A Manhattan judge on Wednesday ordered New York City officials in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration to turn over written communications with the independent Rent Guidelines Board. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by landlords seeking to overturn the board’s historic vote to freeze rents on roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Brendan Lantry issued the limited discovery order, requiring production of communications between City Hall personnel, including the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement, the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, and the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, and Rent Guidelines Board members or staff from January 1 through the June vote. The order excludes internal communications within the mayor’s office and within the board itself.

Landlords argue that the board’s 7-1 decision on June 25 to set zero percent increases for both one-year and two-year leases resulted from improper influence by the Mamdani administration rather than independent analysis of landlords’ financial data. The freeze, the first two-year freeze in the board’s history, applies to leases beginning October 1, 2026.

Justice Lantry noted Mamdani’s campaign video in which he promised to “freeze the rent” every year in office and called it “a guarantee.” The judge wrote that the question arises how the mayor would fulfill that pledge without communicating with the board. He also referenced the resignation of board member Christina Smyth, who stepped down in protest before the vote and accused the panel of reaching a predetermined outcome.

Discovery is rare in Article 78 proceedings challenging government actions, but Lantry found the allegations raised sufficient concern to warrant it. The landlords sued in July after the board’s vote, which Mamdani hailed as a victory for tenants. A discovery conference is scheduled for September 21.

The case continues as the freeze’s effective date approaches, with landlords maintaining that the board disregarded evidence of rising operating costs for property owners.