Latest news with #NYAA
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mamdani's former Dem colleague rails against his signature campaign promise: 'Nail in the coffin'
A former New York City Democratic assembly member, who now runs the New York Apartment Association, tells Fox News Digital that socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's rent freeze plan would be disastrous for the city's housing crisis. "His proposal to freeze the rent on rent-stabilized housing, which is almost 40% of housing stock within New York City, a housing stock that is already under the stress by which the NYU Furman Center has categorized as 200,000 units functionally bankrupt. A rent freeze would be the nail in the coffin on this housing stock," NYAA CEO Kenny Burgos told Fox News Digital. "So if he's attempting to achieve affordability, what he's instead going to achieve is insolvency." Mamdani has faced criticism from some experts over his plan to freeze rent for certain tenants in New York City. Zohran Mamdani Fires Back At White House Mispronouncing His Name: 'M-a-m-d-a-n-i' His campaign website states, "As Mayor, Zohran will immediately freeze the rent for all stabilized tenants, and use every available resource to build the housing New Yorkers need and bring down the rent. The number one reason working families are leaving our city is the housing crisis. The Mayor has the power to change that." Read On The Fox News App Burgos told Fox News Digital that the housing problem in the first place was "perpetuated by the government." "Government controls most of the costs that goes into housing, the largest of which is property taxes and when it comes to rent-stabilized housing, the government caps the revenues on this housing," Burgos explained. "So if we were to solve this affordability crisis, we have to begin by decreasing the cost to operating housing. First step is property tax. Next will be insurance, then we can talk labor, fuel, water. There's a host of costs that the government has impact on, and we have to have these conversations as opposed to just capping rents." Mamdani Silent After Border Patrol Officer Allegedly Shot By Illegal Immigrant In Nyc Burgos told Fox News Digital that his organization represents owners of all sizes, from small properties to large, many of which have operated for decades, and they have told him the current situation is the "worst crisis" since the 1970s. "So when you have a potential mayor who's coming in and whose number one policy position is to freeze the rent, the very revenue that makes this housing run while all other expenses continue to increase at extremely high levels, even higher than inflation, and we are headed for a cliff that we may not be able to get back off of, and when you talk about New York City's housing problem as a whole, not just around stabilized housing, but it has public housing and all other housing involved, I mean, this is a catastrophe waiting to happen," Burgos said. Burgos outlined his belief that the "irony" of Mamdani's proposal is that low-income and working-class voters, who Mamdani has championed on campaign stops, will actually be hurt by his housing policies. "Unfortunately this crisis is felt acutely in some of the lower-income neighborhoods, particularly communities of color and while they would absolutely benefit from a potential relief on increase in bills, we can talk about that relief through targeted programs from the government," Burgos, who served in the assembly with Mamdani, said. "But when you blanket it, you actually subject these individuals and these families to subpar housing and potentially the collapse of their building. So this is one of those short-term band-aids that end up into a really, really long-term wound." Burgos told Fox News Digital that he understands housing is one of the top issues facing New Yorkers but argued that the answer isn't "simply giving out slogans" but rather "addressing affordability and addressing costs head on" which sometimes involves "really tough conversations." Burgos went on to explain that the majority of New York City's funding comes from property taxes and that Mamdani will have a difficult time achieving his "big ticket proposals" with a housing plan that will "decimate and destroy" the very housing that supports that funding. Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's campaign for article source: Mamdani's former Dem colleague rails against his signature campaign promise: 'Nail in the coffin'
Fox News
6 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Mamdani's former Dem colleague rails against his signature campaign promise: 'Nail in the coffin'
A former New York City Democratic assembly member, who now runs the New York Apartment Association, tells Fox News Digital that socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's rent freeze plan would be disastrous for the city's housing crisis. "His proposal to freeze the rent on rent-stabilized housing, which is almost 40% of housing stock within New York City, a housing stock that is already under the stress by which the NYU Furman Center has categorized as 200,000 units functionally bankrupt. A rent freeze would be the nail in the coffin on this housing stock," NYAA CEO Kenny Burgos told Fox News Digital. "So if he's attempting to achieve affordability, what he's instead going to achieve is insolvency." Mamdani has faced criticism from some experts over his plan to freeze rent for certain tenants in New York City. His campaign website states, "As Mayor, Zohran will immediately freeze the rent for all stabilized tenants, and use every available resource to build the housing New Yorkers need and bring down the rent. The number one reason working families are leaving our city is the housing crisis. The Mayor has the power to change that." Burgos told Fox News Digital that the housing problem in the first place was "perpetuated by the government." "Government controls most of the costs that goes into housing, the largest of which is property taxes and when it comes to rent-stabilized housing, the government caps the revenues on this housing," Burgos explained. "So if we were to solve this affordability crisis, we have to begin by decreasing the cost to operating housing. First step is property tax. Next will be insurance, then we can talk labor, fuel, water. There's a host of costs that the government has impact on, and we have to have these conversations as opposed to just