Rent freeze. Prior to his election in November 2025, new Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledged to freeze rents on NYC’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments. A NYC mayor cannot do this directly but appoints members of the city’s Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), who serve staggered two-, three-, or four-year terms, while the chair serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The nine-member RGB typically consists of two tenant representatives, two landlord representatives, and five public members, with a simple majority needed for decisions on annual rent guideline increases. 

In mid-December 2025, former Mayor Adams appointed four members to the RGB in a late-term move to secure a moderate-increase voting bloc for 2026. The Adams appointees included two new board members and reappointments of two existing members who previously favored increases. 

One of the new Adams RGB appointees resigned in January, and Mamdani announced that he would fill the vacancy with a new pick aimed at advancing his rent freeze agenda. 

Tenant protection. Upon inauguration on Jan. 1, Mayor Mamdani signed executive orders to revitalize the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, now headed by tenant advocate Cea Weaver as director, and establishing two new task forces to accelerate housing construction and increase supply by identifying suitable city-owned properties. 

The LIFT (Land Inventory Fast Track) Task Force is intended to leverage city-owned land to accelerate housing development, increase supply, and drive down costs. This task force is scheduled to review city-owned properties and identify sites suitable for housing development by no later than July 1, 2026. The LIFT Task Force will be overseen by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg.

The SPEED (Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development) Task Force was set up to identify and remove bureaucratic and permitting barriers that drive up costs and slow housing construction and lease-up, making it more affordable to build and easier to access housing across NYC. The SPEED Task Force also will be overseen by Deputy Mayor Bozorg and Deputy Mayor of Operations Julia Kerson. 

Union-built affordable housing. The new mayor has pledged to construct 200,000 “union-built” permanently affordable housing units over the next decade, primarily targeting households earning less than $70,000 per year. The $100 billion initiative aims to triple city-financed housing production through increased capital investment and the utilization of public land, serving as a cornerstone of his administration’s strategy. Implementing the goal is likely to face significant challenges, including high construction costs, fiscal constraints, and the need for state approval to exceed current debt limits.

Attempt to block bankruptcy sale of rent-stabilized apartments. Also in January, Mayor Mamdani sought to block landlord Pinnacle Group’s auction and completion of a property sale to a Summit Properties, Ltd. subsidiary. But a federal judge ruled on Jan. 16 that the Summit investment firm could complete a $451 million purchase of thousands of apartments from Pinnacle, which had filed for bankruptcy. 

When asked at a press conference how he felt about the city’s failure to block the sale, the mayor expressed a positive view, having received the new owner’s commitment to invest $30 million in repairs and correct multiple building violations in response to the city’s intervention.

“Just Home” reactivation. On Jan. 19, Mayor Mamdani announced reactivation of the previously stalled “Just Home” initiative, to provide permanent, rent-stabilized supportive housing for senior individuals leaving incarceration with complex medical needs. A site for construction of 83 apartments has been designated at the Bronx campus of Jacobi Hospital, with the intention of providing housing as well as on-site care management, case management, and wrap-around services under one roof. Jacobi’s medical providers are to provide outpatient care. The Mamdani administration seeks proposals for additional permanent housing intended for similar justice-involved individuals.