Hundreds of communications between Mayor Mamdani's team and NYC Rent Board disclosed in lawsuit

In a recent court ruling, more than a hundred emails and text messages between officials in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office and members of the Rent Guidelines Board were made public as part of a lawsuit alleging illegal collusion. Plaintiff counsel Randy Mastro highlighted the frequency of contact and the sharing of a previously unused draft on cost of living as evidence of “staggering” coordination. Real-estate attorney Massimo D’Angelo, representing private landlords, noted the pattern of close communication but described some of the messages as less incriminating than Mastro suggests, calling for a deeper forensic analysis to find any decisive proof.

The city has opposed a full forensic imaging of devices, arguing it would be invasive and unnecessary, and no messages from the private app Signal have been produced. Manhattan Judge Brendan Lantry issued the order to release the communications on the same day the new rent-freeze for one- and two-year leases became effective. The case, originally filed in Staten Island this summer, seeks to overturn the rent-freeze that fulfills a key campaign promise of Mayor Mamdani.