One-term Mayor Eric Adams has moved to block a key proposal from Zoran Mamdani’s platform to address New York’s cost of living.
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Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams just tried to block one of Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani’s trademark proposals: freezing rents on the city’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized units.
On Thursday, Dec. 18, less than two weeks until he leaves City Hall, Adams announced four appointments to the Rent Guidelines Commission, after most of the nine-member commission’s terms have expired. Adams, a one-term centrist Democratic mayor, opposes Mamdani’s rent freeze proposal.
Mamdani, who will be sworn in on January 1, has campaigned on the issue of affordability for New Yorkers, requiring the board that sets annual rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments to vote against increases each year.
“We are leveraging every tool in our toolbox to address the city’s housing crisis, including appointing smart, experienced professionals to the city’s Rent Guidelines Committee,” Adams said in a statement.
Adams reappointed two current commissioners and appointed two others “reflecting the Adams Administration’s continued commitment to affordable housing and evidence-based policymaking,” according to a City Hall news release.
Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist mayor-elect, said she is committed to a similar four-year rent freeze for the more than 2 million tenants living in rent-stabilized units. Stabilized units are typically located in older buildings and tend to be more affordable than market-rate units. More than 40% of the city’s rental apartments are rent-stabilized, accounting for about a quarter of the city’s total housing stock, according to New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy.
“We will use all the tools at our disposal to make that happen, and last-minute commitments do not change those facts,” Mamdani said in a statement.
If the Rent Guidelines Committee obtains a majority vote, there is a possibility that the Mamdani government will decide to freeze rents when it takes office. The terms of six board members have expired, and the Rent Guidelines Committee has raised rents every year during Adams’ term.
Adams’ reappointment also includes Arpit Gupta, a finance professor at New York University, and Christina Smith, a real estate lawyer whose supporters have previously said supported rent increases. Mr. Adams also appointed Sager Sharma, deputy director of housing legal services, and Liam Finn, financial advisor at Merrill Lynch.
A reality TV star and real estate broker confirmed to USA TODAY that the Adams administration has appointed her to the board of directors. City Hall said Adams reserved the right to act before leaving office.
Critics of Mamdani’s rent freeze argue that rising rents will lead to higher maintenance and upkeep costs for apartments.
“We hope new RGB members will take into account the risk of stable housing deterioration and eventual destruction as they make decisions next year,” Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association, which represents property owners, said in a statement. “We also know that RGB members cannot save on rent-stabilized housing on their own. City and state elected officials must do more to reduce costs.”
The New York Apartment Association called on the government to support operating costs while increasing housing supply. Mr. Adams has touted the increase in new home construction. Mamdani promised to continue increasing housing construction. Rent in New York City is notoriously expensive, averaging more than $4,000 a month on Apartments.com, but the vacancy rate is at a record low of about 1.4%, according to city data.
Under Adams’ predecessor, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Rent Guidelines Commission froze rents three times during his eight-year term. During Adams’ four-year term, which coincided with high inflation, the board never froze rents.
Tenant advocacy groups had already expressed concern about Adams’ potential actions, noting that rents could increase by 12% during his tenure as mayor. But they argue that these increases are only used to increase profits for landlords, while tenants suffer from higher living costs.
“A rent freeze is not a political luxury; it is a lifeline for countless New Yorkers,” the nonprofit Legal Aid Society said in a statement. “In the communities we serve, many families are at risk of eviction with very little paycheck to paycheck.”
More than 1 million New Yorkers voted for Mamdani in the November general election, said Sumasi Kumar, managing director of Tenant Block of New York, which organized renters to support Mamdani in the June Democratic primary.
“Tenants are the majority in New York, and we have won a rent freeze,” she said in a statement.
But about the same number voted for Mamdani’s opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, whom Adams supported.
The Rent Guidelines Committee meets each June to determine potential rent increases.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
