Florida business leaders are taking a public swipe at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, erecting a Times Square billboard that sarcastically credits him with helping drive jobs, businesses and wealthy residents from New York to the Sunshine State.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce unveiled the digital billboard Monday at Broadway and West 43rd Street, naming Mamdani Florida’s “Economic Developer of the Year” and offering him a pointed message: “Thanks for the jobs!”

“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,” Florida Chamber CEO Mark Wilson told Fox News Digital.

The billboard campaign comes after years of migration from New York to Florida, a movement that accelerated during the COVID pandemic as remote work gave people greater flexibility and many families sought more space and lower costs. Working-age and higher-income New Yorkers have been particularly prominent among those leaving the state.

Wilson said the Times Square campaign is intended not simply to mock New York but to contrast the economic policies pursued by the two states and promote Florida’s approach.

“Even though Florida is winning right now, we’re not looking for New York to lose. We’re hoping that these other states will say ‘no’ to this move towards socialism and say ‘yes’ to the very policies that our country was founded on,” he said.

“This isn’t about spiking a football or looking at the scoreboard about Florida versus New York. This is really about trying to save our country from crazy.”

The Florida Chamber is already considering taking similar campaigns to other Democratic-led cities and states.

“We had to start in New York City because the mayor of New York City, obviously, is pushing that community into a direction that it’s not good for the people who live there,” Wilson said.

“But there’s several runner-ups for this,” he added. “When you look at Chicago, when you look at California, Minneapolis, there’s places all over the country that come in a close second to the movement in New York City. So we’re gonna continue to highlight what works.”

The campaign comes as Florida continues to draw former New York residents, with critics of Mamdani predicting that the migration could accelerate under his administration.

Mamdani’s controversial pied-à-terre tax has added to concerns among some wealthy New Yorkers and business leaders. Billionaire hedge fund executive Ken Griffin, among those who have clashed with Mamdani, has doubled down on plans for major development projects in Miami rather than New York.

Following Mamdani’s election last fall, Miami-area real estate brokers also reported a sharp increase in inquiries from wealthy New Yorkers interested in multimillion-dollar properties in South Beach.

Migration figures have provided ammunition for Florida officials and business groups seeking to portray the Sunshine State as the beneficiary of New York’s population losses.

Florida has emerged as the largest single destination for New York’s net loss of taxpayers, according to IRS migration figures.

During 2022-2023, the latest period for which figures were available, New York recorded a net loss of 21,176 tax returns to Florida.

The Florida Chamber says the movement of residents has also resulted in a substantial transfer of taxable income between the states. Citing IRS migration statistics, the organization claims Florida gains approximately $2.4 million in net taxable income every hour, while New York loses approximately $1.1 million per hour.

“What do people like Mayor Mamdani do? They want to … increase taxes on the people who are left, which just further accelerates people leaving places like New York,” Wilson said.

The Chamber contends that Florida’s combination of lower taxes and fewer regulations has made the state increasingly attractive to businesses, entrepreneurs and residents leaving higher-tax jurisdictions.

“Florida’s lowered taxes over 50 times in the last 15 years. And we have record revenues coming in because people want to be here. And when the economy grows, tax revenues grow. That’s how free enterprise works,” Wilson said.

Mamdani’s administration strongly rejected the Chamber’s portrayal of the city’s economic condition, pointing instead to employment growth, investment activity and improvement in Manhattan’s commercial office market.

“By any metric, New York City’s economy under Mayor Mamdani is as strong as it’s ever been. We look forward to continuing to grow the economy while ensuring that working-class New Yorkers are benefiting from that growth,” a spokesperson for the mayor told The Post.

City Hall said New York City has added more than 21,700 jobs during the past six months, a pace it said was more than twice the national growth rate. Employment in the relatively high-paying finance and insurance industries has increased by 1.9%, according to the administration.

Officials also pointed to the recovery of Manhattan’s office sector, which City Hall says is on track for its strongest year since 2000.

Meanwhile, New York City-based companies have raised more than $21 billion in venture capital so far this year, according to the administration, representing a 102% increase compared with the same period last year.

For the Florida Chamber, however, the Times Square billboard is designed to send its message in perhaps the most conspicuous location possible — directly in the center of Mamdani’s city — as Florida seeks to persuade more businesses and residents that its economic model offers a better alternative.

{Matzav.com}