(The Center Square) — A New York City board that sets the rent for city-subsidized apartments has signaled it will consider a key campaign pledge of Mayor Zohran Mamdani to freeze rents, drawing criticism from the city’s landlords.
The nine-member New York City Rent Guidelines Board voted Thursday night to set a preliminary rent adjustment of 0% to 2% for one-year leases and 0% to 4% for two-year leases. The board also voted to approve a rent freeze on all rent-stabilized hotels in the city and signaled it may back a rent freeze at its June meeting.
Freezing rents was a key campaign pledge for Mamdani, a democratic socialist who made New York City’s high housing costs and deteriorating conditions in rent-subsidized apartments a key plank of his mayoral bid. Shortly after taking office in January, Mamdani appointed five new members to the rent control board in a sweep aimed at packing it with supporters of his rent freeze plan…