Mayor Zohran Mamdani will be able to appoint six members to the Rent Guidelines Board, giving him a majority of appointees to deliver his signature campaign proposal of a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments.
Alex Armlovich, a member of the board who was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams to a four-year term that runs through 2026, resigned Tuesday. He’s the third member to resign or signal intent to leave the board this month.
Armlovich said he did not resign for political reasons, but because he’d be taking on a new full-time job working on housing supply issues as a program officer at the philanthropy group Coefficient Giving.
“I believe the greatest contribution I can make to New York right now is helping the coalition and the policy architecture for housing production in the city’s highest-opportunity neighborhoods, and especially near climate-friendly rail infrastructure,” Armlovich wrote in his resignation letter, which called rent regulation an important but “short-term patch” to solving the housing affordability crisis.
The nine-member Rent Guidelines Board is appointed by the mayor and each year votes on rent levels for over a million rent-stabilized apartments in the five boroughs. Armlovich’s departure indicates that Mamdani could be closer to appointing members that would almost certainly align with his vision of delivering a rent freeze, which was a possibility that seemed less likely in the mayor’s first year because of holdover Adams-era appointments.
Board members’ terms run for as long as four years, so some appointed members stay on the board for longer than the mayor who appointed them is in office. It’s a way for past mayors to exert influence on the make-up of the board beyond their tenure. Armlovich was expected to be one of them.
But now with the recent resignations, Mamdani has a nearly clear board to play with. He has the chance to appoint six new members.
If the board votes for a rent freeze during its voting process this spring, that would put a stay on prices for about a third of all rental apartments in New York City. It would not be the first time the city has seen a rent freeze from the RGB; during the de Blasio years, the board voted for a freeze three times.
“I’m grateful to Alex Armlovich for his service to New York City and commitment to building a more affordable city,” Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg said in a statement. “I wish him well and we look forward to appointing new members of the Rent Guidelines Board soon.”
Two members, Doug Apple and Reed Jordan, took themselves out of the board’s mix earlier than expected. Mamdani would’ve been able to replace both members, as Apple is chair and serves at the mayor’s discretion, and Jordan’s term was up at the end of 2025. But both could’ve stayed on the board until they were officially replaced.
Jordan resigned earlier this month according to Andrew McLaughlin, the executive director of the RGB. Jordan did not return inquiries from THE CITY.
Apple on Friday confirmed to THE CITY his intention to leave.
“I don’t intend to remain on the board,” Apple said. “I served my term and I’m ready to move on to new things. I have a busy professional life and the Rent Guidelines Board does take up a significant amount of time.”
Board members are chosen to represent either tenants, landlords or to be “public members,” serving the wider population of New York City. Typically, tenant representatives vote against rent hikes because they say tenants can’t bear the increases, while landlord representatives — who are against rent freezes — also vote against the hikes because they say they aren’t high enough for struggling landlords. The public members and the chair serve as tie-breakers.
In the last days before Adams left office, he appointed Legal Services NYC Deputy Director Sagar Sharma as a new tenant representative, and reappointed lawyer Christina Smyth as a landlord representative.
New York University economist Arpit Gupta, a member who was reappointed by Adams, told THE CITY he intended to complete his term, which runs through 2026.
Adams made another appointment to replace a departed public member of the board, but that person backed out right at the end of last year. It’s another spot for Mamdani to fill.
Legal Aid Society attorney Adán Soltren submitted his application seeking reappointment and said he hoped to continue serving on the board as a tenant representative.
Lawyer Robert Erhlich remained on the board for an additional three years beyond his three-year term, which officially ended in 2022. He did not respond to calls or texts for comment.
Update, Feb. 18: Mamdani on Wednesday announced his picks for the RGB. Chantella Mitchell, a program director at New York Community Trust and former director at the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, will serve as a chair. The three public members are researcher Sina Sinai, New School economist Lauren Melodia and Brandon Mancilla, regional director of the United Auto Workers. Maksim Wynn, a housing developer, will serve as a landlord representative. Mamdani also reappointed Soltren as a tenant representative.
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