Adams Rushes To Gut Rent Board, Protect Landlords (Again)
Outgoing NYC Mayor Eric Adams is reportedly scrambling to install his preferred appointees to the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), conveniently before incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an advocate for tenants, takes office. Bloomberg’s piece frames this as a bureaucratic jostle; what it doesn’t highlight is Adams' history: his administration has consistently sided with real estate developers and
landlords, appointing RGB members who have repeatedly approved rent increases even during economic hardship. Last year, the Adams-appointed RGB voted for a 3% rent hike on one-year leases, the highest in a decade. So, a lame-duck mayor rushes to stack a powerful board with sympathetic figures to preempt a progressive challenger's pledge to freeze rents for over a million stabilized apartments. Is
this 'good governance' or just another naked attempt to ensure New Yorkers continue to subsidize landlords, often campaign donors, while housing insecurity spirals? One might wonder who Adams is truly serving in his final days.