Jim Walden for Mayor of New York City
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LOWER THE RENT Real Relief for the New Yorkers Struggling Most

 

Executive Summary

Freezing unaffordable rents is not a terribly helpful idea for the hundreds of thousands of severely rent-burdened tenants in rent-stabilized housing, who are paying upwards of 50-70% of their incomes on rent already.1 My plan will significantly lower their rent by almost 50% through direct subsidies. The payments will go directly to landlords, which will also give them some protection against nonpayment. Also, my Blueprint for New York will unleash the free market to build 50,000 affordable units a year with a plan that caps rents at 25% of a localized average median income. We can and will solve the housing crisis.

The Problem: Rent-burdened New Yorkers

New York City’s rent crisis isn’t theoretical—it’s a day-to-day fight for financial survival. Nearly half of all rent-stabilized households are rent-burdened, meaning they spend over 30% of their income on housing.2 Even more urgent, about a quarter million of these households are severely rent-burdened, paying more than 50% of their income just to keep a roof over their heads.3

The last widespread support program, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, closed in January 2023.4 And while some are calling to freeze unaffordable rent, that’s no solution. Freezing unaffordable rent doesn’t make it affordable. Meanwhile, a blanket freeze on all rent-stabilized units—regardless of tenant need—threatens to bankrupt landlords who rely on steady income to make essential repairs.

We need a targeted, practical approach—one that protects both vulnerable tenants and the housing stock they rely on.

Jim’s Plan: Lower Rent Payments For The Neediest

We’re going to lower rents for tenants in the rent-stabilization program who need it most.

Here’s how:

• Immediate Relief for Severely Rent-Burdened Tenants (SRBTs)
A new program will cap rent at 35% of income for SRBTs. The City will make direct payments to cover the difference to landlords who opt into this program—keeping tenants housed and buildings operational.

• Localized Affordability in New Construction
We’ll build 50,000 new affordable units each year, with rent tied to 25% of borough-specific median income, ensuring that affordability reflects the realities of each neighborhood.

• No New General Taxes
We’ll fund this $2.34 billion plan without increasing income, property or general sales taxes.5 How? By tightening our belt across City agencies, making a less-than 1% reduction in capital projects, and imposing a micro-tax on certain transactions. “Micro” means less than one-tenth of 1%.

How We Pay for It: A Transparent, Responsible Funding Plan

This plan asks New York’s wealthiest residents—those spending on luxury goods, yachts, crypto, private art sales, and private equity—to contribute a fraction more. For them, it’s a rounding error. For working-class tenants, it’s life-changing.

Long-Term Vision: Fix Rent Stabilization for Everyone

Our rent-stabilization system isn’t working—not for tenants and not for landlords.

As Mayor, Jim Walden will:

• Push Albany to Return Control to NYC
Albany’s 2019 rent law changes destabilized our rental market and discouraged essential repairs. We’ll fight in the courts if necessary to bring housing policy back to City Hall, where it belongs.

• Introduce Means Testing to Prevent Abuse
Too many wealthy tenants benefit from rent-stabilized apartments they don’t need. We’ll reform the program to ensure rent support goes only to those who truly need it—not millionaires gaming the system.

Why It Matters

Housing is a human right—and a prerequisite for a thriving, equitable city. This plan delivers real rent relief right now to the people most at risk. It puts us on a path to responsible, locally governed housing policy. And it ensures that New York remains a city for everyone—not just the rich, or the lucky. Let’s lower the rent—and raise the standard of living for New York.

APPENDIX — Funding Plan:

The Appendix data came from Grok Heavy 4 AI, and we double checked using AI engines Perplexity and Chat GPT. According to both engines, the Appendix’s financial categories and cited dollar amounts are reasonable for New York City’s fiscal landscape.

New Yorkers deserve real leadership, not more excuses. We can fix this. We will fix this. And we will do it by putting people ahead of politics.

Jim Walden,

Candidate for Mayor

 

  1. By not aligning rents with landlords’ costs, Zohran Mamdani’s slogan-based promise also will cause longer-term problems for both tenants and landlords by leading to less money for maintenance and repairs, worse building conditions, unit abandonment, and shrinking affordable housing supply. https://www.aei.org/op-eds/zohran-mamdanis-rent-freeze-will-warp-nycs-housing-market-and-hurt-us-all/#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20the%20city,under%20de%20Blasio%2C%20it%20did. In addition, Mamdani’s rent freeze is one-size-fits-all and helps well-off people like himself who can afford reasonable rent increases. On the contrary, better-targeted and more-sustainable rent freeze programs like Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) allow both rent freezes for vulnerable groups and healthy finances for landlords, who receive a property tax abatement making up for the lower rent they collect. https://www.nyc.gov/site/rentfreeze/index.page
  2. Other than those receiving rental assistance, more than 400,000 rent-stabilized tenants are rent burdened. https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-IA-Study.pdf?ref=hellgatenyc.com.
  3. Based on the most recent data, almost 1 million rental units in New York City are rent stabilized. https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-HSR-Presentation.pdf. Of those, almost 900,000 don’t receive rent assistance. https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-IA-Study.pdf?ref=hellgatenyc.com Of those, 27.2% are SRBTs. https://rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-IA-Study.pdf.
  4. Though existing applications are still being processed, no new applications have been accepted since January 2023. The existing applicants cannot get future relief from ERAP if they need help again. There are some assistance programs for the elderly and disabled, which will be folded into this plan and provide even more help to these tenants.
  5. TAssuming rent-stabilized SRBTs have an average income of $28,700 a year and this program focuses on roughly 272,000 SRBTs, reducing rent from 50%-70% to 35% of income amounts to a subsidy of $8,610 per SRBT a year, or $2.34 billion total a year. These estimates are based on the best-available calculations (and verified through Grok Heavy 4 AI). The Rent Guidelines Board lacks details on rent-stabilized SRBTs’ average burdens, telling our campaign: “Are you asking what the average is for people who pay at least 50% of their income towards rent? If so, we do not calculate that percentage.” Preliminary analysis based on the 2023 NYCHVS Public Use File (PUF) reveals the rent burden could be even worse for SRBTs, but there has not been a comprehensive analysis of the SRBTs and the burdens they face in reality. The Rent Guidelines Board needs to do a better job tracking the burden on the neediest tenants and publishing that information.