How can Mamdani deliver for renters?

March 8, 2026

In his run for mayor, Zohran Mamdani galvanized the 69 percent of New Yorkers who don’t own their homes with his campaign to “freeze the rent.” Now in office, his administration wants to deliver for struggling tenants. The city’s landlords claim the math doesn’t add up. What’s actually possible and who’s to blame for how rental prices got so out of control?

Jonathan Mahler talked to more than 20 housing experts inside and outside the administration for his article. He is a deft translator of New York’s complex issues and has written two books about the city. He previously made an exhaustive case for rebuilding its subway system for the magazine.

A high-angle view of multistory residential buildings with fire escapes. A man is playing a keyboard in a window in the foreground.

Gail Albert Halaban for The New York Times

The Apartments at the Center of Mamdani’s Affordable Housing Crisis

The mayor’s call to “freeze the rent” galvanized the 69 percent of New Yorkers who don’t own their homes. But the city’s landlords claim the math doesn’t add up.

By Jonathan Mahler

FEATURES

Illustration by Melissa Santamariá

It’s an Obscure Psychedelic Used to Treat Trauma. Could It Help Me?

Veterans and others who have suffered trauma and injuries are flocking to clinics around the world to take ibogaine. My own reason was deeply personal.

By Robert Draper

Portrait of a man with short white hair, shown from the shoulders up, bathed in orange light in front of a yellow background.

Gareth McConnell for The New York Times

A Psychoanalyst Lets Us Eavesdrop

Stephen Grosz’s books show a new generation the inner workings of psychoanalysis.

By Daphne Merkin

THE INTERVIEW & IDEAS

The Interview

Rebecca Solnit Says the Left’s Next Hero Is Already Here

The writer and activist on how political change happens and taking the long view.

38 MIN LISTEN

Photo illustration by Chantal Jahchan

Ideas

In a World Order Defined by Trump, the Key to Europe’s Defense Is Germany

In the wake of the U.S. bombing of Iran and its dismissal of European allies, an anxious continent’s best chance at security runs through its largest economy.

By Elisabeth Zerofsky

COLUMNS

Illustration by Tomi Um

the ethicist

My Sister’s Crime Shattered Our Family. Do I Have to Help Her?

If I refuse, her future looks shakier. If I help, my family may never forgive me.

By Kwame Anthony Appiah

Screenland

Are A.I.-Generated Videos Changing How We See Animals?

By manipulating animals to do wonderful things, we may become numb to their real wonder.

By Sophie Haigney

An illustration shows an artist in a darkened room slumped on a stool in front of a painting of a dollar sign. In the background is another room, well-lighted room with a bright artistic work on a canvas.

Illustration by Richard a Chance

Letter of Recommendation

How Selling Out Made Me a Better Artist

I thought my art had to be protected from the real world, but that ended up being unrealistic.

By Jordan Coley

A collage with red lines and a man in sun glasses.

Photo illustration by Tyler Comrie

Screenland

In Today’s Conspiracy Theories, the Lack of Evidence Is the Evidence

The conspiracy theories of our time seem fixated on an absence of clues.

By Peter C. Baker

An illustration of John Hodgman in judge’s robes, holding a gavel.

Illustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy

Judge John Hodgman

Can I Call My Husband a Nickname He Hates?

A ruling on the matter of “Jouglas.”

By John Hodgman

For this week’s cover story, Matthieu Aikins and Wesley Morgan write about former members of America’s Zero Units and how their time as soldiers in Afghanistan did not prepare them for life in the U.S.

A black-and-white portrait of a former Zero Unit soldier.

Photograph by Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

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