Despite..

 

Despite Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “rent freeze,” the costs for New York apartments continues to soar — except it’s not really “despite” at all: His policies either don’t touch the problems, or make them worse.

The average rent of an open Manhattan unit just hit an eye-watering $6,655 a month, report industry pros, a 10% jump from last year.

An average studio is now going for more than four grand;  

One major reason: Rent regulation insulates 1 million apartments more than one quarter of the entire city’s housing stock from market pricing.

Those tenants rarely leave, making open units more scarce, and so forcing up prices for the 1 million market-rate apartments.

And the rent freeze (which actually benefits higher-income folks more that lower earners) only makes things worse.

Plus, when a longtime rent-stabilized tenant finally moves out, 2019 state “reforms” make it unaffordable for landlords to bring the unit up to code, so even vacated apartments can’t get offered to new tenants.

All of this makes the city’s “rent inequities” even worse, with would-be newcomers facing the most ridiculous rents while the “haves” already here get an ever-better break.