Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s latest pro-tenant outreach is just more “performative politics’’ and dismally fails NYCHA and Mitchell-Lama residents battling rent hikes and horror conditions, furious New Yorkers say.
The administration’s “campaign to build tenant power” invites volunteers to door-knock buildings with open violations to try to demand action while urging city tenants to attend meetings to learn about organizing.
But the push — spearheaded by the mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement — fails to specifically address financially struggling residents in city-run NYCHA housing and those assisted by the local, state and federally aided Mitchell-Lama program, critics said.
“For our so-called ‘socialist’ mayor to leave out the most vulnerable tenants — seniors, disabled and lower-income people of color — is not just beyond comprehension, it’s intentional,” said Marni Halasa, an organizer at “Fight For NYCHA” Chelsea, to the Post.
The office of Mass Engagement wrote in a press release, “The campaign builds on Mayor Mamdani’s Rental Ripoff hearings, where tenants across all five boroughs described the conditions they have endured, from mold and vermin to broken elevators, chronic heat outages and years of landlord neglect.’’
Yet nowhere in the office’s press release— nor on the city’s website announcing it — are NYCHA or Mitchell-Lama mentioned.
NYCHA buildings have a whopping 61,915 open mold and leak work orders, according to a July report from the federal monitor.
The report also found unplanned heating outages increased 32% year over year, and nearly half of all apartments tested positive for lead paint.
As for Mitchell-Lama tenants, city Housing and Preservation Department Commissioner Dina Levy recently revealed that the tenants of one Bronx building, Tracey Towers, face a staggering rent increase of 31%.
“These tenants deserve the same commitment to an affordability agenda as everyone else in New York City,” said Councilman Eric Dinowitz (D-11), who represents Tracey Towers’ district.
City Hall responded by noting there were a group of hearings held by the administration and NYCHA this year during which residents had the chance to connect with NYCHA staff one-on-one.
The Mamdani administration noted there would be more of the hearings to come in the fall.
Halasa, who attended one of the previous hearings, called the city’s stance a charade and “performative politics.”
But City Hall said that their latest campaign is simply designed to “ensure that New Yorkers know their rights and have the tools they need to organize with their neighbors.
“The Mamdani Administration is deeply engaged with tenants of all kinds all across our City because the affordability crisis touches all of us,” a Mamdani rep told The Post in a statement.
The representative claimed that the administration also has made “historic investments in securing a more stable future for NYCHA through our Block by Block housing plan,” and “dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to the preservation of upwards of 2,800 Mitchell-Lama homes.
“We will continue to work with tenants to secure better conditions and ensure that every New Yorker has a safe, stable, affordable place to call home,” he said.
Read the full article here
