Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday unveiled a new program to fast track “critical” claims in housing court — the latest “anti-landlord” move from the democratic socialist darling, critics railed.
Hizzoner held a press conference in Manhattan Housing Court to announce the launch of the initiative, which actually has been in effect since July 16.
“People living in the worst conditions regularly wait weeks, if not months, for a case to be heard, for a decision to come, for critical repairs to be completed, for their situation to improve,” Mamdani told reporters.
“Today we take a critical step towards ending that.”
The program, established under an order by Hon. Shahabuddeen A. Ally, the administrative judge of New York City Civil Court, gives priority to housing lawsuits involving “building-wide” conditions.
The conditions that would make a suit eligible to be fast-tracked are:
- At least a third of units in a building are under a vacate order.
- One-third of units or more face an “immediately hazardous” open violation from the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development for lack of heat, hot water or other essential services.
- All elevators in a building, or a section of a building, are out of order.
City Hall tied the program to the mayor’s agenda, saying it would will “help further the Mamdani administration’s efforts to hold negligent landlords accountable.”
Officials touted the admin’s other “pro-tenant” efforts to grow renter power across the city, including Mamdani’s “Block by Block” housing plan and Rental Ripoff hearings.
Ann Korchak, president of the advocacy group Small Property Owners of New York, slammed the fast-track court program as more of the same from the “anti-landlord” mayor.
“Like Mamdani’s rental rip-off hearings and the rest of his housing agenda, this is another one-sided, anti-landlord policy,” she said in a statement.
“Mamdani is completely ignorant of the fact that small building owners fall behind in repairs and maintenance not because of neglect, but because non-payment eviction proceedings drag out in Housing Court for months – even years – all while tenants are living rent-free and, in most cases, never pay the thousands of dollars in back rent,” she claimed.
New York Apartment Association CEO Kenny Burgos said that the majority of Big Apple property owners likely wouldn’t be affected — but warned that including elevator outages as a criteria could end up targeting more than just the worst landlords in the city.
“Elevators just break down sometimes and you’re at the mercy of ordering parts or limited numbers of service providers and their own timelines,” he told The Post.
Cases where tenants are suing to appoint a third-party manager for buildings with hazardous Department of Buildings or HPD violations would also qualify.
Court clerks would be responsible for ensuring eligible cases are assigned to a judge the same day they are filed, with an appearance of all parties to take place in court within five days and “expedited timelines for appearances and filings.”
A City Hall spokesperson told The Post that the administration worked closely with the state Unified Court System to “get to this moment” and that the fast track system hasn’t been used yet as court staff are getting trained on the new process.
City Housing Court Supervising Judge Jack Stoller defended the program as a balance between streamlining urgent cases and maintaining due process.
“By prioritizing these matters for expedited resolution, the Court reaffirms its dedication to ensuring safe housing for the most vulnerable New Yorkers while also ensuring that landlords have a right to present their arguments as well,” he said in a statement.
Mamdani unveiled the judicial effort alongside his far-left tenant advocate Cea Weaver — who led the hearings encouraging tenants to sound off on their landlords — and Leila Bozorg, his deputy mayor for housing and planning, as well as other officials.
Weaver, the controversial director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, once called private property ownership a “weapon of white supremacy.”
Bozorg joined the admin after serving as former Mayor Eric Adams’ executive director for housing.
— Additional reporting by Hannah Fierick
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