New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan to build and preserve 400,000 rent-controlled apartments over the next decade would cost taxpayers $22 billion in its first five years, according to a new analysis from The Heritage Foundation published June 9, 2026. The conservative think tank calls the "Block by Block: The Housing Plan for a New Era" proposal—unveiled by the socialist mayor on May 20—a case of "socializing the skyline" that will worsen the city's housing crisis rather than solve it. The average one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan now costs over $5,000 per month, a figure the report attributes to policy failure rather than market forces.
The mayor's plan promises to construct 200,000 new "affordable" rent-controlled homes and preserve 200,000 existing units over 10 years, backed by the $22 billion five-year taxpayer investment. Mamdani's socialist-stacked Rent Guidelines Board currently sets price ceilings on 1 million rentable units in the city, and is scheduled to take its final vote on price adjustments for rent-stabilized apartments on June 25, 2026. The National Multifamily Housing Council estimates that rent regulations raise prices within New York City's uncontrolled units by 22-25%. The city's Housing Authority already operates the largest public housing system in the country, with over 500,000 residents living in approximately 177,000 apartments.
According to the report's authors, Nicole Huyer and Annie Heim, "this socialist policy lowers housing supply, increases the prices of non-controlled units, and forces property quality deterioration." The report finds that low or even negative profit prospects deter builders from constructing in jurisdictions with rent-control policies and dissuade landlords from renovating units or maintaining quality. The mayor's plan includes "Rental Ripoff Hearings" that give tenants a platform to share poor housing experiences, with the objective of removing "negligent" owners and confiscating private property—what the authors call "the textbook communist excuse for expropriation." Mamdani has promised to transfer ownership from landlords to the community, and his administration is steering sales of distressed buildings away from the open market toward government-approved buyers through the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act of 2025, which gives nonprofits and tenant groups the "right of first refusal" on multifamily apartment buildings.
The Heritage Foundation report argues that housing unaffordability stems from federal policies that artificially increase demand and critical supply shortages, problems made worse in cities like New York that have burdensome regulations, high taxes, and rent controls. The authors write that economists know the simple fix lies in increasing supply through removing barriers to new construction and eliminating government interference, yet Mamdani's housing plan does the opposite. By setting price ceilings through the Rent Guidelines Board, the plan limits landlords' ability to profit, then uses that lack of maintenance as justification for seizing properties. The report warns that central planning in housing has produced visible failures in New York City's Housing Authority, including mold, leaky pipes, broken elevators, and roach infestations.
The report concludes that New York City would save billions of taxpayer dollars if the government simply stepped aside and allowed the free market to operate, noting that developers could build units without the $22 billion price tag if the city removed regulatory barriers and rent control policies. Without meaningful deregulation and supply-side reforms that encourage new construction, the authors warn, the mayor's big-government housing proposals risk creating shortages, worsening quality, and driving prices even higher. The analysis argues that Mamdani's plan ultimately signals to private capital that New York City is "not open for business," driving away the investors and developers who could actually solve the housing shortage.