By SÍLE MOLONEY

NEW YORK CITY Mayor Zohran Mamdani appoints Dina Levy as the City’s new housing commissioner and also announces a series of “Rental Ripoff” Hearings during a press conference held at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
Credit: Ed Reed, Mayoral Photography Office

Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani paid a visit to The Bronx on Sunday, Jan. 4, to announce the holding of a series of “Rental Ripoff” hearings in defense of tenants, and the appointment of longtime housing leader Dina Levy as the new commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD). The announcement was made during a press conference held at the birthplace of Hip Hop at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx.

 

Mamdani said Levy brings decades of experience developing and organizing for safe, affordable housing to the agency, saying she has fought “tirelessly for dignified housing for all New Yorkers.” At HPD, they said Levy will execute on what was described as the Mamdani administration’s ambitious housing agenda, including preserving rent-stabilized housing, financing and constructing new affordable housing, connecting New Yorkers to housing, and ensuring the habitability of all homes in New York.

“I am proud to welcome Dina Levy as our next Housing Commissioner,” the new mayor said. “Levy is an experienced and fearless housing leader, and I know that she will fight to protect tenants and tackle our housing crisis head-on. Too many New Yorkers have been forced to pay more for less — living in unsafe, unconscionable, and unaffordable housing. Under my administration, that ends. Today’s executive order is the first step towards giving New Yorkers a voice in addressing the housing crisis that is pricing them out of our city.”

NEW YORK CITY Mayor Zohran Mamdani (right) appoints Dina Levy (at podium) as the City’s new housing commissioner and also announces a series of “Rental Ripoff” Hearings during a press conference held at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
Credit: Ed Reed, Mayoral Photography Office

According to Mamdani administration officials, in fighting for safe, affordable housing for years, Levy worked as both an advocate and within government. They said she previously served as senior vice president of homeownership and community development at Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), New York State’s affordable housing agency.

 

They said prior to that, she worked as senior advisor to the New York attorney general and as director of organizing at the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB). They said she will bring what was described as her “extensive experience organizing tenants, managing housing finance, and much more to HPD.”

 

Mamdani officials said her appointment was announced at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in The Bronx, where, they said, in addition to being widely considered the birthplace of Hip Hop, Levy led a successful organizing campaign in 2010 to replace a predatory equity investor with a more responsible landlord, with City assistance.

“I am honored to join the Mamdani administration, and especially honored to join the team working to make New York City an affordable place to live. My experience as a community organizer has shaped my work in public service and will continue to be my inspiration in the work ahead at HPD,” said Levy. “It is my honor to join forces with tenants, homeowners, and dedicated public servants at HPD as we work to usher in a new era of quality and affordability for all.”

NEW YORK CITY Mayor Zohran Mamdani (center, blue tie) appoints Dina Levy (right) as the City’s new housing commissioner and also announces a series of “Rental Ripoff” Hearings during a press conference held at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. Tenant advocate, Fitzroy A. Christian (left) is also pictured.
Credit: Ed Reed, Mayoral Photography Office

Also present at the press conference were Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Sen. Robert Jackson (S.D. 31), Assemblymember Landon Dais (A.D. 77), and City Council Member Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14).

 

Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg said of the latest appointment, “Dina Levy has long fought for safe and affordable housing both inside and outside of government, and I am thrilled to welcome her to the helm at HPD. Her experience spans the breadth of HPD’s mission, from affordable housing finance to organizing tenants and everything in between.” She added, “Dina will help deliver a more affordable city and ensure tenants and homeowners across the city are represented in our government.”

Meanwhile, as part of the Mamdani administration’s tenant protection efforts, the Mayor also signed an executive order directing HPD, the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), the NYC Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, and the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), in coordination with the new NYC Office of Mass Engagement, to hold a series of “Rental Ripoff” hearings across the five boroughs within the first 100 days of the Mamdani administration.

 

At these hearings, he said working New Yorkers will be able to speak about the challenges they face from poor building conditions to hidden fees on rent payments. Following these hearings, he said his administration will publish a summary and report detailing common themes and areas of opportunity, and said the testimony shared at the hearings will directly inform policy interventions to take on such “ripoff tactics.” Details about the hearings can be found here: nyc.gov/RentalRipoff.

In the first week of his administration, Mamdani already passed an executive order rebuilding the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and appointed Cea Weaver, who he said was instrumental in the passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, to lead it.

 

“For too long, tenants have been ripped off without recourse or protection. Our Rental Ripoff hearings will give working people across the five boroughs a microphone to highlight the challenges they face and make New York City government a truly participatory endeavor,” said Weaver. “By hearing from New Yorkers about the challenges they have faced, we can bring a comprehensive approach to address the shoddy conditions, hidden fees, and other rip-offs that have persisted until now.”

 

Bronx tenant leader at 1520 Sedgwick, Gloria Robinson, who attended the press conference welcomed the latest housing policy moves, as did tenant advocate, Fitzroy A. Christian, who also spoke at the press conference. Christian also vowed to hold the mayor accountable for his promises to tenants.