Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams schooled his successor Zohran Mamdani over the democratic socialist’s rent freeze proposal — saying they can actually make the city less affordable for working class residents.
“The lack of understanding that idealism collides with realism when you have to govern a city and provide for working-class people. These are real issues,” Adams said in an interview that aired Sunday on WABC 770 AM’s “Cats Roundtable.”
Adams criticized Mamdani’s hope for a rent-freeze for the city’s rent-controlled apartments — saying the mayor-elect should consider that building owners have to increase their incomes to meet increasing costs one way or another.
“Who’s going to pay the increases in taxes? Who’s going to pay the increases in repairs? Who’s going to pay for the increases in Con Ed for gas bills?” Adams asked.
Mamdani’s plan would need approval from the nine-person Rent Guidelines Board, but the incoming mayor has said he’s confident he can push the freeze through. Adams though is reportedly planning to replace six members of the board before Mamdani takes office, potentially limiting his ability to pack the board with members who would embrace his rent free plan.
Critics of the rent-freeze have also noted the plan could send market unit rentals soaring as owners try to cover their increasing expenses on the units that aren’t designated rent-stabilized.
“That’s why you [need] a full understanding of the scope of running a city this complex,” Adams said in the interview.
And Hizzoner didn’t stop there.
The outgoing mayor continued to rail on Mamdani’s policies, slamming the democratic socialist’s proposal to halt homeless encampment sweeps across the city.
“You can look at other cities and see the results of people living on the streets using drugs, severe mental health issues, relieving themselves on the streets. That’s not what we want in our city,” Adams said, calling the sweeps that got people off the streets the “humane” thing to do.
