Making NYC affordable: Where the mayoral primary candidates stand on the housing crisis

Téa Kvetenadze, New York Daily News on Jun 20, 2025

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NEW YORK — New York City is facing intertwined housing and affordability crises, with record rents and historically low apartment vacancy rates. About half of households struggle to pay for the basics while a quarter live in poverty.

Within the debate over affordability, finding ways to create more affordable housing has become a major concern for voters. With the Democratic primary for mayor approaching on Tuesday, the Daily News is breaking down some of the key issues for voters and where each candidate stands on them.

Here is how the contenders have proposed tackling the housing crisis on social media, in interviews, during debates and as part of their formal policy plans. We have included the top seven candidates who met the fundraising thresholds to qualify for the second debate.

Adrienne Adams

Adams has touted her housing record as Speaker, saying she is “doing the work” with large-scale rezonings like City of Yes, Innovation QNS and the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan. As mayor she pledged to “use every tool available” to address the housing crisis by cutting red tape and using emergency powers to get affordable housing built. She and the broader City Council also passed an expansion of the CityFHEPS rental assistance program as part of a protracted legal battle with Mayor Eric Adams. She has indicated she supports a rent freeze at least this year for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments.

Andrew Cuomo

Cuomo has said he would use “every option available” to develop 500,000 new apartments over a 10-year period. During the first debate, the former HUD secretary vowed to “blow up” the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development to minimize bureaucracy, a proposal that was warmly received by real estate players but balked at by tenant advocates. Cuomo has not supported a rent freeze for rent-stabilized tenants, dismissing it as a “politically convenient posture.” Opponents of a freeze have argued that the cost of operating and maintaining buildings would continue to rise while rents remained flat, potentially putting property owners in a precarious financial position.

Brad Lander

Lander has said he would be “the best-prepared housing mayor,” citing his years in urban planning and work passing the Gowanus rezoning while on the Council. His lengthy housing plan involves declaring a housing emergency to expedite the development of 500,000 new units of housing over a decade, including on city-owned golf courses. It also calls for coming down harder on “irresponsible” landlords and increasing funding for NYCHA and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Lander has called for a one-year rent freeze in his capacity as comptroller and expressed an openness to doing so again as mayor.

Zohran Mamdani

Mamdani has made freezing rents for rent-stabilized tenants a centerpiece of his campaign, saying he would do so for all four years if elected mayor. His housing plan would triple the City’s production of affordable housing with the aim of producing 200,000 new homes over ten years. Mamdani would also fast-track 100% affordable projects, double the money being spent to preserve public housing and beef up municipal housing agencies. Mamdani proposes funding many of his ambitious plans by increasing taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.

Zellnor Myrie

Myrie has pitched himself as the “YIMBY” candidate, with a plan to build and preserve one million homes over a decade. It includes revitalizing NYCHA, building more in Midtown, reallocating shelter financing for housing and expanding the Right to Counsel program. Myrie has called for a one-year rent freeze for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments and said he would consider it in the future.

Scott Stringer

Stringer’s housing plan — dubbed “Mitchell-Lama 2.0” — includes developing affordable homes by building on underutilized city-owned lots and reclaiming derelict properties from neglectful landlords. He further hopes to bolster public housing by securing $40 billion for NYCHA improvements.

Whitney Tilson

The former hedge fund manager summarized his housing mantra as “unleash the private sector.” Tilson says he would cut red tape in order to create more affordable housing by streamlining zoning and approval processes, and said the city should be constructing at least 100,000 new units annually. Tilson indicated at the second debate that he does not support a rent freeze for rent-stabilized tenants this year.