You can’t say he’s wrong: NYC Mayor Mamdani targets housing on inauguration day.

Photo above - alleged NYC slumlord Pinnacle Group sold 93 buildings as part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Mayor Mamdani says "not so fast . . . "

A pro-Mamdani post! Susan in Florida (the author) glances over her shoulder in fear to see if the end of days is at hand. Maybe . . . but it won’t be Mamdani’s fault. He’s made 2 moves on inauguration day which I applaud (see link below).

FIrst, how about an immediate review of all city owned properties? Both vacant buildings and vacant land? Fast track them for development of new housing? Mamdani wants a report listing all of these on his desk by July. As long as the city doesn’t have to cough up the money for new construction, this is a huge win. Let private developers bid on the land, with strictures on affordability for future tenants. Hooray, Mamdani.

Mayor Mamdani is also going to interfere in the bankruptcy case of a landlord who owns 93 residential buildings. At first I thought his was a political blunder, then I read further. The 93 properties have ALREADY been auctioned by bankruptcy court to ANOTHER landlord who is on the “worst” list and which appears to lack the financial capacity to perform basic repairs and maintenance. Okay . . . let’s stop this BKO sale and take a closer look, for sure. If Google went bankrupt you wouldn’t auction them to some dot.com with zero cash flow, would you? I’m giving Mamdani the benefit of the doubt on this, pending review about whether the mayor can unilaterally set bankruptcy decisions aside. Who knows? This isn’t like a presidential pardon for crypto con men and pedophiles, after all.

I still expect plenty of NYC political fireworks in 2026 regarding higher taxes and absurd levels of crime. But moving to sell off vacant city properties and forcing landlords to keep the heat on for tenants . . . those are good starts.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Hours after taking office, NYC Mayor Mamdani targets landlords, moves to intervene in private bankruptcy case

Summit Makes Offer for Joel Wiener’s Bankrupt Buildings

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@wildbill83 i'm okay with making life tough for landlords who don't make repairs, or leave the heat off. Its possible that developers will be enticed by all the new vacant properties which could be permitted/rezoned for apartment construction, though.

wildbill83 · 41-45, M

@SusanInFlorida telling developers that they must lower their rent & invest heavily in apartments for minorities that will just trash them anyways or risk having it seized by city doesn't sound very "enticing" (to developers)

sounds like a good way to turn Manhattan into queens... 🤔

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@wildbill83 i don't think you can require developers to do anything which isn't part of a legitimate law. if I were mamdani, here's the approach i would use:

1 - for the vacant properties, set an acquisition price based on how it will be zoned. residential? office space? retail? indistrial shipping?

2 - successful bidders must pay cash for the property within 30 days of bid acceptance

3 - retail zoning permits cap rents based on proximity to other residential and retail properties. the bidder acknowledges this cap at the time of bid.