Expert: The freeze of the socialist candidate would harm the housing market in New York

EXCLUSIVE: While the candidate for the socialist town hall in New York, Zohran Mamdani, pushes solutions to the problems of housing of the city, including a freeze for rents, Fox News Digital spoke to a local expert who said that the Mamdani agenda would do more harm than good for the housing situation.

“The fundamental problem with the New York housing market is that there is not enough supply to meet demand,” Fox News Digital told Fox News.

“The government of the city has prevented the private sector from building enough housing through zoning, through other forms of regulation, through the requirements of affordability and so on, and we therefore had more jobs created in New York than housing to support the population of newcomers and therefore it simply increased prices. Prices are an effect of the dynamics of supply.

Mamdani, positioning himself as champion of the working class and someone who would approach the housing crisis with Politicians like a rent freezeDo not solve the real problem.

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Fox News Digital spoke to the Housing Institute for the Institute of Manhattan John Ketcham of Zohran Mamdani housing policies (Getty / Fox News Digital)

“Mamdani’s proposal, a member of the Assembly, to freeze the rent would not apply to the 1 million units of apartments stabilized to the rent,” said Ketcham. “Now, these are units that can only increase rents by an amount that the Council of Loyer Directives determines and the members of the Renting Guidelines Council are appointed by the Mayor. He would therefore essentially appoint these members and order them to maintain stable rents.”

Ketcham continued: “Now rents do not already cover operational costs increased for the owners of these buildings stabilized in the rent and therefore the quality of the renting lounge deteriorates quickly and will continue to do so if the capital is not there to cover maintenance costs. Situation where the tenants live in worse and worse conditions.”

Ketcham told Fox News Digital that the situation raises the question: “Is this the type of city we want to create?”

“Or do we want an abundance of new housing, where young people can feel like they have an option among many different buildings and neighborhoods, where they can find the place that best suits their preferences and needs?” Said Ketcham.

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Zohran Mamdani talks to journalists as he leaves the Dirksen Senate office building on July 16, 2025 in Washington, DC (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)

Ketcham also said that a key problem in the New York housing market is that the city already has the country’s largest public housing authority, totaling 177,000 units. According to Ketcham, these residents are already suffering from “poor coarse management”.

“We need our public housing authority, Nysha, 413 days to finish repair on average,” said Ketcham. “It is so bad that our far-left public defender Jumaane Williams, has repeatedly called Nysha the worst owner of the city. So these are problems where we are examining what type of city will be new arrivals who want to live in conditions that are better every year? Or will it remain stagnnal and to call on things that are better? More? or is it going to be stagnical and to make calls?

Zohran Mamdani during an electoral evening event in New York, early Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Christian Monterrosa / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Mamdani, who has made a drop in New Yorkers a cornerstone of his campaign, also proposed to build 200,000 affordable dwellings.

Mamdani’s plan, aimed at tackling the tag team crisis of affordability and housing, includes an immediate frost on more than 2 million apartments stabilized in the rent.

Fox News Digital asked Ketcham if he thought that the accommodation situation would get worse under a Mamdani administration, and he replied: “I do it.”

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Ketcham explained his conviction that rent controls “reduce the quality and quantity of accommodation by reducing investments”.

“”It’s just the basic economy of it, “said Ketcham.” It was tried in other cities such as in Chicago and Saint-Louis with Cabrini-Green and Pruitt-Igoe, which were historical failures in public housing. “”

“The residents of these places must face molds, rats and other vermines; They also have all kinds of crime problems, so that these experiences simply did not work. What works is to allow the private sector to build many new housing, including housing up to the market and Mr. Mamdani’s proposals are not necessarily written with a private investment. Construction projects. “”

Fox News Digital contacted the Mamdani campaign to comment.