What you should know
- Volunteers will knock on doors in buildings with history of housing violations to connect tenants with organizing resources and inform tenants of their right to organize
- Campaign builds on Rental Ripoff hearings by empowering renters to turn shared experiences into collective action
NEW YORK — Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement (OME), in partnership with the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants (MOPT), launched “Talk to Tenants,” a door-to-door organizing campaign to support renters living in buildings with chronic housing violations organize together and advocate for safer, healthier homes.
Volunteers with OME will knock on doors to inform tenants of their right to organize and connect residents with resources and organizing trainings. The campaign will begin in East Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood and Flatbush — neighborhoods where renters are confronting rising costs and persistent housing quality concerns — before expanding to communities across the five boroughs.
New Yorkers interested in volunteering can learn more HERE.
“The Rental Ripoff hearings showed us something that every tenant already knows: when landlords neglect their buildings, New Yorkers are left with no heat, kitchens overrun with cockroaches, mold and broken elevators,” said Mayor Mamdani. “When neighbors organize, they have the power to hold landlords accountable and win safe, dignified housing. ‘Talk to Tenants’ is about empowering New Yorkers to build that power one conversation, one building and one block at a time.”
“Every New Yorker has the right to a safe and stable home — and the Talk to Tenants campaign will help make that a reality. Organized tenants can support their neighbors, better building conditions and responsible preservation deals and owners. Thanks to outreach by OME, MOPT and volunteers across the city, we’ll ensure that many more New Yorkers know their rights and how the City can help protect their homes,” said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning.
“From a next-door neighbor who is available to bring in your mail when you’re away to widespread collective action to win better repairs and respect from the landlord, the community and solidarity of a tenant association is the very foundation of New York City,” said Director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants Cea Weaver. “The most protected tenant is an organized tenant. Through the ‘Talk to Tenants’ campaign, we are calling on New Yorkers to join together with their neighbors and partner with us to secure dignified and affordable housing for all.”
“Every New Yorker has heard the stories—or lived them themselves: landlords who refuse to make basic repairs, ignore dangerous conditions and leave tenants to deal with mold, pests and other hazards. ‘Talk to Tenants’ is about reminding renters that they have the right to a safe, clean and well-maintained home—and the right to organize with their neighbors to demand it,” said Commissioner for the Office of Mass Engagement Tascha Van Auken. “Change often begins with a conversation between neighbors. By knocking on doors and connecting tenants with organizing resources, we’re helping New Yorkers build the collective power to hold negligent landlords accountable and fight for the homes they deserve.”
The campaign builds on Mayor Mamdani’s Rental Ripoff hearings, where tenants across all five boroughs described the conditions they have endured, from mold and vermin to broken elevators, chronic heat outages and years of landlord neglect. Last week, Mayor Mamdani released the Rental Ripoff report, outlining a series of reforms to strengthen tenant protections and hold negligent landlords accountable. “Talk to Tenants” turns those recommendations into action by helping renters organize and advocate together for safe, affordable housing.
Throughout the summer and early fall, OME will also host NYC 101 workshops for New Yorkers interested in learning how tenant organizing works, how to build tenant unions and how collective action can improve conditions in their buildings.
NYC 101 Dates and Locations:
- August 12 — Lower Manhattan
- August 19 — Prospect Heights
- September 16 — Flatbush
- September 24 — East Harlem
- September 30 — Washington Heights
More information about upcoming events and registration is available HERE.
Since taking office, Mayor Mamdani has made tenant organizing and tenant power central to his administration’s housing agenda. The administration has revitalized the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, convened Rental Ripoff hearings across all five boroughs and supported tenants in negotiating with new ownership to resolve long-overdue repairs, back rent and other issues affecting their homes.
Tenant organizing is also a cornerstone of Block by Block: The Housing Plan for a New Era, Mayor Mamdani’s plan to build and preserve affordable housing while strengthening tenants’ ability to hold negligent landlords accountable. The plan includes outreach to tenants and homeowners about their rights, as well as to landlords about best practices, as well as overhauling the City’s response to housing code and heat complaints, allowing tenants to schedule certain HPD inspections directly and coordinating comprehensive “roof-to-cellar” inspection days in buildings where tenants have organized.
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