By: Ariella Haviv

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine is pitching Long Island as a safe haven for New York City-based corporations, offering tax incentives to lure businesses eastward if Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani wins the November mayoral election. The comments, first made on WABC 770 AM’s Cats Roundtable and later reported by The New York Post, underscore growing concern among business leaders and officials over the Queens assemblyman’s ambitious tax-and-spending proposals.

Speaking with radio host and billionaire supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis, Romaine laid out his vision for a corporate migration that would keep businesses within New York State but move them from Manhattan to Long Island.

“If Mr. Mamdani wins, I’m going to encourage many of the corporations that do business in New York City [to] come to Suffolk,” Romaine said on the program, according to a report that appeared on Sunday in The New York Post. “We’re going to give them tax breaks. They’re going to be able to do better.”

Romaine positioned Suffolk County, located just 70 miles east of Manhattan, as a more cost-effective alternative to Florida — the Sunshine State where officials have aggressively courted New York firms in recent years. “There’s no need to travel that far south. Come out to Suffolk,” Romaine added.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old assemblyman representing Astoria and western Queens, secured the Democratic nomination in June and has built his campaign around sweeping progressive proposals. Chief among them is a $9 billion package of new taxes on corporations and billionaires designed to subsidize initiatives such as fare-free city buses, expanded free childcare, and expanded affordable housing programs.

As The New York Post report noted, Romaine dismissed the proposals as fiscally reckless, arguing that the assemblyman lacks the experience to govern a city of New York’s scale. “His plan for free bus fares sounds great — but someone has to pay for it,” Romaine said. He warned that additional taxes on corporations could accelerate the exodus of businesses and high-income earners already leaving the state due to its high cost of living.

“The taxpayers who pay the taxes, how much are they going to put up with?” Romaine asked, echoing longstanding concerns voiced by critics of New York’s tax structure.

The clash between Romaine and Mamdani reflects a broader debate over the future of New York City’s economy. The New York Post has reported on the trend of corporations, hedge funds, and wealthy individuals relocating from the city to Florida and other low-tax states. Officials in Miami, Tampa, and West Palm Beach have openly courted Manhattan executives, touting lower taxes, business-friendly regulation, and lifestyle amenities.

Romaine’s remarks represent an attempt to keep those relocations within New York State borders, presenting Suffolk as a viable alternative that allows companies to reduce costs without crossing state lines. His pitch also reflects Long Island’s ambitions to position itself as a destination for both families and businesses priced out of the five boroughs.

Mamdani’s campaign quickly pushed back against Romaine’s comments. In a statement to The New York Post, campaign spokeswoman Dora Pekec accused critics of deflecting from decades of mismanagement under establishment politicians.

“Working people are being pushed out of the city they built, and it’s because of corrupt politicians like [former Gov.] Andrew Cuomo and [current Mayor] Eric Adams,” Pekec said. “Zohran will make this city affordable, and deliver a quality of life that ensures New York City is a magnet for workers, businesses, and opportunity.”

The Mamdani campaign has argued that policies such as fare-free buses and expanded childcare will strengthen the city’s long-term economic vitality by making it more livable for middle- and working-class residents.

For business leaders, the stakes are significant. As The New York Post has reported, New York City continues to recover from pandemic-era population and business losses, even as Wall Street firms and tech companies reconsider their presence in the city amid rising costs. Any new wave of taxation or regulatory burdens could prompt additional relocations, intensifying competition between New York and states such as Florida and Texas.

Romaine’s offer of tax breaks to incoming corporations signals that Suffolk County intends to capitalize on these dynamics, presenting itself as both accessible to the metropolitan region and friendlier to business. “We’re going to make it easier for them to succeed,” Romaine reiterated during the radio interview.

The confrontation also illustrates a widening political fault line in New York politics. On one side are progressive Democrats like Mamdani, who argue that redistributive policies are essential to addressing inequality, housing insecurity, and transit inequities. On the other side are officials like Romaine, who maintain that raising taxes drives away businesses and undermines economic growth.

As The New York Post report highlighted, the outcome of this debate could shape the trajectory of New York City’s economy for years to come. If Mamdani prevails in November, Suffolk County’s offer of tax incentives could quickly become more than theoretical, sparking a contest between city hall’s new vision and Long Island’s bid to become the region’s business hub.

The months leading up to the November election will test the resonance of Mamdani’s progressive platform with voters, as well as the strength of business leaders’ concerns about taxation and costs. Romaine’s public invitation to corporations is both a warning and a promise — a signal that other jurisdictions, even within New York State, are prepared to seize opportunities created by political shifts in City Hall.

For now, the message is clear: New York City’s business community is being courted not only by Florida’s sun-soaked promise but also by Long Island’s emerging ambition.