Christina Smyth, the sole landlord representative on the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, resigned from her position just hours before a scheduled vote on a rent freeze. In a letter to the board, Smyth stated that the group had “stopped being a fact-finding body” and that the decision to freeze rent had been predetermined.
Smyth, a real estate attorney and law firm owner, criticized the board, which includes six members appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. She claimed that the board disregarded increasing building and insurance costs faced by landlords. "I asked why the data showing rising costs and falling net income was not reflected in the board’s direction to its members. Those questions went unanswered,” Smyth wrote.
She asserted that the board’s decision on rent increases was made during the mayoral campaign trail, where a "Freeze the Rent" pledge was a significant promise for rent-stabilized housing. Smyth concluded that the current board was "required to deliver a rent freeze."