New York City Commercial Real Estate Industry Seeks to Work With Mamdani as Rent Freezes Threaten

(Reuters) -Members of the New York real estate industry have been bracing for the ripple effects of Zohran Mamdani’s affordability and housing policies and are now seeking to engage with the New York City mayor-elect as he attempts to freeze rent and spur development in the city.

The real estate industry has been concerned that freezing rent for rent-stabilized apartments would limit the ability of apartment owners to maintain and renovate buildings and dampen demand for various forms of investment in these properties. 

“I think that the most effective way that the mayor-elect can be successful is by sitting down with the people who develop and manage affordable housing in the city and saying, ‘What do you need to do more in the way of affordable housing?'” said David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, a nonprofit that represents affordable housing stakeholders in New York and nationally.

“And we have members who are very active in New York locally and thought leaders in New York housing, and we are happy to connect them,” Dworkin added. 

Last week’s mayoral election victory by progressive Democrat Mamdani, 34, was driven by a surge of young voters, newcomers to the city, first-time voters and renters, according to NBC News exit polls. Many of them were galvanized by Mamdani’s proposals to lower the cost of living in the most populous U.S. city and perhaps its most expensive.

While the New York City mayor does not have direct power over rent prices, Mamdani’s office appoints members to the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, which itself sets rent limits and would need to enact rent freezes, according to the board’s website. The mayor also has sway over zoning for new housing developments and other buildings and sets the city’s budget, according to the New York City government’s website. 

Pushing for a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments was a measure undertaken by former Mayor Bill de Blasio but reversed by the current outgoing mayor, Eric Adams.  

Still, Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association, which represents the majority of the city’s affordable housing and property developers, said he sees low odds that the Rent Guidelines Board would approve Mamdani’s affordable housing rent freeze, even if Mamdani replaces a portion of the nine-member Board.

“They’ve been looking at this data and the data has been getting worse over years,” Burgos said, adding that over 200,000 affordable housing units are “functionally bankrupt” due to rising costs. A rent freeze would be the “nail in the coffin” for that housing, he said.

A POSSIBLE NEW PATH FORWARD

Research from the current Rent Guidelines Board in 2025 found that the average net operating income of affordable housing built before 1974 fell 9% in nominal terms between 2020 and 2023 in New York City, with a decline of more than 25% for buildings outside Manhattan.

“I can’t fathom how – with this data showing this housing struggling, with rising costs – they somehow arrive at the notion that there should now be a rent freeze,” Burgos added.

The Rent Guidelines Board did not immediately return a request for comment.

Some of the biggest real estate firms in New York City that help finance affordable housing developments include Blackstone, Brookfield Properties, Pinnacle Realty of New York and SL Green Realty, according to the NYAA. Representatives of Blackstone and SL Green declined to comment, while representatives of Pinnacle and Brookfield did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some in the industry see a pathway forward for landlords and the new mayor. 

“The mayor-elect has said front and center freezing the rent and affordability don’t necessarily mean leaving landlords out in the cold,” said Jesse Batus, senior vice president of real estate development at the Community Builders, which owns around 1,000 affordable apartment units in New York City and has plans to construct more than 800 new units.

“We know that costs have been rising but I don’t really see a reality where the mayor-elect is trying to pick winners and losers,” Batus said.

Mamdani pledged in his victory speech that he would freeze the rents for more than 2 million rent-stabilized tenants. A representative for the mayor-elect did not immediately return a request for comment. 

David Funk, executive director of industry association the American Real Estate Society, expressed concern about how Mamdani’s policies would impact the desirability of investments not just in New York City’s affordable housing market, but in other commercial real estate ventures, due to a potential dent in profit margins on those buildings. 

“Historically, rent control has resulted in a diminution of investment,” said Funk, whose association represents academics and industry thought leaders.

COLLABORATION SOUGHT FROM INDUSTRY 

Some in the industry said they are hoping to collaborate and work with Mamdani as he develops his policies. 

James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, said his organization is prepared to work with the next mayor to “address the issue of housing affordability and other challenges facing our city.”

Paul Rahimian, founder and CEO of direct private commercial real estate lender Parkview Financial, said by email that he would welcome the opportunity to meet Mamdani “so that we can strategize together on how to best implement ideas to help residents afford the costs of living in New York City.”

“The real estate community is particularly concerned, but he has met with them and has signaled that he’s pro-development,” said Kathryn Wylde, CEO at the Partnership for New York City, whose members include Wall Street banks, private equity firms and law firms.

“He wants to make sure we get a lot of housing built. And so that’s been somewhat reassuring.”

(Reporting by Matt Tracy in Washington; Editing by Megan Davies and Matthew Lewis)

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