{"id":63509,"date":"2026-05-09T07:56:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/63509\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T07:56:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T07:56:20","slug":"rent-freeze-no-sure-thing-in-first-vote-by-mamdani-majority-board-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/63509\/","title":{"rendered":"Rent freeze no sure thing in first vote by Mamdani-majority board"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In its first vote under a new mayor, the Rent Guidelines Board left the door open for a rent increase despite Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s promise of a price freeze for a million rent-stabilized tenants in New York.<\/p>\n

The board approved a range of possible rent levels in its preliminary vote: 0 to 2% for one-year leases and between 0 to 4% for two-year leases.<\/p>\n

The nine-member Rent Guidelines Board \u2014 six of which had been appointed by the new mayor<\/a> earlier this year \u2014 settled on those figures during a rowdy hearing at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

The vote was nonbinding. The board must by law take a final vote by the end of June.<\/p>\n

Tenant groups and labor organizations that filled the auditorium loudly booed and demanded that the members roll back the preliminary vote that passed after all motions for a rent freeze failed.<\/p>\n

They rallied before the vote took place outside the college, holding \u201cFreeze the Rent\u201d signs and demanding a halt on price increases for stabilized tenants.<\/p>\n

Mamdani made a promised rent freeze a signature part of his campaign. The members of the board are charged to act independently from City Hall<\/a>, but the rent freeze commitment looms over their vote.<\/p>\n

\"Tenant<\/a>Tenant advocates rallied for a rent freeze ahead of the Rent Guidelines Board preliminary vote, May 7, 2026. Photo: Lilly Sabella\/THE CITY<\/p>\n

Tenant-aligned board members attempted to pass a range that would have either rolled back rent or frozen it, with a proposed rent level of -3 to 0% on one-year leases and -4.5 to 0% on two-year leases. That measure failed. Afterwards, members aligned with landlords floated higher ranges: a 3 to 5.5% increase on one-year leases and 6 to 8% on two-year leases. That idea also failed to pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very disappointed to hear the possibility that rent will still go up, particularly since we were promised a freeze,\u201d said Douglas Ostling, 78, of Flushing, after the hearing. \u201cI\u2019ve lived in the city all my life. I love it, but I\u2019m being priced out of it, and if something doesn\u2019t change quickly, I\u2019m going to have to move.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the coming weeks, the RGB will host five sessions<\/a> to hear testimony from the public on the proposed rent increases before taking a final vote on June 25.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> delivered after tonight\u2019s preliminary vote, the mayor encouraged New Yorkers\u2019 to participate in the upcoming sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers are being crushed by the cost of living, and they need real relief,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cAs the RGB begins its public hearings, tenants, owners and New Yorkers from every borough should make their voices heard and speak directly to what this housing crisis looks like in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident the board will weigh those perspectives carefully and arrive at a decision later this summer that reflects the urgency of this moment,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

In considering how much to jack up rent, the law requires the board members to take into account data on tenant and landlord finances.<\/p>\n

According to reports prepared by board staff, landlord income was up 6%<\/a> in 2024, the latest year for which it was studied, but varied widely based on the location and age of the building stock. At the same time, landlords\u2019 costs<\/a> outpaced inflation between 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n

On the tenants\u2019 side, RGB research showed<\/a> the median renter income grew by just 1.8% adjusted for inflation. Renters in all boroughs except The Bronx saw their incomes increase. More than half of renter households paid more than a third of their income in rent \u2014 placing them into a category known by housing experts as \u201crent-burdened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Historically, landlords have said that hikes approved by the RGB are not high enough to cover the expenses of maintaining their buildings, while tenants said they\u2019re financially squeezed and can\u2019t afford to pay more.<\/p>\n

That played out last year, when the board voted on rent increases<\/a> of 3% for one-year leases and 4.5% for two-year leases, after previously weighing hikes<\/a> between 1.75% and 4.75% for one-year leases and 3.75% and 7.75% for two-year leases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been here every year, but this year feels different,\u201d said Kit Klee, an organizer with the tenant group CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities who lives in a rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria and appeared hopeful for a rent freeze before the vote took place.<\/p>\n

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