With less than two weeks remaining in his term, Mayor Eric Adams has appointed new members to New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board. The board determines rent adjustments for stabilized apartments, a key issue as Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has pledged to freeze rents for four years.
Adams named Lliam Finn, a senior financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, as a public representative and Sagar Sharma, an attorney with Legal Services NYC’s housing unit, as a tenant representative. He also reappointed Christina Smyth, a landlord attorney, as an owner representative and Arpit Gupta as another public member.
In his statement on the appointments, Adams said: “will serve as responsible stewards of our city’s housing stock, using facts and data to reach the right decision for both tenants and property owners.”
The appointments are seen by some observers as an effort to influence the incoming administration’s ability to implement its rent freeze policy. The mayoral power over the nine-member board is limited; under city law, members can only be removed before their term ends if there is cause and after they have had an opportunity to defend themselves.
Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association, commented on the potential consequences of freezing rents: “If rents don’t keep up with operating costs, these buildings will soon be in physical decline as well. We hope the new RGB members take into account the risk of deterioration and eventual destruction of stabilized housing when they come to a decision next year.”
Tenant advocates remain determined. Sumathy Kumar, managing director of the New York State Tenant Bloc, stated: “We’re getting our rent freeze. Over one million New Yorkers just voted for a mayor who will freeze the rent.”
When Mamdani takes office he will be able to appoint four new board members—including representatives for tenants and owners—while five Adams appointees could remain until 2027. This means that if any current members oppose a rent freeze policy they could do so only during Mamdani’s first year in office.
Some current or outgoing public members have expressed doubts about Mamdani’s proposal. In November, Alex Schwartz described it as “misguided” in an op-ed published by Daily News. Another member told The New York Times that such policies might discourage investment in city housing stock.
Earlier reports suggested that Douglas Elliman agent Eleonora Srugo was considered for appointment but she confirmed to The Real Deal that while conversations took place with city officials she ultimately decided not to pursue it further.
