New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is matching a tough stance against bad landlords with a broader push to make housing safer and more affordable across the five boroughs.
On Sunday, the city put 250 apartments that NYC officials described as “severely distressed” under stricter scrutiny, with a promise to crack down on landlords who fail to make basic repairs.
Mamdani and Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Dina Levy released an updated list of properties in the Special Enforcement Program, which targets properties with the most serious housing code violations.
These properties, which include 7,038 homes, account for approximately 55,000 open violations. They owe the city about $4.5 million for emergency repair work that has already been done, according to City Hall. Cea Weaver, who heads the Mayor’s Office of Tenant Protection, planned to enforce enforcement as part of the administration’s promise to combine affordability with a foundation of decent, affordable conditions.
“Every New Yorker deserves a safe and well-maintained place to relax, raise families and sleep at night,” he said in a statement.
Move to fulfill campaign housing promises
Mamdani began his career by directing the housing policy towards affordable, supportive housing. On his first day in office, he signed executive actions to directly link the city’s emergency shelter program with permanent housing. He also ordered an inspection of shelters that do not meet standard requirements, with the authority to upgrade or close them within weeks.
He campaigned, and now is planning his administration, vowing to dramatically increase publicly funded, union-owned, rent-stabilized housing on public land. His top priority is affordable housing for low-income residents and people transitioning out of homelessness, before the market is built.
However, his management lost for the first time when they tried to stop the sale of 5,100 units Summit Properties. A federal bankruptcy judge approved the sale in mid-January The Pinnacle Groupowed to the city for violations and unpaid taxes.
Congress pledged tens of millions of dollars for repairs and vowed to quickly deal with the bulk of the violations. The judge’s decision found that the company has the financial capacity to fulfill the pledge.
Mamdani moved quickly to restart stalled projects, revitalizing the Just Home supportive housing development at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx to build 83 apartments for formerly incarcerated New Yorkers with complex health needs. His administration supports the programs of approximately 190 support units for the same people.
Putting pressure on landlords
“In our first month in office, we were clear: New York will no longer look the other way while bad landlords put tenants at risk,” Mamdani said in a statement, vowing to “use every tool at our disposal” to keep housing safe.
Now in its 19th year, the Alternative Enforcement Program enables HPD to increase inspections and issue Correctional Orders. If the owners refuse to take action, the department sends city crews to fix heat leaks, leaks and other hazardous conditions. Homeowners bear the cost.
Officials said the latest round builds on the $2.1 million HPD reached last month with A&E Real Estate Holdings, which includes 14 properties — the largest acquired by the agency’s anti-bullying unit — in need of extensive repairs and court-enforced tenant protections.
Among the city’s five boroughs, the worst offenders on this year’s list are in Queens, which has logged more than 1,000 “B” and “C” violations in the past five years, the city said. HPD’s real estate division is involved in court actions against the owners of 138 listed buildings to enforce compliance.
“This administration will not back down from protecting tenants or enforcing the Housing Maintenance Code,” said Levy, warning that landlords who repeatedly fail their tenants will be held accountable.
Owners can exit the program within months if they resolve violations and outstanding repair bills, or make payment agreements with the city, officials said. HPD said it monitors eviction properties for at least a year to make sure conditions don’t go unnoticed, and that reneging homeowners face immediate enforcement if they return to the list.
