Of all the criticisms leveled against Zohran Mamdani, his occupancy of a rent-stabilized apartment is probably the weakest.   That’s because he is essentially paying market-rate rent, The Real Deal has learned. For his unit at 32-15 35th Street in Astoria, the socialist mayoral candidate pays what is called a preferential rent, meaning a lower amount than the landlord could charge under state law. That might look like a sweetheart deal: Mamdani pays about $2,250 a month, while the legal rent — the maximum allowed under rent stabilization — is nearly $3,100 for his one-bedroom apartment. But the 30 free-market units […]

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