New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said city agencies could remove landlords from control of their buildings if serious housing code violations persist, outlining enforcement powers as his administration begins.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday that his administration may pursue the removal of private property from landlords who repeatedly violate housing laws, signaling a more aggressive enforcement approach aimed at protecting tenant safety, according to reporting.
“We want to make it clear to everyone in this city that no one is above the law. If you are a landlord violating the law, then this administration will hold you to account,” Mamdani said during remarks delivered in Jackson Heights.
The comments came as Mamdani announced a $2.1 million settlement with A&E Real Estate, a landlord that owns 14 residential buildings across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, housing roughly 750 tenants. Under the settlement, A&E Real Estate is required to pay $2.1 million in fines, correct approximately 4,000 housing code violations, and comply with an injunction barring tenant harassment.
When asked by a reporter why the city had not directly taken control of the buildings, Mamdani said the administration’s focus is on tenant outcomes rather than ownership. “The intended outcome is safety and wellbeing for tenants. That is what we are driven toward,” he said.
Housing Commissioner Dina Levy said the city has legal mechanisms to intervene when conditions pose a risk to tenant health or safety. In such cases, she said, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development can initiate 7A administrative proceedings to remove buildings from an owner’s control and appoint new management to oversee operations.
Mamdani’s enforcement stance has drawn increased attention following renewed scrutiny of past statements made by Cea Weaver, his recently appointed director of the city’s Office to Protect Tenants. Weaver’s previously deleted social media posts resurfaced earlier this month, including calls for the seizure of private property and statements characterizing home ownership as “white supremacy,” as highlighted in a widely shared post on X circulated online.
According to reporting by The New York Post, Weaver wrote “Seize private property!” in a 2018 post. In a separate post the following year, she wrote, “Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy.” The Post reported that Weaver also urged followers to “Elect more communists” and made statements critical of policing following the death of George Floyd.
Weaver, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a former campaign coordinator for Housing Justice For All, advised Mamdani’s mayoral campaign before being appointed to her current role.
Mamdani has previously supported proposals to freeze rents on approximately one million rent-regulated apartments citywide. He has also signed an executive order establishing “Rental Ripoff” hearings across all five boroughs within his first 100 days in office.
“Too many New Yorkers have been forced to pay more for less—living in unsafe, unconscionable, and unaffordable housing,” Mamdani said. “Under my administration, that ends. Today’s executive order is the first step towards giving New Yorkers a voice in addressing the housing crisis that is pricing them out of our city.”
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