Mamdani backtracks on rental voucher expansion

(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is walking back a key campaign pledge to drop the city’s opposition to a massive expansion of a taxpayer-funded rental voucher program.

The City’s Law Department announced this week that it is appealing a July ruling by the Appellate Division of New York’s Supreme Court compelling City Hall to expand eligibility for the CityFHEPS rental assistance program.

The appeal continues a legal protracted fight by his predecessor, Democrat Eric Adams, who battled in court with the City Council over its push to expand the program during his final year in office.

But it’s also a flip-flop for Mamdani, a democratic socialist who promised on the campaign trail last year to drop the city’s opposition to expansion of rental assistance if elected.

A Mamdani spokesperson said the administration has been negotiating “in good faith” with the City Council and other parties to the lawsuit to reach a settlement, but was unable to reach an agreement ahead of Wednesday’s deadline t...