The property seizure controversy surrounding New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s latest appointment is drawing sharp scrutiny after resurfaced social media posts revealed extreme rhetoric from the city’s new top tenant advocate. The remarks raise questions about ideology, housing policy, and the direction of city governance under Mamdani.
Cea Weaver, newly appointed director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, previously called to “Seize private property!” and declared that “Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy” in posts from 2018 that have since been deleted. The statements were uncovered by online researchers and confirmed through archived records.
The property seizure rhetoric also included Weaver urging followers to “Elect more communists” during a 2017 post tied to a Harlem street renaming honoring former Rep. Vito Marcantonio, a known communist. Weaver, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, later became a key housing activist and adviser to Mamdani’s 2025 campaign.
In a separate 2020 post during unrest following George Floyd’s death, Weaver wrote, “The Police Are Just People The State Sanctions To Murder W[ith] Immunity.” She has since worked closely with progressive housing groups and played a major role lobbying for tighter rent stabilization laws passed by New York’s Democratic-led Legislature in 2019.
Critics say the property seizure mindset threatens housing stability. Humberto Lopes, CEO of the Gotham Housing Alliance, questioned the approach. “Without landlords how to do you build and maintain housing? You think the government is going to do it? Look at NYCHA,” he said.
Mamdani has proposed freezing rents on one million regulated apartments and signed an executive order launching “Rental Ripoff” hearings citywide. Neither Mamdani’s office nor Weaver offered comment on the resurfaced posts.
