Federal judge delivers Mamdani early legal setback on housing market intervention

A federal judge blocked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's effort to intervene in the sale of thousands of rent-stabilized rental properties on Thursday.

Mamdani's administration had sought to slow the sale of the properties after tenants complained that the seller, Pinnacle Group, had poorly maintained the properties and were concerned that the prospective buyer, Summit Properties USA, would have similar issues.

Mamdani's administration attempted to intervene on the basis of being a creditor to Pinnacle. The company owes the city over $12 million in unpaid fines, according to Gothamist.

Bankruptcy Judge David Jones rejected Mamdani's effort, however, setting back the new mayor's first foray into NYC's housing market.

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Jones could approve the sale to Summit as soon as this Thursday, but Mamdani's administration says they are still looking at options.

"We will continue to fight to ensure any owner of this portfolio makes necessary repairs to bring the buildings up to code and respects the rent stabilization regulations," Leila Bozorg, the city’s deputy mayor for housing, told the outlet.

The court defeat comes on the heels of another controversy that bruised Mamdani's housing agenda, namely his hiring of Cea Weaver to lead the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants. Weaver has previously stated that home ownership is a "weapon of white supremacy" and argued that property should be treated as a "collective good."

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Amid the controversy over her comments, Weaver said she regretted "some" of her past comments. While she did not specify which statements she regrets, Weaver said she aims to tackle "racial inequalities" while serving New Yorkers.

"But, you know, I do think my decades of experience fighting for more affordable housing sort of stands on its own," Weaver said. "I’m proud to be in this role fighting for stronger tenants’ rights. And I think that for many years, people have been locked out of the property market, that has produced systemic and racial inequalities in our system."

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"I want to make sure that everybody has a safe and affordable place to live — whether they rent or own," she added. "And that is something that I’m laser-focused on in this new role."

Fox News' Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.