Tenants at a city-supervised affordable housing complex in the Bronx are blasting Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration after learning their rents will rise by more than 30% over the next four years despite the mayor’s campaign promises on affordability and rent freezes.
Residents of Tracey Towers, an 871-unit Mitchell-Lama development in Jerome Park serving middle- and moderate-income families, were told during a tense Wednesday meeting that their rents would increase beginning next year.
The announcement quickly triggered anger from tenants who said the hike directly contradicts the affordability message Mamdani used to secure his office.
Dina Levy, the Mamdani-appointed head of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said the increase is necessary to cover the complex’s mortgage and operating costs.
But residents repeatedly rejected the rationale, arguing they were being asked to pay more while living conditions remain poor.
“You speak about affordable housing, affordable for who?” one angry tenant shouted after Levy fielded questions about repairs.
The woman said she and her husband both spent decades working for the city, only to now find themselves struggling to remain in the building.
“I worked for the city for 37 years, and I’m still here, and I’m living in this building,” she said. “My husband also worked for the city for 20 something years. And now, you can’t afford to live here.”
Rent at Tracey Towers will rise 15% next year, followed by 5% increases in each of the following two years and a final 3% increase in the fourth year. Because the hikes compound annually, the total increase will reach 30.59%, even though residents were reportedly told it was a 28% increase.
Tenants currently pay an average of $1,344 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,680 for a two-bedroom unit.
The rent hike has exposed a major tension in Mamdani’s housing agenda. The mayor has promised to pursue rent freezes for the city’s rent-stabilized apartments, but Mitchell-Lama developments operate under a different legal structure and do not have the same statutory cap on rent increases.
Mitchell-Lama buildings are privately owned and operated but closely overseen by HPD. The city is required to balance the finances of the buildings, many of which were built between the 1950s and 1970s and now face rising maintenance, insurance, fuel and debt costs.
Levy told residents the increase was not primarily designed to fund long-awaited improvements, but to address the development’s financial distress.
“This building is three years delinquent on your existing mortgage and is not covering your current operating costs,” Levy said. “What we don’t want to see is this building going to foreclosure and not be in the Mitchell-Lama program anymore.”
She also said HPD is allocating $36 million for repairs including faulty elevators and leaky roofs.
But residents said they have heard similar promises before.
“Every time you guys come here and propose an increase, it’s to address the same issue, and it never gets done,” said 79-year-old Tony Taylor, a former tenant association president.
Taylor said his rent has increased dramatically over the decades while building conditions have deteriorated.
“When we first moved in, it was a nice development. We had good service,” he said. “But day after day, nothing happens.”
Several tenants said the increases could push them out of homes they have lived in for decades.
“If you increase my rent, I’m going to be homeless,” 64-year-old resident Augustina Kwarteng said through tears. “When I pay my rent now, I only have $100 to stay in New York.”
The backlash is especially damaging for Mamdani because of his aggressive pro-tenant political brand. Since taking office, he has promoted a rent-freeze agenda, criticized landlords and launched the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, led by fellow Democratic Socialists of America member Cea Weaver.
That posture has made the Tracey Towers increase particularly jarring for residents who expected the administration to shield affordable housing tenants from major rent hikes.
“I don’t believe in the politicians,” said 68-year-old Anotonietta Grillo, who has lived in the building since 1974. “They’re going to say what they want to say to get the vote.”
Landlords and housing operators have repeatedly warned that broad rent freezes can leave buildings unable to cover basic maintenance expenses.
At Tracey Towers, about one-third of tenants are expected to be shielded from the rent hike through Section 8 vouchers or the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption program, which protects eligible seniors earning less than $75,000 annually.
HPD said it will work with residents to ensure eligible seniors and disabled tenants receive exemptions.
“The city and HPD are committed to supporting the fiscal stability of this development, helping tenants access rental assistance programs, and preserving these homes for the long-term,” an HPD spokesperson said.
Still, for many residents, the explanation did little to ease fears of rising costs.
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