Mamdani lives up to campaign promise, freezing rent for about 1 million New Yorkers

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani barreled into City Hall vowing to tackle the city’s notoriously high cost of living, partly by fulfilling a campaign promise repeated with almost monomaniacal zeal in social media ads, speeches and rallies: “As your next mayor, I will freeze your rent.”

On Thursday evening, a board he controls made good on that signature pledge.

The city’s Rent Guidelines Board, an independent panel of mayoral appointees, approved a rent freeze covering both one-year and two-year leases for people living in about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.

The vote, while expected, is a big win for Mamdani, allowing him to beat back skepticism over his ability to deliver on his affordability agenda. And it came just two days after he made a splash as a budding progressive kingmaker when three congressional candidates he endorsed won their races in stunning fashion, unseating two Democratic incumbents and bucking the party establishment.

In a statement, Mamdani, a Democrat, called the decision “a........

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