NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani barreled into City Hall vowing to tackle the city's notoriously high cost of living, partly by fulfilling a campaign promise repeated with almost monomaniacal zeal in social media ads, speeches and rallies: "As your next mayor, I will freeze your rent."
On Thursday evening, a board he controls is poised to make good on that signature pledge.
The city's Rent Guidelines Board, an independent panel of mayoral appointees, is poised to approve a rent freeze for people living in about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.
The vote, while expected, is a big win for Mamdani, allowing him to beat back skepticism over his ability to deliver on his affordability agenda. And it came just two days after he made a splash as a budding progressive kingmaker when three congressional candidates he endorsed won their races in stunning fashion, unseating two Democratic incumbents and bucking the party establishment.
Real estate groups say a rent freeze would pinch landlords, leaving them struggling to afford routine maintenance or other repairs. They say property owners have also been hit by rising costs and need to keep pace with inflation. Critics of rent regulation also argue that the policy leads to higher rental costs for non-stabilized units.