NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani signs housing executive orders on first day
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was publicly sworn in at midnight and hours later, launched his first day in office Thursday with new executive orders targeting landlords and housing development in the city, saying the city would take what he called “precedent-setting action” to intervene in a private landlord bankruptcy case that he said was tied to 93 buildings.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era for New York City,” Mamdani said. “Today is opening day. It’s also the day the rent comes due.”
Speaking from a Brooklyn apartment building, Mamdani framed the moves as an early test of whether the city government would confront landlords directly over housing conditions and step into lawsuits that could determine whether tenants stay in their homes.
Mamdani said New Yorkers who attended his opening said “bad landlords aren’t making repairs,” rents are rising, and residents are returning to apartments where they deal with problems like cockroaches and lack of heat.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his first executive orders on Thursday. (Fox News / Pool)
The mayor said the new administration “will not wait to act” and will “stand up for the tenants of this city.”
Mamdani announced three housing-related executive orders, starting with the revival of the Mayor’s Office of Tenant Protection, which he said would focus on resolving complaints and holding landlords accountable for dangerous situations.
“We will make sure that 311 violations are resolved,” Mamdani said, adding that the administration will hold “slums” accountable for “dangerous and dangerous threats” to the well-being of tenants.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers his inaugural address in front of City Hall on Thursday. (Fox News / Pool)
Mamdani said the second executive order creates a “LIFT” task force, or a land inventory effort designed to strengthen city-owned land and accelerate housing development. He said the task force will inspect city-owned properties and identify areas suitable for housing development by July 1 at the latest.
The third executive order creates a “SPEED” task force, which Mamdani said stands for “Facilitating Procedures to Accelerate Equitable Development.” He said the task force will work to remove permitting hurdles that slow housing construction.
Both task forces will be overseen by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Lila Joseph, he said.
“These are comprehensive measures, but they are just the beginning of a comprehensive effort to champion the tenants’ cause,” Mamdani said.
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Earlier in the day, Mamdani signed executive order No. 1, which rescinds all previous mayoral executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams on or after September 26, 2024, unless specifically reissued by Mamdani’s administration.
Mamdani signed a second executive order establishing the structure of his administration, including the five deputy mayors and their oversight responsibilities.
The mayor made the announcement at 85 Clarkson Ave., a rent-stabilized building he said is owned by Pinnacle Realty, which he described as a “notorious landlord.”
Mamdani said tenants in the building are dealing with problems such as lack of heat and cockroaches.
The building is one of 93 properties owned by the same landlord, and the portfolio is currently in bankruptcy proceedings, Mamdani said.
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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani raises his right hand during his swearing-in ceremony at Old City Hall Station early Thursday. (Amir Hamja/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The buildings will be auctioned off to a different landlord, ranked No. 6 on a list of New York City’s worst landlords, and the buildings collectively have more than 5,000 open dangerous violations and 14,000 complaints, the mayor said.
“This is an untenable situation,” Mamdani said. “So today, we are announcing that we will take action in the bankruptcy case and step up to represent the city’s interests and the tenants’ interests.”
Mamdani said he instructed corporate attorney candidate Steve Banks to take what he called “precedent-setting action” in the case.
“We are a creditor and interested party,” Mamdani said, adding that the city is indebted and will fight for “safe and livable homes” while working to “mitigate the significant risk of displacement” facing tenants.
A tenant speaker at the event described unsafe conditions in Pinnacle buildings and said that part of the hardwood floor in the speaker’s mother’s apartment had remained unrepaired for seven years.
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“When they filed for bankruptcy this spring, Pinnacle gambled to make our housing less affordable and our lives more miserable,” the speaker said.
The mayor said these moves mark the beginning of a more aggressive use of executive authority on housing issues from his first day in office.
Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
