CITYWIDE – MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI on Wednesday announced the appointment of six members of the Rent Guidelines Board, the independent body charged with determining rent adjustments for rent-stabilized units. In a press statement, the mayor said he hoped the new members would “help us move closer to a fairer, more affordable New York.”
With a majority of the board now consisting of Mamdani appointees, following the resignation of three previous members this month, the field now appears clear for the mayor to deliver on his campaign promise of a rent freeze for stabilized apartments, The City reports.
Chantella Mitchell, the board’s new Chair, leads grantmaking as a Program Director at the New York Community Trust. She previously held leadership roles at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and at the Office of Management and Budget.
The three new public members on the board are Sina Sinai, Senior Research Associate at the Jain Family Institute; Lauren Melodia, Director of Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School; and Brandon Mancilla, Region 9A Director of the United Auto Workers. The new owner member is Maksim Wynn, Director of Development at Procida Development Group, while the reappointed tenant member is Adán Soltren, Supervising Attorney in housing at the Legal Aid Society.
They join Arpit Gupta, Christina Smyth and Sagar Sharma on the nine-member board.
This spring, the RGB will review data and expert testimony before setting a preliminary range for rent adjustments. The board will then hold public hearings before voting on a final rent adjustment, which will apply between Oct. 1, 2026 and Sept. 30, 2027.
