Small Landlords Brace for Property Seizure Push in New York Congress Races
Democratic Socialists of America candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier won their New York City Democratic primaries Tuesday and are expected to win their general elections this fall. Valdez, a state assembly member representing parts of Brooklyn and Queens, defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the 7th Congressional District to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez. Avila Chevalier, a Queens assembly member, beat five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District covering upper Manhattan and The Bronx. Both candidates ran on platforms explicitly calling for federal legislation to seize properties from building owners they categorize as slumlords and implement nationwide rent control.
Valdez pledged on her campaign website to “take buildings away” from certain property owners and amend the low-income housing tax credit to mandate long-term rent stabilization. Avila Chevalier, a public defender investigator and CUNY doctoral student, published a similar plan for property seizure and national rent control. Both candidates criticized their opponents for accepting real estate industry donations and framed their platforms as protections for working-class tenants against landlord profiteering. The two had backing from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and aligned their housing proposals with his “Block by Block” plan.
Small Property Owners of New York, which represents operators of nearly 5,700 housing units, warned that the candidates’ proposals would face resistance from property rights advocates in Congress. Board president Ann Korchak said government mandates and restrictive laws already prevent small owners from maintaining buildings, and characterized the DSA housing agenda as economically unworkable outside left-leaning urban districts. Property owner Adrian Lawrence argued that freezing rents offers only short-term fixes and called for government support to build more housing and provide tenant subsidies instead. The Real Estate Board of New York responded with a measured statement saying it would engage with officials focused on increasing housing supply and economic growth.
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