A group of New York City landlords has launched a bid to put a halt to Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze, referring to the move as a “sham” that is based on “manipulated data” in a newly filed lawsuit against the administration. The coalition sued the city’s Rent Guidelines Board in Staten Island Supreme Court, issuing a challenge to the panel’s June 25, 2026 decision to freeze rents on a million stabilized units for a period of two years.
The group claims that the board, made up of nine members, skewed its own data and ignored a whole host of economic conditions in order to justify a “predetermined,” “irrational result” and secure a political win for Mamdani, who campaigned on a promise to “freeze the rent.” He also included promises of free transportation, another aspect of his platform that has already blown up in his face.
“The [Rent Guidelines Board]’s 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,” the suit says. The filing claims the mayor accomplished this by placing a number of loyalist tenant activists on the board.
According to a report from The New York Post, Mamdani also shelled out over $5 million in taxpayer dollars through his highly controversial Office of Mass Engagement with the goal “of promoting the freeze outcome, not facilitating neutral civic engagement.” Mamdani has tried to make the case that the board is independent, despite having appointed six of its current members.
Randy Mastro, the attorney representing the coalition of landlords, recently appeared on conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s program where he provided an explanation of his clients’ case. “Well, it’s a simple proposition: an independent board, statutorily required to weigh all the evidence and fairly consider the data. Instead, perverted a process at the mayor’s behest to deliver on his campaign promise. This was a sham process to deliver a predetermined outcome that the mayor directed by fiat,” he told Ingraham.
“That is blatantly illegal, and the ramifications of it are profound. More than a million New Yorkers live in rent-stabilized apartments. That’s thousands of landlords, many of them struggling to survive because we are living in a period of inflation rising, the costs of landlords soaring, taxes, utilities, insurance,” Mastro continued.
“Yet somehow this board, under the mayor’s influence, came to the conclusion that zero rent increase was warranted. Not supported by the data. Board did not properly consider the statutory criteria, and we believe it will be found to be illegal. And don’t just take my word for it. A longtime board member quit the morning of the vote,” the attorney concluded.
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The landlords, who altogether own over 100 rent-stabilized units, have asked a judge to block the freeze before it takes effect in October 2026. One of the landlords, Violet Zharku, said she will not be able to keep up with the costs of running and repairing the apartments she owns, nor have enough income to support her own family, should the freeze take effect.
“Freezing the rent does not freeze my mortgage, property taxes, insurance, water and sewer bills, utility costs or the cost of repairs,” she told the media. Mamdani’s administration is prepared for a legal battle as City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said, “The Law Department is prepared to defend the RGB’s decisions.”