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Mayor Zohran Mamdani is on a hot streak. Days after proving his political power with the victories of his endorsed congressional candidates, Mamdani's biggest campaign promise has been fulfilled—a rent freeze for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments.
Last night, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 to freeze the rent for both one- and two-year leases, after years of rent increases. Although it isn't the first rent freeze (that happened in 2020 for one-year leases), this is the first time a freeze has happened for two-year leases.
Under the Adams administration, the RGB approved rent increases across four years, which boosted the rent of stabilized tenants by roughly 12 percent. In an obvious attempt to block Mamdani's promised rent freeze, Adams stacked the board with his own appointees in his final days in office. In February, Mayor Mamdani appointed six members, most with ties to housing reform, to the nine-person board.
After the typically rambunctious vote, Hell Gate spoke with tenants outside of El Museo del Barrio, where the meeting was held.