Mayor Zohran Mamdani names 6 members to Rent Guidelines Board, calls for 'a more affordable NY'

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Feb 18, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday named six appointees to the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, in a move that brings him a step closer to fulfilling his campaign promise of freezing the rent for tenants in New York City’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.

Implementing the rent freeze for four years was one of Mamdani’s core campaign promises, and it’s one of the only major agenda items that lies mostly in his control — though the ultimate decision-making falls on the board.

“The board will take a clear-eyed look at the complex housing landscape and the realities facing our city’s two million rent-stabilized tenants, and help us move closer to a fairer, more affordable New York,” Mamdani said in a statement. “At a moment when so many families are struggling to stay in their homes, this work could not be more important.”

Chantella Mitchell, a program director at the nonprofit New York Community Trust, will serve as board chairperson, Mamdani announced.

Sina Sinai, Lauren Melodia and Brandon Mancilla were appointed as public representatives, Maksim Wynn as an owner representative and Adán Soltren was reappointed as a tenant representative.

Former Mayor Eric Adams attempted to thwart Mamdani’s plans by stacking the Rent Guidelines Board with his own appointees at the end of his term. But that plan failed when two of Adams’ picks withdrew.

The nine-member board is supposed to be independent, and is tasked with studying market conditions to determine an appropriate rate for annual rent increases for stabilized tenants. Mamdani, though, had previously specifically promised to appoint only board members committed to enacting no increases during the four years of his first term.

Mamdani didn’t mention his rent freeze promise in the announcement. At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, he said he hoped the board will “come to an appropriate decision.” Asked to clarify whether he was backing away from the rent freeze, the mayor emphasized that the RGB is an independent board and said that the city “cannot respond to a crisis by simply rotating who suffers from it.”