CITYWIDE —Mayor Zohran Mamdani knocked on doors at 760 Grand Concourse in the Bronx Wednesday morning to kick off a new program aiming to bring mass public participation into the process of running the city.
The first campaign of the effort, called Organize NYC, will be to encourage New Yorkers to testify ahead of the Rent Guidelines Board hearings in June.
Mamdani was accompanied by Tascha Van Auken, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement, who was appointed in January to run the new bureau. Van Auken had organized thousands of volunteers to knock on doors and make phone calls during Mamdani’s successful mayoral campaign.
“A year and a half ago, we launched a campaign that conventional wisdom said would not work,” Mamdani told reporters at Wednesday’s press conference, noting, “104,000 people knocked on 3 million doors … [and] went to work to win a more affordable city, and they did it in New York City.”
Now the mayor and Van Auken hope to harness this same public energy to involve more city residents into major public decisions.
“The political process must not and cannot end just on election day,” Mamdani said. “We want the voices of working class New Yorkers to be the driving force behind the decisions that shape their lives.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, center, introduces Organize NYC, a program aiming to mobile the public to help guide city decisions. Left: Tascha Van Auken, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement. Right: Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Photo: NYC Mayor’s Office screenshot
Van Auken said the effort was meant to ensure New Yorkers are actively guiding the city they live in.
“I’ve always been inspired by the ability of people to make real changes through organization and purpose,” she said. “The movement that brought us here continues to inspire me. … There is immense power in creating an organized New York City.”
Education and involvement are the main goals, officials said. When Mamdani spoke to residents in the Bronx, some of them were not even sure if they were rent stabilized. “We had to tell them they were,” the mayor said.
Organize NYC will not advocate for any specific outcome in the Rent Guidelines Board vote, or guide what participants say. The effort is not just about tenants; the city is reaching out to landlords as well. “It’s about getting residents involved in decisions that directly affect their lives,” he said.
The independent Rent Guidelines Board decides every year the maximum allowable increase for rent-stabilized apartments, lofts and hotels. According to Van Auken, only 400 people testified at these hearings last year, while 2 million New Yorkers were affected by the board’s decision.
Numerous factors play a role in setting any rent increase, including operating and maintenance costs, the cost of financing, housing supply and cost of living. But public testimony by both renters and property owners plays a role.
People hold up signs during a public meeting of the Rent Guidelines Board in New York, Monday, June 8, 2015. Photo: Seth Wenig/AP
Flatbush will be key organizing center in Brooklyn
In early May, volunteers will begin canvassing across the city to encourage tenants and landlords to testify ahead of the Board’s vote. In Brooklyn, the effort will be centered in Flatbush. (Other key sites include Concourse in the Bronx; Jackson Heights in Queens; Northern Washington Heights and the East Village in Manhattan.)
According to the NYU Furman Center, Flatbush is one of the top six city neighborhoods with the highest concentration of rent-stabilized or rent-controlled housing in New York City, with approximately 33,077 units, equal to 75.3% of total rental units.
“For everyone who wants to get involved, we will teach you how at an upcoming civic education event,” Mamdani said. “Or to plunge right in, go straight to organize.nyc.gov.”
In response to a question about funding, the mayor said the Office of Mass Engagement is a “cohering of several previous city agencies into one” such as the Public Affairs Unit or Community Affairs, which have already been covered in the existing budget.
Also attending the announcement was Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, other city officials, and volunteers.
Upcoming Rent Guidelines Board hearings
Queens: Thursday, June 4, 5 p.m., Jamaica Performing Arts Center Auditorium,; 153-10 Jamaica Ave.
Bronx: Monday, June 8, 5 p.m., Main Theatre of Hostos Community College; 450 Grand Concourse
Brooklyn: Thursday, June 11, 7 p.m., The Theater at City Tech, NYC College of Technology. 275 Jay St.
Manhattan: Tuesday, June 16, 5 p.m., Symphony Space; 2537 Broadwayand 95th St.