New York, NY (May 26, 2026)

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday released a broad housing agenda aimed at expanding affordable housing, strengthening tenant protections, overhauling public housing and taking action against chronically neglected apartment buildings.

Speaking in Gowanus, Mamdani outlined his Block by Block plan, a central part of his campaign pledge to address New York City’s housing shortage. The proposal calls for the construction of 200,000 affordable and rent-stabilized homes over the next decade, while also preserving another 200,000 existing affordable units.

The plan includes a $22 billion capital investment over five years, along with zoning and regulatory changes intended to make it easier to build new housing and create paths to homeownership. City officials say the goal is to expand supply while keeping new development accessible to working- and middle-class New Yorkers.

A major portion of the plan focuses on tenant protections. The administration is seeking changes to the city’s maintenance code, improved investigations of 311 complaints and stronger enforcement against negligent landlords. Beginning with the next heat season on October 1, the city plans to investigate every heat-related complaint and pursue legal action where landlords fail to meet their obligations.

Mamdani also announced that the city will seek to intervene in apartment buildings with long-standing patterns of neglect. Under the proposal, properties with severe and repeated maintenance failures could be moved away from irresponsible owners and placed under the control of non-profits, community land trusts or, in some cases, tenant-led ownership models. The administration says the approach is meant to ensure that troubled buildings are managed by entities focused on long-term stability and safe living conditions.

The city is also launching a $5 million loan program to help landlords cover overdue rent owed by tenants, a step officials say could prevent evictions while stabilizing affordable apartments. A separate city-backed insurance initiative is expected to help reduce insurance costs for apartment owners.

For NYCHA, the administration plans to commit $5.6 billion over five years toward renovations and repairs across more than 170,000 apartments in 335 developments.

The Rent Guidelines Board is expected to vote in June on allowable increases for rent-stabilized apartments, with tenant advocates and landlord groups closely watching the outcome.