As New York City’s mayoral race continues to ramp up towards the November 4th election, analysts are digging into exactly what Zohran Mamdani’s proposed rent-freeze — a policy poised to further stabilize rent-controlled units and bolster affordable housing. Beyond that, it could trigger a long-overdue overhaul of the city’s property tax system.
Advertised affordability
Throughout New York City, there are approximately 1 million rent stabilized apartments. The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) oversees these residences, their legal right to lease renewal every year, and protects tenants from arbitrary evictions. Each unit is particularly geared to serve lower-income residents. Mamdani’s platform seeks to increase the benefits of such residences.
The plan hinges on his appointment of members to the RGB that are committed to voting in favor of a rent increase freeze on rent-stabilized units throughout the city, in the event of a mayoral victory for Mamdani. The appointment may have to wait until Mamdani’s second year in office, as several of mayor Eric Adams’ current appointees hold terms that extend through 2026.
The rent freeze would benefit working class families whose residence is reliant on the city’s systems to keep them afloat. Low-income families would be able to find security in the continued cost of their housing, allowing them to build wealth and contribute to the city in other ways.
The catch is, though, that a freeze on rent increases will, of course, negatively impact landlords. Building owners argue that they may not be able to keep up with the cost of building maintenance, rising insurance costs, and, most importantly, taxes. However, this pressure is the very thing Mamdani and his supporters are relying on to push through their bigger plan: property tax reform.
Inequality for real New Yorkers
Currently, the property tax system functions according to a class, based on the number of people, type of property, and the overall market value. However, a cap on the rise in value year over year for some buildings means that areas that have exploded in popularity, such as the East Village, benefit from an increase in residents willing to pay more, with less taxes passed on to the landlords.
Further complicating things, New York state requires condos and co-ops to be assessed as if they were rental units, meaning they are chronically under-valued in their taxable amount. Mamdani’s campaign specifically cited Ken Griffin’s 2019 purchase which was, at the time, the most expensive home in the US at $238 million. Though because of New York tax law it was valued at $14.9 million and therefore only contributed $841,000 in property taxes.
A track record of lethargy
The inequality of wealth in NYC isn’t anything new. A history of redlining and blockbusting now finds itself at a head, following the affordable housing crisis that saw the loss of over a million units from 1996-2017. The outdated property tax system is just one further example of a system that benefits wealthy contributors to the city’s most powerful people, while working-class residents struggle to stay afloat on the island.
Andrew Cuomo, now Mamdani’s only competitor in the mayoral race does have a housing plan as well, though it’s relatively barebones and follows the track record of previous mayor’s attempted impact on the market. Cuomo intends to create new units that focus primarily on low and middle income families, through rezoning and increased permit passage. On the surface the effort is admirable, but the lack of further impact or real reform for the city’s futurity stands out as a lack of real intent for the betterment of NYC.
Previous NYC mayors have put property tax reform on their docket, but consistently found themselves lost in the labyrinthine design of the city’s laws. Mamdani made this a core tenet of his candidacy, with a thorough plan that’s intent on delivering to his constituents. Not only would the freeze to low-income residents of NYC, but the tax reform that could follow may send ripple effects beyond the Hudson — signaling other urban spaces to follow suit.
