New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attends a news conference at the headquarters of the NYPD on January 06, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
A Manhattan judge Wednesday ordered New York City officials to turn over communications with the Rent Guidelines Board as landlords seek to prove Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration improperly influenced the independent panel’s historic rent freeze.
New York state Supreme Court Justice Brendan Lantry granted limited discovery to the landlords, requiring City Hall to produce written communications with the board from Jan. 1 through June 26.
The order excludes internal communications between Mamdani and his staff and among board members and their staff.
“The question naturally arises: How would the Mayor comply with his ‘guarantee’ to the voters to ‘freeze’ the rent unless he, or his staff, communicated with the Board to ensure that the Board refrained from imposing any rental increase?” Lantry wrote.
The ruling marks the latest development in a lawsuit brought by landlords seeking to overturn the board’s June 25 decision to freeze rents on both one- and two-year leases for roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.
The 0% adjustments apply to leases beginning between Oct. 1, 2026, and Sept. 30, 2027.
Mamdani, who made freezing rents a central campaign promise, appointed six members to the nine-member board in February.
City Hall described the board at the time as an independent body responsible for setting annual rent adjustments.
Landlords sued in July, arguing the board failed to independently weigh owners’ financial conditions and instead reached a predetermined outcome sought by Mamdani.
The city and the board have defended the decision, arguing the freeze reflected tenants’ difficulty absorbing additional rent increases while most landlords could manage without an increase.
“The court acknowledges that discovery in a special proceeding is rare,” Lantry wrote, adding that it was also “unprecedented” for a mayoral candidate to guarantee that an independent board would freeze rents after his election.
Randy Mastro, an attorney representing the landlords, said the communications could support their contention that the process had “a predetermined outcome.”
The underlying lawsuit seeks to invalidate the freeze and require the board to reconsider its decision. The freeze remains scheduled to take effect Oct. 1 as the legal challenge continues.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.