Mayor Mamdani Appoints Five New Members to Rent Guidelines Board
NEW YORK — Today, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the appointments of five new members to the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) as well as the reappointment of one member – making Mamdani appointments the majority of the board.
The following statement can be attributed to Sumathy Kumar, director of the NYS Tenant Bloc:
“New York tenants are getting our rent freeze. The data’s clear: landlord profits are up 12% — the biggest increase since the ‘90s — while tenants are choosing between paying rent and putting food on the table.
“Tenants are the majority in New York. We’ll be at the hearings in the thousands to fight for a rent freeze. And we’re ready to work with the new Rent Guidelines Board members to deliver it.”
BACKGROUND:
The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) sets annual rent increases for New York City’s 2.4 million rent stabilized tenants. The RGB’s members, who are appointed by the mayor, will next vote on rent adjustments in June 2026.
Under former Mayor Adams, the board raised rents every year, for a total of 12% over his four-year term. Under Mayor Bill de Blasio, the RGB froze the rent three times.
The RGB’s own data clearly supports a rent freeze, finding in 2025 that landlord incomes are up 12% – the greatest increase since the 1990s.
An analysis from the Community Service Society shows a rent freeze would save New Yorkers up to $7 billion or an average of nearly $600 per month.
Freezing the rent was a cornerstone of Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. Mayor Mamdani won the New York City general election with over one million votes.
