New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is catching heat after a city-controlled board dropped the lease of a drone company that supplies Israel’s military—just weeks after he took office. Funny how “business decisions” suddenly show up right on political schedule, isn’t it?
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. declined to renew its lease with Easy Aerial, a New York City-based company that sends drones to Israel. The move, reported by the New York Post, came shortly after Mamdani—who ran on a platform critical of Israel—was sworn in on New Year’s Day.
BNYDC is controlled by board members who serve at the pleasure of the mayor, and the timing raised eyebrows, especially given Mamdani’s long record of anti-Israel activism. City Councilman Lincoln Restler even celebrated the decision on X, calling it the “right decision” and arguing that public property should not host companies whose drones are “transformed into weapons of war.”
Fox News Digital contacted Mamdani’s office for comment on his role in the decision.
Anti-Israel protesters have been active at the Brooklyn Navy Yard since last year, pushing to evict both Easy Aerial and Crye Precision, according to the Brooklyn Paper.
In a statement, a BNYDC spokesperson said the decision was made in December and that Easy Aerial was notified in January. The spokesperson claimed the lease was not renewed for “business reasons related to operational and campus compliance matters,” adding that no other factors were involved. Because, of course, it was just business—nothing political about it at all.
Mamdani’s past views have fueled the backlash. He founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine in college and has backed the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel. A resurfaced 2023 video shows him calling to “end New York state subsidy of settler crimes.”
Criticism has come swiftly online and from One Israel Fund Executive Vice President Scott Feltman. Feltman pointed out that as terrorists from Hamas continue to violate ceasefire agreements and attempt to penetrate buffer zones between Gaza and Israel, New York’s mayor appears to be targeting a company that helps Israel defend itself.
“It is ludicrous on every level,” Feltman said, adding that New York loses another tax-paying company and quality jobs for its residents.
Once again, politics has found a way into a business lease, and a city asset is being used to send a message instead of support jobs. Still, the backlash shows that plenty of Americans—and New Yorkers—aren’t buying it, and that common sense and economic reality still have a voice. And that’s a positive sign for the future.
