Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s upcoming “rental ripoff” hearings are drawing criticism from housing advocates and property owners after the city confirmed that public housing tenants will not be allowed to testify, despite long-standing concerns about conditions in New York’s public housing system.

The first hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26 and will focus exclusively on renters and landlords in privately owned buildings. Tenants living in developments run by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) — home to more than 500,000 residents — will be excluded from formal testimony.

The decision has fueled complaints that the mayor’s administration is avoiding scrutiny of one of the city’s most troubled housing providers, while encouraging tenants in private buildings to raise concerns about fees and maintenance issues.

Property owners and housing advocates said the move highlights an imbalance in the city’s approach.

“The city’s own tenants — those living in public housing — are demanding a real plan to improve their living conditions,” said Humberto Lopes, CEO of the Gotham Housing Alliance. “If these hearings were truly about holding bad landlords accountable, the over 500,000 residents in NYCHA would be able to meaningfully participate.”

Lopes accused the administration of using the hearings to deflect attention from problems within public housing.

“This is clearly the city trying to distract from its own failures while putting on a show,” he said.

NYCHA has long been criticized for deteriorating buildings, mold, heating failures, and slow repairs. The agency has been under federal oversight since 2019 following investigations into safety hazards and falsified inspection reports.

After criticism mounted, the mayor’s office quietly updated its website to address whether public housing residents could take part.

“While these hearings focus on price gouging and living conditions for private-market renters, senior leadership and staff from NYCHA will be on-site,” the updated guidance states. “Residents can submit repair requests, file heat and hot water complaints, or discuss development-wide issues.”

The administration also said it plans to release a broader housing strategy in the coming months that will include public housing.

Speaking to reporters Sunday in Coney Island, Mamdani defended the limited scope of the hearings.

“We are going to be approaching the housing crisis in a wide variety of ways,” he said. “One of those are these rental ripoff hearings.”

The mayor also pointed to federal disinvestment as a major factor behind NYCHA’s struggles, noting that the agency faces an estimated $80 billion backlog in capital repairs.

“We will continue to work with NYCHA residents to ensure they are being delivered the quality of service they’ve long been denied,” Mamdani said. “So much of what they’re living through is the result of a lack of commitment from the federal government.”

Critics argue that the hearings are part of a broader housing agenda that is overly ideological. Mamdani has supported proposals to freeze rents on nearly 1 million rent-regulated apartments, a move landlords say would worsen housing shortages and maintenance problems.

Attention has also focused on the mayor’s housing leadership. His director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, Cea Weaver, has faced criticism for past remarks describing homeownership as a “weapon of white supremacy” and suggesting the government should “seize private property.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)