NYC Rent Guidelines Board Member Resigns, Blasts Preordained Freeze Tied to Mamdani

Christina Smyth, a landlord representative on NYC’s Rent Guidelines Board, quit just before a vote on Mayor Mamdani’s four-year rent-freeze for stabilized apartments, saying the board has become a theater and is pursuing a preordained outcome rather than fact-finding. Mamdani had pitched the freeze; Smyth argued that rising operating costs justify increases and noted landlord incomes have risen, leaving the panel with fewer landlords but not derailing the vote, which officials say will proceed with a quorum and could face legal challenges if it passes. Smyth also urged Gov. Hochul to restore the vacancy bonus.