By 5 Towns Central Staff

MANHATTAN, NYC (August 12, 2026)

A new Times Square billboard is turning New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s economic policies into a political punchline, with Florida officials claiming his agenda is helping drive businesses, workers and wealthy residents out of New York and into the Sunshine State.

The campaign, launched by the Florida Chamber of Commerce at Broadway and West 43rd Street, jokingly names Mamdani its “Economic Developer of the Year.”

The Chamber says the billboard is meant to highlight what it describes as the unintended consequences of New York’s high-tax, progressive policies.

“We wanted to thank him for the jobs, the companies, the people that they’re pushing out of New York, and a lot of them are coming to Florida,” Chamber CEO Mark Wilson told Fox News Digital.

Wilson argued that the two states represent competing economic philosophies, with Florida emphasizing lower taxes and free-market policies while New York moves toward greater government spending and taxation.

The Chamber points to IRS migration figures as evidence of the difference. According to its analysis, Florida is gaining roughly $2.4 million in net taxable income every hour through migration, while New York is losing approximately $1.1 million. The group also estimates that Florida gains about 551 residents each day, compared with an estimated daily loss of 115 residents from New York.

Florida’s economy is now valued at approximately $1.8 trillion, and the Chamber says the state has continued to attract wealth despite repeatedly cutting taxes.

Wilson said Florida has enacted more than 50 tax cuts over the past 15 years while continuing to generate record levels of revenue.

The Chamber also compared government spending, noting that New York State’s budget is more than twice the size of Florida’s, while New York City’s budget alone exceeds Florida’s entire state budget by more than $8 billion.

City Hall pushed back on the criticism, saying New York’s economy remains “as strong as it’s ever been.”

The billboard is part of the Chamber’s broader “Free Enterprise Florida” campaign, which plans to take its message beyond New York and target other major cities, including Chicago and cities in California and Minneapolis.

The campaign comes as Mamdani prepares to implement an economic agenda centered on expanded government services and higher taxes on wealthy New Yorkers—policies supporters say will make the city more affordable, while critics warn could accelerate the movement of businesses, jobs and high-income residents to lower-tax states like Florida.

Mamdani is doing a great job creating jobs—FOR FLORIDA!

His policies, whether enacted or proposed, are driving families and businesses out of New York. pic.twitter.com/VnCgavcs3x

— Nicole Malliotakis (@NMalliotakis) August 12, 2026