Mayor Zohran Mamdani appoints Dina Levy as the new Housing Commissioner. Image Credit: Ed Reed, Mayoral Photography Office.
On January 4, 2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Dina Levy as the Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Mayor Mamdani also signed an executive order creating “Rental Ripoff” hearings, for New Yorkers to speak with relevant City agencies about challenges they face as renters.
Levy previously served as Senior Vice President of Homeownership and Community Renewal, the state’s affordable housing agency. She also previously served as senior advisor to the New York Attorney General and Director of Organizing at the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board.
The announcement was made at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, known often as the “Birthplace of Hip-Hop,” where Levy led a campaign to replace a predatory equity investor with a more responsible landlord in 2010.
Incoming Commissioner Levy stated, “I am honored to join the Mamdani administration, and especially honored to join the team working to make New York City an affordable place to live. My experience as a community organizer has shaped my work in public service and will continue to be my inspiration in the work ahead at HPD. It is my honor to join forces with tenants, homeowners, and dedicated public servants at HPD as we work to usher in a new era of quality and affordability for all.”
The executive order signed by Mayor Mamdani directs HPD, the Department of Buildings, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants to collaborate with the City’s new Office of Mass Engagement to hold “rental ripoff” hearings in each borough within the first 100 days of the administration. New Yorkers can testify about issues relating to renting, including poor building conditions or hidden rental fees. Details about future hearings will be available here. After the last hearing, a report will be created within 90 days and a plan will be proposed to address harmful or dangerous landlord practices.
Mayor Mamdani stated, “I am proud to welcome Dina Levy as our next Housing Commissioner. Levy is an experienced and fearless housing leader, and I know that she will fight to protect tenants and tackle our housing crisis head-on. Too many New Yorkers have been forced to pay more for less — living in unsafe, unconscionable, and unaffordable housing. Under my administration, that ends. Today’s executive order is the first step towards giving New Yorkers a voice in addressing the housing crisis that is pricing them out of our city.”
Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su stated, “There is no economic justice without safe, quality, affordable housing New Yorkers can live in. This is not just about building new housing, it’s also about enforcing the laws in existing housing. Through the Rental Ripoff hearings, City Hall will not only be listening, we will take action to ensure that the law is followed without exception and that New Yorkers know their rights when it comes to the often hidden or deceptive fees associated with the hunt for housing.”
Cea Weaver, Director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants stated, “For too long, tenants have been ripped off without recourse or protection. Our Rental Ripoff hearings will give working people across the five boroughs a microphone to highlight the challenges they face and make New York City government a truly participatory endeavor. By hearing from New Yorkers about the challenges they have faced, we can bring a comprehensive approach to address the shoddy conditions, hidden fees, and other ripoffs that have persisted until now.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)