Tenants can air their grievances at a series of events in every borough, where Mamdani administration officials say they’ll use what they hear to shape policies to protect renters. Registration is first-come, first-serve.
Mamdani with Dina Levy, his new housing commissioner, first announcing the renter-focused hearings last month. (Ed Reed, Mayoral Photography Office)
If you’re a renter with a complaint, the city wants to hear from you.
The Mamdani administration released details Tuesday for its upcoming “Rental Ripoff” hearings—events in every borough where tenants can share their experiences with city housing officials, who will use what they hear to shape policies to protect renters.
“You can’t fight for tenants without listening to them first,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement about the series, which will kick off Feb. 26 in Downtown Brooklyn and conclude on Staten Island’s North Shore on April 7. Additional hearings will be held in Long Island City on March 5, Fordham on March 11 and East Harlem on March 28.
Unlike hearings where all speakers stand up to testify briefly at a single microphone, the events will be set up more like a resource fair where attendees can record their testimony or sign up for one-on-one conversations with city officials. Capacity is limited, so participants must “pre-register” ahead of time for one of several time slots, and actual admission will be first-come, first-serve, a mayoral spokesperson said.
“We may not be able to accommodate everyone who pre-registers,” a message on the city’s registration website notes. Those unable to attend in person can email their testimony here.
The hearings will include staff from the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Buildings, and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Officials say they’re looking to hear about “challenges ranging from mold, broken appliances and unsafe construction conditions to hidden fees and surprise charges.” The administration will publish a report three months after the last hearing “with recommendations for policy changes and action plans based on testimony.”
The administration’s flyer advertising the upcoming
hearings. (City Hall)
Mamdani first announced the events during his first few days in office, after running for election on a tenant-focused campaign where he pledged to freeze rents in stabilized units and to crackdown on unscrupulous property owners. Renters account for 69 percent of the city’s households, with roughly half living in rent-regulated apartments, according to a 2024 report from the comptroller’s office.
Still, the hearings rankled some landlord organizations, who criticized the administration’s flyer advertising the series as pitting tenants against building owners.
Real estate groups have fiercely opposed Mamdani’s rent freeze plan—and donated heavily against him during the election—saying it will make it harder for owners of rent-stabilized apartments to keep up with operating costs and make repairs.
“Framing his ‘rental ripoff’ hearings as a prize fight between tenants vs. landlords makes it disturbingly clear that this new Mayor’s housing policies are going to be driven by marquee-like politics, circus-like slogans, and us-versus-them divisiveness,” said Ann Korchak, board president of the Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY), said in a statement Tuesday.
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