For decades, progressive politicians have sworn that government-controlled housing would solve America’s affordability crisis. Hand the keys to nonprofits and city agencies, they promised, and working families would finally have safe, decent places to live. Private landlords were cast as cartoon villains while bureaucrats and activists styled themselves as champions of the downtrodden. We’ve heard this pitch a thousand times.

New York City is now delivering yet another brutal reminder of why these socialist housing schemes fall apart. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the self-described democratic socialist who swept into office promising to revolutionize housing in the five boroughs, is already face-planting. And honestly? The evidence couldn’t be more damning.

From the New York Post:

“You have to laugh at the hypocrisy,” said Councilwoman Joann Ariola. “These nonprofits are proving themselves to be little more than taxpayer-funded slumlords, and this blatant double-standard is all part of the administration’s planned attack on private ownership in New York City.”

A “Model” Building With 194 Code Violations

On January 4th, Mayor Mamdani visited a Bronx apartment building to showcase his grand vision for New York’s housing future. He brought along his newly appointed Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner, Dina Levy, heaping praise on her nonprofit background and experience overseeing affordable housing. The 102-unit building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in Morris Heights was supposed to demonstrate what enlightened, nonprofit management could accomplish.

One small hiccup: the building is an absolute wreck.

City records show the complex has 194 open housing code violations stretching back to 2016. Eighty-eight of those carry a “Class C” designation—bureaucrat-speak for “immediately hazardous” to residents. We’re talking rat and roach infestations, mold contamination, broken appliances, and maintenance failures that would embarrass any competent landlord. This is the property Mamdani hand-picked to highlight as a success story. This is his blueprint for New York’s future. You genuinely cannot make this stuff up.

The Hypocrisy Gets Worse

The embarrassment extends well beyond the violation tally. Just three days before his Bronx photo op, Mamdani had singled out a privately-owned 71-unit building in Prospect Heights as proof of everything wrong with landlord-managed housing. That supposedly terrible private building? It had fewer than half the dangerous Class C violations of his celebrated nonprofit showcase.

Long-term residents of the Sedgwick Avenue building aren’t swallowing Mamdani’s spin. Mordistine Alexander has lived there since 1999. She told reporters that conditions were actually better under the previous private management. Not exactly the testimonial the mayor was hoping for.

“Since the nonprofit took over, the building has deteriorated. They lack porters. No one is maintaining it, and the complaints fall on deaf ears—especially if you complain a lot,” Alexander explained. She rattled off a grim list: chronic problems with heat and hot water, crumbling bathroom and kitchen surfaces, windows in desperate need of replacement. She’s been waiting since October—October!—for someone to swap out her kitchen light bulbs.

Here’s a statistic that should sting: the Sedgwick Avenue property now carries more open HPD violations than roughly three-quarters of privately owned, rent-stabilized buildings across the entire city. So much for nonprofit superiority.

Privileged Socialists Lecturing the Working Class

None of this should shock anyone who bothers examining the backgrounds of Mamdani’s housing brain trust. Commissioner Levy will pocket $277,605 annually in her new gig. She grew up worlds apart from the housing struggles she now claims to comprehend. Her parents? Two high-powered Washington attorneys who owned multiple properties, including a Georgetown townhouse that sold for $1.4 million in 2023. Rough childhood, clearly.

These are the people now dictating housing policy to working-class New Yorkers scrambling to keep roofs over their heads. They’ve never fretted about rodents in their kitchens or waited months for basic repairs. But they’re absolutely certain they know what’s best for those who have.

Former Bronx Assemblyman Kenny Burgos, who now leads the New York Apartment Association, highlighted the glaring contradiction. Nonprofit-managed buildings consistently rack up higher violation counts despite receiving government-backed loans and paying zero property taxes. They should have more resources to maintain their buildings. Instead, they consistently underdeliver.

Key Takeaways

• Mamdani’s “model” nonprofit housing building has 194 code violations, including 88 deemed immediately hazardous.
• Long-term tenants confirm conditions were better under previous private management.
• The mayor’s housing commissioner earns $277,605 while residents wait months for basic repairs.
• Socialist housing policies consistently fail the working-class people they claim to help.

Sources: The Post Millennial, New York Post