Election preview: housing on the ballot & Mamdani’s “Plan B”

Leading mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has yet to take a stand on ballot questions 2, 3, and 4 — and he’s hinted that his $10 billion campaign platform might require a new funding mechanism. 

Plus, we break down the numbers behind last year’s 250,000 heating complaints.

This is your New York Apartment Association weekly update with CEO Kenny Burgos.

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On The Agenda

1:12: Housing on the ballot

→ Learn more about each ballot proposal here

3:35: Heat complaints in context 

5:14: Why we oppose a rent freeze

6:09: Mamadani’s “Plan B”

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Transcript

This week on Housing New York, an update on the ballot questions, and why one candidate still won’t take a stand. Plus, it’s officially heat season. I’ll break down the numbers behind last year’s 250,000 complaints and what they actually mean. Then the $10 billion promises and who’s paying for them.

Let’s start housing New York. 

[THEME (waterfall)] 

“We need 800,000 units to meet the demand today. What we have right now in the United States and what we have right now in New York City is almost a crisis of absurdity. Hundreds of thousands of renters are at risk, and there is literally no plan. The distress of rent-stabilized buildings is going to be one of the biggest stories for the next 12-18 months.”

[INTRO]

Welcome back to Housing New York. I’m your host, Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association. We are less than one week away from early voting. It’s looking very close to the end for this year’s mayoral election, but I do want to talk about the other half of the ballot, which are the ballot measures.

[01:03] [Housing on the ballot]

A few weeks ago, I talked about the ballot measures that could shift zoning power from the City Council to the mayor’s office. Since then, they’ve become a major topic in the mayor’s race, and Zohran Mamdani, who’s made housing the core of his campaign, still hasn’t taken a stand.

These are ballot questions 2, 3, and 4. 

Supporters, like Andrew Cuomo, say they’d make it easier to build housing by cutting through local red tape. 

But Speaker Adrienne Adams and a lot of council members argue the opposite. They have used taxpayer money to send out mailers claiming these would cut out communities and open the door to more displacement — and have been accused of illegal electioneering by supporters of the measure. 

Union leaders have tried to get Mamdani to take a side, but he’s still saying he’s, quote, “Meeting with stakeholders.” 

Meanwhile, both Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa have already made their positions clear: Cuomo’s for it. Sliwa’s against it.

For voters, this could be one of the biggest housing decisions on the ballot. And as for Mamdani, who’s built his campaign on affordability, we have yet to find out where he stands. 

[02:03] [Heating complaints]

It’s officially “heat season” in New York, from October 1st through May 31st. Apartments must stay above 62 degrees at night and 68 degrees during the day if it’s below 55 outside.

You’ve probably seen the headlines about a record number of heat complaints last year – more than 250,000 – but here’s what the data actually shows: Nearly all of those complaints came from less than 1% of buildings. 

The comptroller found that just 1,283 buildings out of more than 100,000 multifamily buildings citywide were responsible for the majority of complaints.

HPD takes these complaints seriously and investigates every single one. Only about 3% ended up as violations — around 7,000 total.  And even among those, many were simply for lack of access, meaning inspectors couldn’t get into the building to verify the issue — not because the heat was actually off.

Think about it. In a city with more than two million apartments, just 7,000 violations were issued. That’s less than half of one percent. In other words, the current laws are working and the vast majority of New Yorkers have adequate heat — as they should. 

Enforcement is strong, and we’re focused on making it even better. One way we’re doing that is by supporting Intro 925-A, the Radiator Inspection Bill, which would require regular safety inspections of steam radiators in apartments where young children live and in building common areas.

So while 250,000 complaints make headlines, the real story is how few turn out to be real violations, and how most New Yorkers live in buildings that keep the heat on.

[03:36] [The rent freeze debate]

Speaking of housing policy, there’s been a lot of conversation about rent freezes, and there is a growing opposition to the idea from housing experts who realize the severe distress facing these properties. 

Among them is former Rent Guidelines Board Chair Scott Mollen, who served under Mayor Ed Koch. He wrote that freezing rents through political pressure isn’t just bad policy, it would actually violate the purpose of the board itself.

Not only would a rent freeze speed up the deterioration of housing, discourage new investment, and ultimately hurt both owners and tenants, he raised an even bigger concern: City Hall overstepping.

He reminded people that the Rent Guidelines Board is meant to be independent. It’s required by law to base its decisions on real data – things like property taxes, fuel, insurance, and maintenance costs – not politics or campaign promises. 

During his time as chair, he said City Hall never once tried to influence the outcome, and that’s exactly how it should be.

This leads us to another story that was released last week. New York Magazine reported that there is pressure on the Adams administration to appoint new Rent Guidelines Board members before the end of his term — locking in a board that would evaluate the data fairly instead of bending to political pressure. 

No matter who serves on the RGB, we expect them to follow the law, which says they should make rent decisions based on actual facts. 

[04:54] [Mamdani’s “Plan B”]

Since I’m on the topic of campaign promises, the big question is, who’s paying for them?

Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani hinted he may need a “Plan B” to fund his $10 billion affordability agenda for things like free buses and city-run grocery stores if Albany blocks his proposed tax hikes on the wealthy and big corporations.

At an event in Queens, he said the important thing isn’t how the programs are funded, just that they are funded — whether that’s through new taxes, unexpected revenue, or savings elsewhere in the budget. 

Understandably, that’s raising eyebrows among business leaders who worry higher local taxes could drive people and companies out of the city. 

Even Gov. Hochul has said she’s not on board with raising taxes, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Mamdani’s plan “a fantasy.” 

The truth is, there are only two ways to pay for big promises: raise revenue or cut spending. And right now, it’s not clear which one he plans to do.

[OUTRO]

That’s a wrap for today’s episode. 

The Q3 HousingNY Magazine is out now. This issue covers pension funds losses from rent-stabilized housing, the broken property tax system, how voters believe New York’s housing policy is broken, which elected officials have the most rent-stabilized units in New York, and much more. You can read it on our website at housingny.org.

I’ll be back with you in two weeks. In the meantime, follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X @HousingNY.

And remember, good housing policy starts with good conversation.