A street interview with a man committed to staying on message went viral after the reporter tried to obscure his anti-private equity stance. The NBC interviewer attempted to ask him uncontroversial questions about the recent snowstorm that blanketed parts of New York and New Jersey, but he had housing on his mind.
Those who agree that private equity firms are fueling the U.S. housing crisis are in love.
How to turn an interview into a statement
On Monday, NBC 4 New York sent out its reporters to interview locals on how they were feeling about the latest blizzard. One member of the team singled out a bearded man who kept turning the conversation toward another topic.
"There's still people out in doorways looking for shelter, and I think a lot of people think this is why we shouldn't allow hedge funds to own residential property," he said.
The reporter pulled the mic away almost immediately after she heard "hedge funds." She then attempted to redirect the man to talk about 1990s nostalgia, but the hedge fund hater brought it right back around.
"Yeah, it was much more snow, colder winters, and again, private equity didn't own so much of the housing stock in America."
Again, the reporter retracted the mic at "private equity," but viewers of the viral clip can still hear him as the interview comes to an abrupt end.
The private equity housing takeover
The housing crisis in the U.S. has become one of the main drivers of financial insecurity among average residents. A 2023 Up for Growth report found that the country was short nearly four million housing units in 2021—more than double the deficit in 2012.
A December 2025 report in The Atlantic highlighted the role of private equity firms in this crisis, noting that hedge funds and the like own around 20 percent of the housing in some communities. This impacts majority Black communities more than any other.
These firms might not be the only reason why the average Manhattan one-bedroom apartment is $5,200 per month, but many experts agree they are exacerbating the problem. This trend, meanwhile, impacts other political issues.
"At the neighborhood level, when more than half of the properties are owned by outside investors—when you’ve now flipped that neighborhood from being primarily homeowner driven to investor driven—that matters, because homeowners behave very differently, politically and otherwise," explained Lincoln Institute President George McCarthy.
"Chef's kiss"
While yet unidentified, the online left is cheering the bearded housing guy for pushing his message against private equity despite the best efforts of corporate news media.
"Did anyone else catch the clip on NBC4 today of a guy in Washington Heights being asked how he felt about snow cleanup and being like well actually the f*cking disgusting mess we have to clean up is private equity owning everything and making it horrible," wrote @rachelmillman on X.
User @wolfygangg summarized the clip, writing, "yeah snow, its great anyways private equity firms owning housing is really bad" before signing the man off as "legend."
"His retort of 'mmm nnyeahhh,' giving her just enough of the drivel she is wanting out of him to get the mic back, then immediately coming back with the counter punch towards private equity is chefs kiss," said Redditor u/Level_Improvement532.
Others had thoughts on the actions of the reporter.
"Say the quiet part out loud on live TV, and suddenly the interview is over," noted economics analyst Brian Allen. "Funny how 'free speech' disappears the moment you blame the people actually cashing the checks."
Meanwhile, Senator Elizabeth Warren used the opportunity to promote a Democrat-backed bill to "stop private equity's housing takeover."
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