capping rents." Burgos told Fox News Digital that his organization represents owners of all sizes, from small properties to large, many of which have operated for decades, and they have told him the current situation is the "worst crisis" since the 1970s. "So when you have a potential mayor who's coming in and whose number one policy position is to freeze the rent, the very revenue that makes this housing run while all other expenses continue to increase at extremely high levels, even higher than inflation, and we are headed for a cliff that we may not be able to get back off of, and when you talk about New York City's housing problem as a whole, not just around stabilized housing, but it has public housing and all other housing involved, I mean, this is a catastrophe waiting to happen," Burgos said. Burgos outlined his belief that the "irony" of Mamdani's proposal is that low-income and working-class voters, who Mamdani has championed on campaign stops, will actually be hurt by his housing policies. "Unfortunately this crisis is felt acutely in some of the lower-income neighborhoods, particularly communities of color and while they would absolutely benefit from a potential relief on increase in bills, we can talk about that relief through targeted programs from the government," Burgos, who served in the assembly with Mamdani, said. "But when you blanket it, you actually subject these individuals and these families to subpar housing and potentially the collapse of their building. So this is one of those short-term band-aids that end up into a really, really long-term wound." Burgos told Fox News Digital that he understands housing is one of the top issues facing New Yorkers but argued that the answer isn't "simply giving out slogans" but rather "addressing affordability and addressing costs head on" which sometimes involves "really tough conversations." Burgos went on to explain that the majority of New York City's funding comes from property taxes and that Mamdani will have a difficult time achieving his "big ticket proposals" with a housing plan that will "decimate and destroy" the very housing that supports that funding. Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's campaign for comment.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Landlord lobby will boost Cuomo with $2.5M spend
NEW YORK — A super PAC representing landlords plans to spend $2.5 million to boost mayoral front-runner Andrew Cuomo as he tries to hold off Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who's pledged to freeze the rent on rent-regulated apartments every year as mayor. 'In this two person race, Andrew Cuomo is the best candidate to increase the supply of housing. The alternative choice is unacceptable and will decimate the housing stock,' NYAA CEO Kenny Burgos said in a statement. The organization, which primarily represents operators of rent-regulated apartment buildings, plans to run ads in English and Spanish on broadcast and cable television, radio and the web — 'we're doing the whole shebang,' Burgos said. The advertisements aren't ready yet, he said, but they'll put a positive sheen on the former governor's housing plans, rather than attack Mamdani. Any spending will have to come soon as the race enters its final stretch. The Democratic primary is June 24, and early voting begins June 14. The $2.5 million spend by the super PAC Housing for All is fully funded by the New York Apartment Association, a membership organization created last year through the merger of the Rent Stabilization Association and the Community Housing Improvement Program. NYAA serves as the interest group for multifamily residential owners in New York and actively lobbies the mayoral administration and the Rent Guidelines Board, which determines rent increases for the city's roughly one million regulated apartments. The plan makes NYAA the single largest donor on behalf of Cuomo in the race so far. Another pro-Cuomo super PAC, Fix the City, has raised nearly $11 million, with much of the total coming from real estate interests. Its single largest contribution was $1 million from food delivery company DoorDash. 'Wow. They say they don't have any money!' Mamdani said, laughing, when asked about the Apartment Association's spending — referring to the organization's advocacy for rent increases it says are necessary to fund the upkeep of buildings and apartments. 'I would expect nothing less from a group that represents the landlords of those rent-stabilized units. Because ultimately, I'm running to freeze the rent, he's running to raise it,' Mamdani said, referring to Cuomo. 'So from their perspective, this is the candidate, rightfully, they've assessed, who will continue to increase their profits. I'm the one that is running for the tenants in those same units.' Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said the campaign wasn't aware of the spend and referred POLITICO to Cuomo's comments at the debate Wednesday, after Mamdani said the former governor would be compromised by DoorDash's donations. I work 'for the people of the city of New York,' Cuomo said. 'I don't care who gave me what. I do what is right.' The city's real estate industry has lined up behind Cuomo, though with some reluctance, POLITICO reported. Burgos praised Cuomo on the NYAA's podcast this week for his housing plan to build or preserve 500,000 units in the next decade by focusing on upzoning denser, transit-rich neighborhoods. And he criticized Mamdani for his plan to build 200,000 units of social housing with union labor, saying he was being unrealistic about how much it would cost. Burgos also slammed Mamdani — his high school classmate at Bronx Science — for leading the charge on a rent freeze. 'Our estimates are that roughly 5,000 rent-stabilized buildings, housing more than a quarter of rent-stabilized tenants, are functionally bankrupt,' he said. 'A rent freeze would all but guarantee the demise of this housing stock.' The Rent Guidelines Board, whose members are appointed by the mayor, has proposed a rent increase between 1.75 and 4.75 percent for one-year leases and will take a final vote on the proposal June 30. In his housing plan, Cuomo said that calling for a rent freeze is 'politically convenient,' but that landlords need 'rent increases that reflect their costs.' NYAA's super PAC, Housing for All, previously announced plans to spend in New York City Council primaries as well, though it hasn't reported any action yet.
