Among the campaign promises that helped propel Zohran Mamdani to the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, his pledge to "freeze the rent” is at once the most radical sounding and the easiest to accomplish. In fact, it’s been accomplished multiple times over the past decade.
The mayor chooses the nine members of the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, which every year determines the allowable rent increase for the city’s nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. The members’ terms are staggered, so a new mayor can’t replace them all immediately, but with the two tenant representatives certain to favor a freeze, it would take only three of the five members appointed to represent the public to get to a majority (there are also two owner representatives, who would, of course, oppose a freeze). During Bill de Blasio’s tenure as mayor, the board voted for no rent increases on one-year leases in 2015, 2016 and 2020 — as well as 0% for the first six months and 1.5% for the last six in 2021.
So, yes, Mamdani could deliver a rent freeze. Whether he should requires a longer answer.
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