City lawyers cite months of records behind the freeze vote
On Sept. 2, state Justice Brendan Lantry pressed Randy Mastro, the lawyer who brought the landlords’ lawsuit, to explain how a court could overturn the Rent Guidelines Board’s decision to bar rent increases on stabilized apartments. Mastro alleges that the board used a “sham process” to push through Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promise and that the mayor illegally influenced the vote.
The board is tasked with acting independently while weighing data on tenant affordability and landlord costs such as insurance, fuel and taxes. Mastro alleged that Mamdani appointed a handpicked majority when he took office and that the board selected data to produce the result the mayor wanted. Lantry pushed back on part of that account, pointing out that mayors may legally appoint their own members to empty seats.
Mastro, a former deputy mayor under Eric Adams, said Mamdani held a private meeting with board members about the “true cost of living.” “This supposedly independent fact-finding body was spoon-fed by the mayor’s office this crazy ‘true cost of living’ presentation,” Mastro said in court. “They left landlords to drown,” he added.
Mastro also alleged that the board intentionally ignored landlords’ debt payments, which he said can be a significant portion of owners’ costs. Lantry asked, “What can be done differently such that it wouldn’t be a sham process?” He also questioned whether the board had historically considered landlords’ debt service and noted that the city’s housing agency is allowed to communicate with the board.
Turning to the board’s financial analysis, Lantry asked whether Mastro conceded that net operating income had increased. Net operating income is a measure of landlord profits that excludes debt payments. Mastro agreed that landlords’ operating income increased based on the board’s calculation, though he said the figure was artificially low, partly because it included revenue from market-rate apartments in the same buildings.
With the city’s lawyers, Lantry asked them to explain the board’s independence and the work leading to the vote. “Like when we were kids in math class, explain their work,” he asked. The lawyers pointed to months of records detailing the data and testimony the board considered before its vote.
City lawyer Rachel Moston said the board followed the law by weighing the data and using its discretion. “It’s a vote. It is not a mathematical equation or formula,” Moston said.
Following the arguments, Lantry said he would work to issue a final decision quickly. The Rent Guidelines Board’s rent freeze is scheduled to take effect in October.
The case was initially filed in Staten Island, the only borough Mamdani lost in November’s election. City lawyers argued that Staten Island was the proper jurisdiction because the vote took place there, and a judge later ordered the case moved to a Manhattan court.
The hearing was the second time that week that the city had faced Mastro in litigation over a Mamdani initiative. Mastro is also suing the administration over the rollout of its new tax on luxury second homes.