regan’s entire world depends on:

• complex zoning
• regulatory hoops
• subsidy structures
• tax credits
• mandatory “affordable housing” set-asides
• ULURP negotiations
• rent-law interpretation
• and the ability of large developers to operate in an arena smaller players cannot navigate.

This is the exact opposite of grassroots socialism.

This is corporate, high-level, insider real-estate strategy.

Why Would a Real-Estate Power Broker Shape NYC’s Future Leaders?

Coro doesn’t explicitly choose ideology.

But selection systems always reveal bias.

Think about it:

Would a real-estate power attorney want Coro to elevate leaders who:

• simplify the building code?
• deregulate zoning?
• break up the subsidy system?
• make it easier for small landlords to compete?
• reduce the bureaucratic complexity that keeps big developers on top?

Of course not.

His clients benefit from complexity.
His firm profits from navigating that complexity.
And the political class built through Coro helps maintain that complexity.

So when Coro trains leaders like Elle Bisgaard-Church—who is now advising the mayor of the largest real-estate market in America—it’s fair to ask:

What worldview shaped her selection?

Whose interests formed the pipeline she rose through?
And who benefits from her being in Mamdani’s inner circle?

The Crony-Capitalism Question No One Is Asking

Mamdani claims to be against:

• big developers
• entrenched real-estate interests
• corporate landlords
• the billion-dollar subsidy machines
• and the private firms that shape NYC land use

But his closest aide—the architect of his entire campaign—is a product of a leadership pipeline overseen by one of the most powerful real-estate lawyers in the city.

That is not a smear.
That is a fact.

So the question becomes:

Is Mamdani truly an anti-corporate socialist… or is he simply a progressive figurehead placed atop a system run by corporate real-estate power?

Because when you look closely:

• Rent regulation makes the market harder for small landlords
• Mandatory “affordable” units create massive subsidies that only big developers can use
• Complex zoning protects corporate builders and crushes newcomers
• Public-private housing deals generate billions in legal fees, tax credits, and bond financing

This is what economists call crony capitalism:

Big Government + Big Business colluding to squeeze out everyone else.

And if Coro—under Regan’s influence—feeds leaders into City Hall who support policies that maintain this system, then Mamdani’s administration may be far less radical than advertised.

In fact…

It may be the perfect blend of corporate infrastructure + progressive branding to keep the real-estate machine running smoothly.

Is Mamdani a Crony Capitalist—or Just a Pawn?

We don’t know.

But we do know these things:

• Tom Regan benefits from a complex, restrictive housing market.
• His clients benefit when small competitors cannot operate.
• He oversees a pipeline that produces the political class running NYC.
• That pipeline produced Mamdani’s chief strategist.
• And now that strategist runs the mayor’s office.

So isn’t it fair—responsible, even—to ask:

Who is ACTUALLY behind Zohran Mamdani?

And is the city witnessing a socialist revolution—
or the latest evolution of New York’s crony-capitalist machine?

New Yorkers deserve honest answers.

And the next four years will tell us whether Mamdani governs the way he campaigned… or the way the system behind him requires him to.

References

• Coro New York Leadership Center — Leadership & Board Overview
• Brown Rudnick LLP — Real Estate Practice Group
• NYC Land Use and ULURP Process — Public Records
• New York City Campaign Strategy Networks — Public Data

Photo by Mario Scheibl on Unsplash