A New York Post opinion piece published Saturday warns that a proposed rent freeze by City Council member Zohran Mamdani would exacerbate a long-running crisis in New York City's rent-regulated housing, arguing that state and city policies already have pushed tens of thousands of regulated units off the market.
The column says a 2019 state law — the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act signed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — removed landlords' ability to recoup the cost of bringing long-occupied units up to code when a tenant moves out, and that change has led to widespread "warehousing" of vacant rent-regulated apartments. The piece cites an estimate that as many as 50,000 rent-regulated units are sitting empty and describes city efforts to reverse that trend as ineffective.
The column highlights the City Department of Housing Preservation & Development's "Unlocking Doors" program, which offers grants to owners of distressed rent-stabilized units to cover certain mandatory repairs. According to the op-ed, HPD initially offered $25,000 per unit for work such as lead and asbestos abatement, electrical and plumbing upgrades and the removal of asthma triggers; when that drew no takers, the agency doubled the offer to $50,000 and secured a single participation agreement. The piece adds that landlords must decline Section 8 applicants or other prospective tenants who would pay cash and may only accept new renters who are homeless or on the verge of eviction to participate.
The New York Post column quotes a New York City Housing Authority estimate that it costs roughly $500,000 to bring an older NYCHA unit up to code, and argues that modest HPD grants leave many private landlords financially better off leaving units vacant than undertaking expensive renovations they cannot recover through higher rents because of the 2019 state law.
The op-ed frames Mamdani's rent-freeze proposal as likely to push smaller landlords toward bankruptcy and accelerate building decay, creating pressure for city takeover of large numbers of additional units. It notes that the city already owns about 180,000 public housing units through NYCHA and says that public housing faces tens of billions of dollars in overdue maintenance. The column cautions that adding more apartments to a strained public inventory could deepen the maintenance backlog.
The piece argues the only realistic remedy is to allow landlords to cover costs, which it says would require undoing restrictions enacted in 2019 and opposing a rent freeze. It presents that view as a counterpoint to visions advanced by some of Mamdani's supporters, who the column says anticipate municipal acquisition and "decommodification" of large swaths of the private rental stock.
Housing policy in New York City remains contentious. Supporters of stronger tenant protections say measures such as rent stabilization and limits on rent increases prevent displacement and preserve affordability for long-term residents, while critics contend that strict limits can discourage maintenance and reduce the supply of available units. The opinion piece represents one side of that debate, arguing that existing law and limited city incentives have created a perverse incentive for owners to keep regulated units off the market and that further restrictions on rents would aggravate the situation.
City and state officials have in recent years pursued a range of approaches to preserve and expand affordable housing, from capital investment in public housing to targeted grants and regulatory changes intended to encourage rehabilitation of distressed properties. The efficacy and scale of those interventions, and whether changes to the 2019 law or a rent freeze would help or harm the city’s available housing stock, are central questions in the ongoing policy debate.
The Post op-ed draws on municipal program details and agency estimates to make its case but does not include responses from Mamdani, HPD or NYCHA. Advocates and elected officials continue to weigh competing priorities: protecting tenants from rapid price increases while ensuring that the regulated housing supply remains safe and available.