Mamdani appeals to NYCHA tenants at ‘rental ripoff’ hearing after being accused of ignoring public housing

Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent his first in-person appearance at his “rental ripoff” hearings appealing to public housing tenants after he was heckled and previously accused of ignoring their plights.

“Public housing first mayor, public housing first,” one woman screamed as Mamdani began speaking at Fordham University in the Bronx.

The mayor tried to disregard the heckler, but she persisted, so he addressed the select few public housing residents in attendance to open his remarks.

“I know that not only have NYCHA residents faced chronic disinvestment, they have also come to expect little from a city government that has constantly turned a blind eye, and so for too many New Yorkers who do live in NYCHA housing, the legacy of living in that housing has been a legacy of being ignored,” Hizzoner said.

“And I say all of this to say that our administration understands its responsibility very clearly. It is a responsibility to rewrite that legacy,” he implored.

“If you are a NYCHA resident, we want and welcome your stories at the rental ripoff, and we are committed to delivering the improvements that NYCHA residents deserve,” Mamdani said.