One of the city’s top office leasing brokers was reportedly fired for comparing socialist, Muslim Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to Adolf Hitler and complaining about the prospect of hearing Islamic prayers coming from City Hall.
JLL Real Estate Services axed Scott Panzer after he emailed the outrageous comments to coworkers on Wednesday, according to the Real Deal.
Earlier that day, Peter Riguardi, president of JLL’s New York office, sent an email urging his employees to “give [the new mayor] a chance to lead” and work together in the spirit of unity, the real estate news site reported.
Panzer hit reply-all, writing: “Is it just me, or does this sound eerily similar to what much of Germany and Europe said about you know who back in 1938?”
Hitler was the notorious dictator of Germany at the time.
“We all know how that worked out for them — and for the world,” Panzer wrote.
Writing, “I will just throw one more provocative comment out here,” the realtor went on to recount a holiday he took in Istanbul. He said he didn’t mind hearing the Muslim call to prayer five times per day there, but “would not want that to be a 365 day event.”
“But alas, this too is just around the corner for NYC,” Panzer predicted.
According to people familiar with the incident, Riguardi’s note was meant to calm tensions in JLL’s New York office after Mamdani’s Tuesday win angered conservative business leaders.
Instead, Panzer’s response quickly circulated internally, drawing complaints from staff who viewed his remarks as Islamophobic.
Panzer was fired within hours of sending the missive.
“We can confirm Scott Panzer is no longer with JLL,” a company spokesperson told The Post. “The views and sentiment expressed in his email do not align with our company’s culture and shared values.”
Panzer did not respond to a request for comment.
Riguardi reportedly sought to strike an equanimous tone in his initial email to hundreds of employees, one of whom described the message as a call for cooperation with Mamdani’s incoming administration.
“[Mamdani] is our mayor,” Riguardi wrote. “The only good thing we can do right now is give him a chance to lead and maybe for those of us who doubt him, he will surprise us.”
The exec was reportedly angered by Panzer’s response.
Panzer’s termination marked a swift downfall for one of Manhattan’s most visible dealmakers. The broker, who previously handled leasing for Sheldon Solow’s 9 W. 57th St. skyscraper and represented major tenants across Midtown, was with JLL for more than 16 years.
The controversy erupted as New York’s real estate industry adjusted to Mamdani’s surprise victory.
The 33-year-old democratic socialist and state assemblyman originally from Uganda campaigned on a platform of rent freezes, public housing expansion and transit subsidies.
In his Tuesday night victory speech, Mamdani pledged to “build a city for the many, not the few,” signaling a more confrontational stance toward landlords and developers.
The Post has sought comment from Mamdani.
