‘Freeze the rent’ dominated the Democratic mayoral primary. This year, tenants are staring down a rent hike.

Tenants in New York City’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments are likely to see a rent hike next year, after an appointed board votes tonight to approve an increase within ranges starting at 1.75% for one-year leases and 3.75% for two-year leases.

But in the close background of that vote will be the calls for a rent freeze that have dominated the Democratic mayoral primary – and which became a central plank of Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. 

Though Mamdani’s victory became clear Tuesday and Adams kicked off his reelection bid two days later, Monday’s vote by the city’s Rent Guidelines Board will offer a salient opportunity to see the two campaigns in stark contrast. 

Mayor Eric Adams, who opted to run for reelection as an independent rather than in the Democratic primary, has overseen rent increases for stabilized tenants in every year of his mayoralty. (The mayor doesn’t directly decide on rent hikes but has the power to appoint members of the board and indirect influence over the vote.) 

At his reelection campaign launch on the steps of City Hall last week, Adams invoked Mamdani’s rent freeze pledge, saying that it will hurt small landlords. “I fight for small property owners,” he said to some cheers from his supporters. “You have individuals who are running for mayor who were saying ‘no rent.’ Those small property owners were losing their homes, and many of them were Black and brown.”

Mamdani, the democratic socialist Assembly member once seen as a longshot candidate for mayor, has campaigned relentlessly on his promise to back a rent freeze in City Hall for every year of his mayoralty. Spokespeople for Mamdani did not confirm late last week whether he planned to attend the Monday vote or a rally scheduled before it held by the New York State Tenant Bloc, which has been organizing for a rent freeze. 

A spokesperson for New York City Comptroller Brad Lander – a Democratic mayoral candidate seen as a powerful validator of Mamdani’s candidacy through their cross-endorsement – confirmed that he will be in attendance.

“We believe Monday’s vote is going to be the last time that Eric Adams is going to raise the rent,” said Ritti Singh, communications director of the Tenant Bloc. “This is the last year of rent hikes that rent-stabilized tenants are going to tolerate.”