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During a Jan. 4 visit to 1520 Sedgwick Ave., Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the forthcoming launch of \u201cRental Ripoff\u201d hearings and his appointment of Dina Levy as housing commissioner. <\/p>\n
Photo Ed Reed\/Mayoral Photography Office<\/p>\n
Three days into his term, Mayor Zohran Mamdani stopped in the West Bronx to announce a new effort to tackle the city\u2019s housing crisis and a new housing commissioner to help lead the work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a press conference at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. \u2014widely regarded as the birthplace of hip-hop<\/a>\u2014 Mamdani announced forthcoming \u201cRental Ripoff\u201d hearings<\/a> in each borough within his first 100 days.<\/p>\n He also announced his appointment of Dina Levy, a state housing official and former community organizer, as Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Levy takes the post from interim Commissioner Ahmed Tigani, whom Mamdani appointed<\/a> to the Department of Buildings.<\/p>\n In the 1970s, early hip-hop performances were held in the rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Ave., which was a Mitchell-Lama property providing stable housing for low and moderate-income residents. But as the owners left the program, the building fell into disrepair.<\/p>\n Levy was a community organizer who, in 2010, helped Sedgwick Ave. tenants secure a responsible landlord rather than have the property sold to a private equity investor.<\/p>\n Safe, affordable homes allow residents to make impacts far beyond their own walls, Mayor Mamdani said.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhen New Yorkers can afford a home, New Yorkers can afford to make great art.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Today, however, Sedgwick tenants again face problems in the aging 102-unit building. Records show the property has 194 open housing code violations dated as recently as Dec. 31 for issues including broken plaster and doors, roaches, mold, mice and smoke alarms needing replacement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani was joined at the historic site by Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Senator Robert Jackson, Assembly Member Landon Dais and Council Member Pierina Sanchez, who chairs the City Council\u2019s Housing and Buildings Committee.<\/p>\n Sanchez praised Mamdani for kicking off the work in the West Bronx, which she called the \u201cepicenter of New York City\u2019s housing crisis.\u201d Under Mamdani and Levy, she said negligent landlords will be met with \u201caggressive\u201d enforcement and inspections, but the city will partner with responsible landlords to preserve homes whenever possible.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies here are living with unsafe conditions, crushing rents, and constant instability\u2014tens of thousands one missed paycheck away from eviction. Starting here sends a clear signal about this administration\u2019s priorities,\u201d Sanchez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Levy said the city must employ innovative solutions to address housing supply and quality challenges.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cA willingness to rethink how we do business\u201d will be necessary, she said. \u201cI know that we will not overcome this crisis by setting a low bar.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Fitzroy Christian, an activist with Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA), expressed excitement for the Mamdani era but also said, \u201cWe are going to hold our new mayor\u2019s feet to the fire.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n CASA said in a statement that the new mayor will likely boost their decades of work.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been fighting for over 20 years against unlivable conditions and the tricks that our landlords use to inflate rent bills. We\u2019re going to keep working and building power and we\u2019re hoping that the next four years are our biggest yet.\u201d<\/p>\n More information on the \u201cRental Ripoff\u201d hearings is expected soon, but in the meantime, Mamdani called on New Yorkers to \u201cstart taking notes\u201d on problems at their buildings, such as unfair fees, pests, lack of heat, peeling tiles and dripping pipes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The mayor said the hearings will be \u201cnot just listening sessions\u201d but will inform city policy decisions and possible action against negligent landlords. \u201cI want these hearings to expose the ugly underbelly of our city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t