Update: On June 23, 2026, Claire Valdez won the Democratic primary for Nydia Velasquez’s House seat by a large margin.
Claire Valdez leases her Ridgewood two-bedroom apartment or condo and is running to take control of Nydia Velázquez’s open congressional seat in District 7, which is, like the majority of the city, a constituency that’s bulk occupant. Valdez has fellow democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s assistance in a primary against Brooklyn district president Antonio Reynoso, who is backed by Velázquez, and Councilmember Julie Won. Per the current ballot, Valdez and Reynoso are pulling comparable support, though the majority of citizens– 43 percent– explain themselves as unsure about what they’ll do come the June 23 election.
On Tuesday, Valdez shared her real estate plan with us as an unique: The 36-year-old assemblymember is running on universal lease control, a federal variation of New york city’s Good Cause Expulsion, the creation of brand-new public real estate, and a more aggressive technique to taking properties far from landlords with records of ignoring their buildings. Some of this aligns with what Mamdani is trying to do in the city, however the details are various– how does a federal approach to tenant securities even work? We consulted with Valdez about her plan, what she’s learned from the mayor’s brief time in office, and how she thinks any of this can actually get done if she makes it to Washington.
This interview has actually been modified and condensed for clearness.
Inform me about the origins of the plan.
So NY-7 is a 77 percent occupant district. I myself am a renter, and I’m thrilled to prioritize something that puts tenant power actually front and center and attempts to take on the impact of the real-estate market in New York City. So this platform is really about making sure that we have power to organize and recognizing the federal government as an actor that need to really be leading in building more housing and analyzing how we attend to the supply-side problems.
The platform doubles down on a few of New York’s a lot of objected to real estate policies. Landlords can’t appear to stop taking lease stabilization to court. Can we discuss your idea for universal lease control? How do you see it working?
Universal rent control was initially a federal program back in the 1940s, and there were local boards set up to administer it. People are frequently stunned to hear that Nixon froze the lease as part of his 1971 price controls. It’s a reminder that the federal government has the power to intervene in the market when individuals are getting squeezed– it’s just a matter of political will. And during The Second World War, the federal Office of Rate Administration set up local boards to administer price controls, consisting of lease, throughout the country. That system became the structure of New York City’s model.
The federal government should again help states build something comparable: regional rent boards that take a look at local conditions and give occupants a say in how leas get set. It could supply financing, requirements, and oversight to states and support them in establishing county-level rent boards across the nation. Right now New York City’s system arbitrarily denies lease regulation to millions of tenants– like only covering buildings with six or more systems developed before 1974 that weren’t deregulated before 2019. That needs to change.
On a similar note, you propose a strong role for the federal government when it pertains to taking properties out of the hands of irresponsible landlords. It’s another one that’s been so hard to manage in New york city. How do you picture it working on a federal level?We’ve seen so many instances where property managers have refused to make repair work. Perhaps they aren’t even able to make repair work because they’re so costly. The federal government has leverage it’s not utilizing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finance about half of the multifamily market– today that means we’re enabling slumlords. We could instead condition that financing on habitability requirements with foreclosure as the penalty for noncompliance. We could likewise utilize distinguished domain to purchase structures outright. And there’s Agent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Residence Act, which would produce a federal real estate developer for social real estate, rescind the Faircloth Act, and put more money into NYCHA. The Homes Act is crucial here: It doesn’t simply construct housing; it can buy occupants’ buildings, rehab them with union labor, and transform them into completely cost effective social housing secured from speculators. The federal government needs to be doing it at scale.
The mayor attempted to intervene in the Peak sale, which moved 5,000 rent-stabilized systems in between 2 large landlords with similarly bad records. It didn’t exercise– the sale went on as planned.Pinnacle has a couple of lessons. Initially, no matter what housing policy passes– consisting of the most pro-tenant planks of this platform– renters have to arrange to assert their rights. Transferring the Pinnacle portfolio to public or community ownership wouldn’t have even been on the table without tenants organizing for months. Second, we require facilities ready in location that can move rapidly. Mayor Mamdani’s new housing plan puts a lot of investments in to construct that facilities, however ultimately I want to see a public developer, not just well moneyed but with an enthusiastic mandate. I have actually been a long time fan of Assemblymember Emily Gallagher’s proposal for a New york city State Social Real Estate Advancement Authority, however to fulfill the scale of what is required, the federal government should step in. I don’t see Peak as a failure. Summit Residence dedicated to making $30 million worth of repair work and repairing all offenses. Occupants will still have to hold them to it– and I desire the federal government playing an active role in offering occupants the tools and leverage to do exactly that.
The obvious location for real federal change is NYCHA, which is in desperate need of federal funding.There have actually simply
been decades of disinvestment that have left us with this substantial hole in NYCHA simply to bring things back up to the requirements that they must be. It’s actually disgusting that the federal government has drawn back on resources. And I believe I see it as part and parcel of the same kind of conservative attack on public goods that have actually been taking apart so many of our public programs and entitlements in this nation. We have to be funding NYCHA. We need to fix elevators, remediate lead and mold and infestations. What do you think about Mamdani’s strategy to make use of the PACT program to refurbish NYCHA buildings? I know it’s dealt with pushback from residents who fear bringing in private designers to handle public housing. I think the most crucial thing is that any public real estate development that is thinking about going through RAD/PACT has to be a really and deeply democratic procedure for occupants to decide if that’s going to occur or not. And I think the bigger picture is simply that the factor that we’re here is due to the fact that there have actually been decades of disinvestment from NYCHA and now occupants are left with this really difficult option. I desire the financial investments that occupants require in their structures so these structures are gorgeous and welcoming and that there are more of them, too. That’s the future I wish to defend in Congress. Obviously a great deal of these concepts are nonstarters in the existing political environment. Specifically with Trump as president. Why do it? What I can do
today is utilize my bully pulpit to fight for what working people should have– and to keep people organizing. Rent control is fully unlawful in more than 30 states. Even if a city like Chicago wishes to pass it, it can’t. I’m influenced by the project to bring lease control to Massachusetts right now, and I hope keeping it in the conversation assists tenants fight for it any place they are up until we have the power to win it nationally. Exist any parts you think you might be able to get done immediately? Realistically, bringing more money back for NYCHA, working with NYCHA tenant associations on instant fixes and things that they require, and supporting occupant unions around NY-7 that are arranging are what I’m actually thrilled to do. In the short-term, particularly under this administration, these are the important things that feel actionable. Sign Up for the Curbed Newsletter An everyday mix of stories about cities, city life, and our always progressing areas and horizons. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Personal Privacy Notification By submitting your e-mail, you consent to our Terms and Personal Privacy Notice and to receive e-mail correspondence from us