Mamdani names new Rent Guidelines Board majority, testing rent freeze pledge

"New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is officially reshaping the city's Rent Guidelines Board by appointing five new members and reappointing one, positioning the panel to decide whether his signature campaign pledge to "freeze the rent" becomes reality for tenants in about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. Mamdani will name Chantella Mitchell, a program director at the nonprofit New York Community Trust and a former city housing official, as board chair, City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach told Gothamist."

"The nine-member panel votes each year on the amount that owners of rent-stabilized apartments can legally raise monthly rents. On three occasions, all under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, the board voted for a year-long freeze. Mamdani has pledged to preside over four consecutive freezes during his first term to make the city more affordable for tenants living in rent-stabilized apartments, but the mayor does not actually have the power to accomplish that unilaterally."

"Mamdani said he was "proud" of the appointees in a written statement to Gothamist late Monday. "I'm confident that, under the leadership of Chantella Mitchell as chair, the board will take a clear-eyed look at the complex housing landscape and the realities facing our city's 2 million rent-stabilized tenants, and help us move closer to a fairer, more affordable New York," Mamdani said."

Zohran Mamdani is reshaping the Rent Guidelines Board by appointing five new members and reappointing one to influence rent policy for roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. Chantella Mitchell will serve as board chair. New public representatives include economist Lauren Melodia, labor leader Brandon Mancilla, and data scientist Sina Sinai. Maksim Wynn fills a landlord representative seat, and tenant attorney Adán Soltren is reappointed as a renter representative. The nine-member board annually votes on legal rent increases. Three previous year-long freezes occurred under Bill de Blasio. Mamdani pledged four consecutive freezes but cannot enforce them unilaterally; outcomes depend on the board.

Read at Gothamist