Mamdani signs housing, tenant protection orders on first day
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has wasted little time advancing his campaign agenda, signing a series of executive orders on his first day in office, including three aimed at building new housing and protecting tenants. On Thursday, Mamdani signed the orders, which revamp the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and create two new task forces focused on streamlining housing construction, connecting New Yorkers to homes more quickly, and increasing supply by identifying qualifying city-owned properties. He also appointed Cea Weaver, executive director of Housing Justice for All and the New York State Tenant Block, as director of the revitalized Office to Protect Tenants.
“Today, on the first day of this new administration, on the day where so many rent payments are due, we will not wait to deliver action. We will stand up on behalf of the tenants of this city,” Mamdani said.
“You cannot hold landlords who violate the law to account unless you have a proven principled and tireless fighter at the helm. That is why I am proud today to announce my friend Cea Weaver as the Director of the newly reinvigorated Mayor’s office to protect tenants.”
Weaver played a critical role in securing the passage of the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, landmark legislation that eliminated loopholes landlords used to raise rents and deregulate rent-stabilized apartments.
On Thursday, Weaver joined Mamdani in announcing the first major action of his administration: an intervention in the bankruptcy of Pinnacle Realty, a landlord responsible for more than 5,000 housing violations, 14,000 complaints across 83 buildings, and significant debt owed to the City of New York. The city will now seek immediate relief and take steps to improve living conditions for Pinnacle tenants.
Mamdani has directed his Corporation Counsel nominee, Steve Banks, to set a new precedent in Bankruptcy Court aimed at protecting renters in Pinnacle’s buildings and thousands of other tenants across the five boroughs facing similar conditions.
Notably, the mayor signed the three executive orders at one of the very Pinnacle buildings in Flatbush, where the city is now intervening, following a tour of an apartment that showed clear signs of neglect, including broken walls, torn flooring, and inadequate heating.
The two task forces—the Land Inventory Fast Track (LIFT) and Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development (SPEED)—will work to identify city-owned land for redevelopment and cut red tape that slows the construction of new homes. LIFT, overseen by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg, will review city-owned properties and identify sites suitable for housing development by July 1, 2026.
SPEED, overseen by Bozorg and Deputy Mayor of Operations Julia Kerson, will focus on identifying and removing bureaucratic and permitting barriers.
Mamdani also signed an executive order revoking all orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams after his September 2024 federal corruption indictment, according to the New York Times, saying that Adams “lost the public trust” at that point.
Two executive orders that Mamdani revoked included one allowing federal immigration agents to investigate criminal activity at Rikers Island, and created an office designated for blockchain technology, or cryptocurrency. When asked about his future plans, Adams said he “wants to use cryptocurrency to go after violence, educate our children, and really deal with antisemitism that we’re seeing globally.”
It is still unclear whether or not Mamdani will be able to quickly achieve one of his primary campaign pledges of freezing the rent for the city’s one million stabilized apartments. Two weeks before he left office, Adams stacked the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, which sets rent increases for stabilized units, by appointing and reappointing four members.
However, one new appointee, Lliam Finn, has decided not to serve on the board, as The Real Deal reported this week.
Despite the last-minute change, Adams managed to appoint a fourth new appointee on the board. According to the Daily News, Adams appointed Christie Peale, CEO of Center for NYC Neighborhoods, to replace Finn, ensuring five of the board’s nine members are Adams appointees.
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