The landlords bringing the case \u2014 represented by Randy Mastro, former first deputy mayor under ex-Mayor Eric Adams \u2014 argue that the RGB only voted to freeze the rent this summer because Mamdani, who campaigned on doing so, \u201cput his thumb on the scale.\u201d <\/p>\n
They contend Mamdani \u201cpacked\u201d the RGB with political allies who manipulated and didn\u2019t properly consider data on the impact a freeze would have on landlords, accusing the board of doing \u201cfunny math\u201d and violating its legal requirement to make an independent data-based decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis RGB \u2026 ignored, manipulated, denied [data] and was inconsistent with its statutory mandate,\u201d Mastro said during the Wednesday hearing. \u201cThere is no rational explanation. The fact of the matter is that a candidate promised a rent freeze, gets elected mayor [and] packs the board with accolades.\u201d<\/p>\n
But New York City Corporation Counsel Steven Banks, who argued the case in court alongside Rachel Moston, assistant corporation counsel for the RGB, told the judge that\u2019s simply not what happened. <\/p>\n
Mamdani did not interfere with the RGB\u2019s independent process and the board thoroughly considered all of the data in front of it, Banks said, pointing to thousands of pages of studies and data in the public record that board members testified to taking into account when making their decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no basis in the record to show there is anything other than proper and lawful proceedings that took place,\u201d Moston said. \u201cIt cannot be said looking at the record \u2026 that the board did not consider all of the factors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mastro pointed to landlords who said they couldn\u2019t afford their properties now that the city had frozen their rent, saying their costs across the board had gone up 5.3% and that, just to maintain their current financial position, they\u2019d need to increase rents at least 3.4% on one-year leases and 4.8% on 2-year leases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_3143.jpeg\" "\\"NYC")
Mastro speaks with a landlord outside Manhattan Supreme Court.Photo by Isabella Gallo<\/p>\n
The city said the board did take rising costs for landlords into account, but that it was only one of the many factors the board must consider. 50% of the city\u2019s tenants in rent-stabilized units were rent-burdened and 30% were severely rent-burdened \u2013 meaning they spend more than 30% or 50% of their income on rent, respectively \u2013 and 40% of the lowest-income tenants had seen a decrease in their wages, all data the RGB took into account.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That means some of the city\u2019s lowest-income renters would likely struggle to continue to pay rent and face more evictions if the freeze were reversed, something that would also harm landlords as they wouldn\u2019t be getting that rental income, the city said. And, there had been years of increases landlords had benefited from and tenants had struggled to keep up with, something the board also balanced.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy enough to just say, \u2018Owners\u2019 costs are up and therefore rents have to go up too,\u2019\u201d Moston said. \u201cThe board has to consider all factors.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Mastro drew attention to the fact that Mamdani appointed six members to the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board prior to its June vote, Banks said that was an entirely legal and typical process, as the mayor needed to fill vacancies that had naturally occurred.<\/p>\n
Mamdani\u2019s statements promising a rent freeze on the campaign trail and appointing board members once in office shouldn\u2019t be taken as him unduly influencing or predetermining the board\u2019s decision, Banks said \u2013 not only because he said the mayor did not ask the members to vote one way or the other, but because it\u2019s common for candidates to express their feelings on policy matters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
After taking office, Mamdani had shied away from making more declaratory statements about what the RGB should do. However, Banks noted that when Bill de Blasio actually held the mayoral seat, he said the RGB \u201cshould\u201d freeze the rent \u2013 demonstrating precedent for opining on the board.<\/p>\n
Banks also pointed to board member Arpit Gupta, an Adams appointee who voted against freezing the rent, publicly saying<\/a> that Mamdani did not interfere with the board\u2019s decision-making process \u2013 unlike other mayors had in the past \u2013 to emphasize that the board\u2019s decision was independent. The fact that he said so after voting \u2013 when he had no reason to defend the board\u2019s decision \u2013 should speak volumes, Banks said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mastro countered by pointing to one of the two RGB members representing landlords, Christina Smyth, resigning<\/a> \u201cin protest\u201d hours before the June rent freeze vote. Smyth alleged the rent freeze had been predetermined and that the board had traded its status as a \u201cfact-finding body\u201d for one that \u201cstarts with an answer and vibe codes its way backward to justify it.\u201d<\/p>\n The other landlord representative on the board, Maksim Wynn, voted in support of the freeze, saying that higher legal rents could reduce collections if more tenants stopped paying, hurting landlords anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n