New York City's Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) agency has been unable to provide any instances where it rejected rent increases for apartments within the city's Mitchell-Lama housing program, which serves approximately 42,000 households.
This revelation came as tenants at the Bronx-based Tracey Towers complex are facing proposed rent increases of over 30% spread across the next four years. While Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Rent Guidelines Board approved a rent freeze for roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments, HPD officials confirmed they had approved five rent increases for Mitchell-Lama units this year and 37 last year under the previous administration.
When pressed by officials, HPD Deputy Commissioner Adam Phillips stated he did not have immediate knowledge of any rejected rent hikes. Phillips suggested that the agency sometimes "modified" increases by identifying ways to reduce building expenses. He also noted that state law requires buildings to remain financially solvent to avoid foreclosure, a situation many Mitchell-Lama properties are struggling with. Tracey Towers is reportedly over three years behind on its mortgage payments, and the broader Mitchell-Lama portfolio has $47.5 million in overdue property taxes.
During a recent hearing, HPD officials also admitted they did not possess a citywide financial review of the Mitchell-Lama program, despite a request from the council weeks earlier. This lack of basic financial information drew criticism from Speaker Julie Menin. Bronx Councilman Eric Dinowitz further questioned a nearly 50% increase in security costs at affordable complexes over two years, bringing the total to $2.8 million. Phillips acknowledged this as a significant rise and stated the agency was engaging a management firm to address the costs, a move Dinowitz pointed out was occurring after rent increases had already been proposed.