By Hank Russell
In response to calls for the eradication of homeownership, the Republican candidate for governor is calling for a constitutional amendment that would protect private property owners from having their homes seized by the government.
Nassau County Executive and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is calling for an amendment to the New York State Constitution guaranteeing the fundamental right of U.S. citizens to own private property. He said that those who are running New York City are radical ideologues who are openly laying the groundwork to dismantle one of the core pillars of American freedom.
This comes after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani named Cea Weaver as director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Weaver’s background was that of a community organizer and executive director of Fair Housing Justice for All and the New York State Tenant Bloc.
Upon being named director, it was revealed that Weaver posted on social media a few years ago that homeownership is “the weaponization of white supremacy” and that all private property should be seized. A video shows Weaver saying, “People like home ownership because they like control, which is rooted in a racist and classist society … This is why rent control is important.”
In an archived Twitter (now X) post from 2018, Weaver posted, “Private property including and kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy masquerading as ‘wealth building’ public policy.” (Weaver has since deleted her social media accounts.)
Blakeman blasted Weaver for advocating for a system of “shared equity” that he said would force families — explicitly including “white families” and “some POC families who are homeowners” — into a fundamentally different, state-defined relationship with their own homes.
“New Yorkers are being told, in plain English, by their government, that their homes are no longer truly theirs,” Blakeman said. “That language should chill every American to the bone. When government officials start talking about ‘redefining’ your relationship to your home, what they really mean is seizing control over it. It’s an assault on private property, individual liberty, and the American Dream.”
Blakeman said a constitutional amendment is needed to protect the right of U.S. citizens to own, use, and pass on private property and prevent state or local governments from undermining that right through ideological redefinitions or race-based redistribution schemes.
“For nearly 250 years, the right to own property has been the backbone of American prosperity and freedom,” Blakeman added. “Today, radical activists are openly treating homeownership as a problem to be dismantled rather than a dream to be achieved. That is why we need a constitutional amendment that draws a bright line in the sand and permanently protects private property from ideological experimentation. As governor, I will ensure that no politician, no bureaucracy, and no radical agenda can ever take away a family’s right to own their home, build generational wealth, and live free from government control.”