Mamdani launches campaign to help tenants organize for safer housing
Credit: Bradley Andrews on Unsplash
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday launched a new canvassing effort to connect tenants living in buildings with housing code violations with resources and information on organizing for better living conditions. The “Talk to Tenants” campaign will deploy volunteers with the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement who will inform residents about advocating for safe and well-maintained homes, as well as forming tenant unions. The initiative will begin in East Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, and Flatbush before expanding to communities across the five boroughs.
Hosted in partnership with the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, the campaign builds on the recently released “Rental Rip-Off Report,” an analysis of common concerns among New York City tenants, informed by testimony from thousands of renters during a series of hearings held across the five boroughs this year.
The report also outlines 23 policy changes aimed at strengthening tenant protections, improving housing quality, targeting negligent landlords, and curbing hazardous conditions and deceptive practices.
“The Rental Ripoff hearings showed us something that every tenant already knows: when landlords neglect their buildings, New Yorkers are left with no heat, kitchens overrun with cockroaches, mold and broken elevators,” Mamdani said.
“When neighbors organize, they have the power to hold landlords accountable and win safe, dignified housing,” he added. “‘Talk to Tenants’ is about empowering New Yorkers to build that power one conversation, one building and one block at a time.”
Through the summer and fall, the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement will host several NYC 101 workshops for New Yorkers interested in learning about tenant organizing, building tenant unions, and how collective action can improve housing conditions.
The workshops will take place August 12 in Lower Manhattan; August 19 in Prospect Heights; September 16 in Flatbush; September 24 in East Harlem; and September 30 in Washington Heights.
New Yorkers interested in volunteering can find out more here. No prior experience is necessary, and all participants will receive brief training before heading out to knock on doors.
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