New York’s billionaire real estate moguls are reportedly plotting the downfall of Zohran Mamdani.

Jeff Blau, the chief executive of Related Companies, and other powerful property developers met for crunch talks on how to stop the socialist candidate from becoming mayor, according to the New York Times.

Mr Blau and his wife, Lisa, fired off an email on Monday night giving just 14 hours’ notice of the meeting, and warned “every one of us must get involved immediately” and support Andrew Cuomo, a former New York state governor who is more business-friendly.

“If we fail to mobilise, the financial capital of the world risks being handed over to a socialist this November,” the email read.

“We cannot – and will not – let that happen.”

The panicked request appeared to try and torpedo the campaign of Mr Mamdani, whose signature issue is a rent freeze on New York’s one million rent-stabilised apartments.