Rising Rent Tactics in Queens
In a striking move, Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s former landlord bumped up the rent for his previously rent-stabilized Queens apartment by 35%. This situation highlights a common maneuver that frustrated property managers might employ to navigate around the city’s recent rent freeze.
Last week, New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board decided to freeze rent increases for renewals across the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized units beginning in October, a key aspect of Mamdani’s progressive agenda. A future vote will determine if this freeze will extend until 2028. In the meantime, landlords are looking for ways to sidestep the policy and hike lease prices for new tenants, allowing them to charge the maximum rents permitted by state law.
This was the case for the prewar building in Astoria where Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaj, had lived for years. The self-identified “Nepobaby” had been paying around $2,300 for a modest one-bedroom apartment.
After Mamdani vacated the unit earlier this year to move to Gracie Mansion, a new tenant stepped in. Although the apartment was rent-stabilized, the new resident ended up paying $3,100 monthly, as reported.
Cesar Guevara, an associate broker at BOND New York who leased the unit, noted that Mamdani’s landlord rushed to renovate the apartment to secure a higher rent from new tenants.
“This apartment will be much more profitable than when Mamdani lived there,” Guevara remarked.
Even with the rent freeze in effect across the five boroughs, landlords still have various strategies at their disposal to ensure price increases. For instance, they can upgrade essential systems like boilers and roofs (charging a 2% premium) or install new appliances to justify raised rents on certain units.
When Mamdani moved to the Princess Martha Building in Astoria back in 2018, he secured a discount below the legal limit due to a weak market and less popularity in the area. Still, he voiced that the rent was exorbitant.
“Today, a one-bedroom, rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria costs $2,000 a month. In 1984, this same apartment went for $290.60,” Mamdani mentioned on social media in 2019.
During the mayoral campaign, critics lambasted Mamdani for apparent hypocrisy, noting his six-figure salary as a Queens councilman in contrast to his advocacy for affordable housing.
Mamdani defended himself, stating that his initial salary upon joining was about $47,000.
Recent data from RentCafe indicates that average rent in Astoria has now reached roughly $3,390, marking a 40% increase from the previous year. Additionally, the median rent for a one-bedroom in New York City is approximately $4,660, according to Zumper.
After Mamdani vacated his apartment, Guevara reported that the landlord invested months and considerable funds renovating the kitchen, retouching the bathroom, installing new appliances, and painting the unit. The landlord aimed to elevate the rent cap on the rooms swiftly.
Guevara revealed that he was “trying to maximize” the rent and opted not to advertise the units, instead preferring a private rental approach for new tenants. This has become a more common practice since the city prohibited brokers from charging automatic fees last summer.
Landlords have pushed back against the new rent freeze, arguing that they’re already finding it difficult to profit from their rent-stabilized properties due to soaring costs like rising utility bills, interest rates, and insurance premiums.
Selling his stake in a New York real estate fund for a fraction of its worth, Google billionaire Sergey Brin exemplifies the growing discontent among wealthy New Yorkers, some of whom are considering withdrawing from the city over Mamdani’s policies, including an unpopular pied-à-terre tax.
In contrast, fervent supporters of Mamdani’s democratic socialist approach contend that the daily cost of living in New York City has become unmanageable.
According to Apartments.com, renters in New York City are facing living costs that are more than 128% above the national average.
