City’s mayor has consistently argued that rising housing costs have made it increasingly unaffordable A New York City housing board has voted to freeze rent for approximately 1m apartments. In a major victory for Zohran Mamdani, the mayor who campaigned on a pledge to freeze rent, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 on Thursday to freeze increases on one- and two-year leases. The decision will provide relief to tenants in more than one million rent-stabilized apartments, representing over 40% of the city’s rental housing.