New York Construction Report staff writer
Newly inaugurated Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed three executive orders Thursday, to address New York City’s housing challenges, including a revival of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and the creation of two housing development task forces.
“Today, on the first day of this new administration, on the day where so many rent payments are due, we will not wait to deliver action. We will stand up on behalf of the tenants of this city,” Mamdani said at a press conference in Brooklyn.
Orders establish the LIFT (Land Inventory Fast Track) and SPEED (Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development) task forces, which will focus on accelerating housing construction. LIFT will identify city-owned properties suitable for development, while SPEED will target bureaucratic and permitting barriers that increase costs and delay projects. Both task forces will be overseen by the deputy mayor for housing and planning.
The Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants will act as a central coordinating body to defend renters’ rights, confront landlords, and ensure city agencies respond quickly to unsafe or illegal housing conditions. Cea Weaver, executive director of Housing Justice for All and the New York State Tenant Bloc, has been named executive director of the office.
The announcement was made at 85 Clarkson Avenue in Brooklyn, a rent-stabilized building owned by Pinnacle Realty, which is in bankruptcy proceedings and slated for auction. Mamdani said the city will intervene to protect tenants’ interests in the case, appointing Steve Banks, the new corporation counsel, to lead the legal action.
“It is a very important moment now today for the city of New York to say we are going to be in that proceeding in a way in which the path forward is not simply to address the city’s interests — but the city’s interests are also bound up with the tenants’ interests,” Banks said.
Mamdani also revoked all executive orders issued after Sept. 26, 2024, the day former Mayor Eric Adams was indicted, and established a five-deputy mayor structure, fewer than under the previous administration.
“Today marks the first step in building an administration that works for all New Yorkers,” Mamdani said. “We’ve established the foundations of it, and now it’s time to deliver on our affordability agenda, tackle the challenges facing New Yorkers, and usher in a new era for New York City — one that proves that government can deliver for working people.”
