{"id":5143,"date":"2026-07-23T06:08:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5143"},"modified":"2026-07-23T06:08:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:08:33","slug":"mamdani-faces-lawsuit-over-unlawful-nyc-rent-freeze-as-landlords-rip-abuse-of-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5143","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani faces lawsuit over ‘unlawful’ NYC rent freeze \u2014 as landlords rip ‘abuse of power’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A coalition of New York City landlords launched a bid Wednesday to smack down Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s rent freeze \u2014 calling it a rigged \u201csham\u201d that relied on \u201cmanipulated data\u201d in a new lawsuit.<\/p>\n

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The group sued the city\u2019s Rent Guidelines Board in Staten Island Supreme Court, challenging as \u201cunlawful\u201d the panel\u2019s June 25 decision to freeze rents on 1 million stabilized units for two years.<\/p>\n

They claim the nine-member board skewed its own data, ignoring a slew of economic conditions to justify a \u201cpredetermined,\u201d \u201cirrational result\u201d and deliver a political victory for Mamdani \u2014 who famously campaigned on a promise to \u201cfreeze the rent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [Rent Guidelines Board]\u2019s June 25 determination was the result of a corrupted and compromised process: a statutory mandate flouted and disregarded, an independent agency held captive, and an outcome wired and predetermined from inception,\u201d the suit claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani, according to the filing, accomplished this by stacking the independent board with loyalist tenant activists \u2014 and spent more than $5 million in taxpayer dollars via his controversial Office of Mass Engagement with a \u201cgoal of promoting the freeze outcome, not facilitating neutral civic engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani \u2014 who appointed six of the current RGB members \u2014 has argued the board was independent.<\/p>\n

The landlords, who together own over 100 rent-stabilized units, ask a state judge to block the freeze before it can take effect in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf allowed to stand, Order #58 will impose severe, irreparable harm\u201d on the plaintiffs \u201cand similarly-situated landlords (who stand to lose their properties), while setting a dangerous precedent that the RGB\u2019s independence can be cast aside by Mayoral fiat,\u201d the suit states.<\/p>\n

One landlord who is part of the suit, Violet Zharku, said the amount of money she makes from renting her 50 units will no longer keep up with the costs of running and repairing the apartments, forcing her family to look for other income streams to keep the three fully stabilized buildings in minimum shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreezing the rent does not freeze my mortgage, property taxes, insurance, water and sewer bills, utility costs or the cost of repairs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Zharku, whose family saved for years working as superintendents, purchased the three buildings over the past few years, and has invested over $300,000 in capital improvements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But rising expenses \u2013 most notably skyrocketing insurance costs \u2014 have driven nearly all of the buildings into the red, and one of them, in Astoria, is now listed for sale, the suit states.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are losing $172,000 annually,\u201d Zharku previously told The Post, citing skyrocketing expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can no longer invest in capital improvements or apartment renovations beyond critical repairs and we have no choice but to sell the buildings that we have spent generations maintaining,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Zharku and two other landlords involved in the suit also said that rental non-payment was a major issue, with over $70,000 owed across her portfolio.<\/p>\n

One property owner claimed $90,000 in unpaid rent at a Bronx building.\u00a0Another landlord \u2014 whose family has owned and self-managed their Queens building since 1974 \u2014 was owed $70,000 in rent, with over $25,000 owed by a single tenant, according to the suit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Board did not truly consider the consequences for buildings like these because the outcome was determined before the evidence was heard,\u201d the suit states.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The landlords also seek an expedited discovery request for all communications regarding the RGB vote between the mayor and several of his offices \u2014 including the OME and one headed by tenant activist Cea Weaver.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThere is no actual basis for an across- the-board rent freeze here, and the Board\u2019s decision must be overturned,\u201d said attorney Randy Mastro, who represents the landlords and previously worked for then-Mayor Eric Adam\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is not the way government decisions by independent boards are supposed to be made,\u201d he said, calling the suit \u201ca check on the mayor\u2019s abuse of power.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said the RGB was \u201can independent body\u201d and that the Mamdani administration was \u201cconfident that the Board evaluated all of the relevant data and considered the factors facing both tenants and landlords across New York City.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Law Department is prepared to defend the RGB\u2019s decisions,\u201d Rauschenbach added.<\/p>\n

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A coalition of NYC landlords owning over 100 rent stabilized units say Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s rent freeze was a rigged \u201csham\u201d that relied on \u201cmanipulated data\u201d to justify a “predetermined” and \u201cirrational result,\u201d according to a new lawsuit that asks the court to smack down the “unlawful” freeze.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nMamdani faces lawsuit over 'unlawful' NYC rent freeze \u2014 as landlords rip 'abuse of power' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5143\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mamdani faces lawsuit over 'unlawful' NYC rent freeze \u2014 as landlords rip 'abuse of power' - 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