Mamdani celebrated on Times Square digital billboard as 'Economic Developer of the Year'

'Economic Developer of the Year' billboard seen in Times Square.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is being praised as the "Economic Developer of the Year' -- by people in Florida, not New York.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce unveiled a new digital billboard in the heart of Times Square on Monday that proclaims the NYC mayor has been the "Economic Developer of the Year" in Florida. It features a black-and-white photo of Mamdani laughing. 

"Thanks for the jobs!" the billboard cheekily trolls, referring to the exodus many New Yorkers have made to the Sunshine State going back to the pandemic. A new surge of New Yorkers decamped the Big Apple for Florida after Mamdani won the mayor's race last year and was sworn in at the beginning of 2026.

"We wanted to thank him for the jobs, the companies, the people that they’re pushing out of New York — and a lot of them are coming to Florida,” Florida Chamber CEO Mark Wilson told Fox News.

“Even though Florida is winning right now, we’re not looking for New York to lose," Wilson said, adding that the billboard is meant to be more than just a clever trolling mechanism. "We’re hoping that these other states will say ‘no’ to this move towards socialism, and say ‘yes’ to the very policies that our country was founded on,” he said.

“This isn’t about spiking a football or looking at the scoreboard about Florida versus New York. This is really about trying to save our country from crazy,” Wilson said. 

He also said the Chamber of Commerce is planning to expand the billboard messaging to other cities where socialism and communism are on the rise. “We had to start in New York City because the mayor of New York City, obviously, is pushing that community into a direction that it’s not good for the people who live there,” Wilson said. He suggested Chicago, Minneapolis and almost any city in California could be candidates for the next billboard. 

Below, see video of the newest billboard in Times Square.