EAST HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) — Rent-stabilized tenants rallied in East Harlem Thursday, calling out the New York City Housing Preservation and Development department for what they describe as a failure to adequately respond to ongoing housing issues in their buildings.

Juana Gonzaga came all the way from the Bronx to make her voice heard, saying she’s dealt with constant pipe leaks in her home for more than a decade.

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“This problem with the water leakage has happened throughout the entire building, and it’s ongoing for many years, and the city doesn’t do anything to intervene, so the landlord fixes this problem.” She said.

Tenants are demanding changes at HPD, including faster responses to emergency violations, a better inspection process, and stronger follow-up on unresolved violations, while urging the Mamdani administration to provide more direct oversight of the agency.

Tenants said they were supposed to meet face-to-face with Mayor Mamdani’s administration on Thursday to address housing issues they blame on HPD’s lack of enforcement. They requested the meeting after many residents said they couldn’t attend the mayor’s East Harlem “Rental Rip-Off Hearing” in March because it was held during working hours, leaving many working-class tenants feeling shut out.

“We agreed to have this face-to-face meeting with us at night, yet they abruptly canceled it on us,” said Juan Haro of Movement for Justice in El Barrio. “So, we’re here to demand that he listen to working-class rent-stabilized tenants. We feel he’s marginalizing us.”

The mayor’s office tells PIX 11 News both sides agreed to meet in April. They said two weeks before that meeting, the tenants told them they couldn’t make that day work, and both sides agreed to meet on Thursday night. However, due to a scheduling conflict, the mayor’s office alerted the tenants on Wednesday that they couldn’t meet.

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A spokesperson said in a statement, “Mayor Mamdani and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants hosted Rental Ripoff Hearings across the five boroughs to make it clear to every New Yorker — in this city, the Mayor is on the side of tenants and will always stand with tenants in the fight for safe, healthy living conditions. Across all five boroughs — and with a weekend option to accommodate working New Yorkers — the Rental Ripoff Hearings were a testament to the power of organizing and what we can all achieve together. Now, the Administration is working to put forth recommendations to respond directly to the concerns we heard from tenants across the five boroughs.”

The spokesperson also said Mamdani’s office is rescheduling the meeting.

PIX11 News reached out to HPD for comment regarding tenants’ concerns and have not yet heard back.

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