Mamdani freezes when asked for details on how he’ll deliver key housing promise

Zohran Mamdani on Monday only spewed another meaningless, baffling word salad when asked how he would deliver on his ambitious promise to freeze the rents for stabilized units across the Big Apple.

“We would use the full extent of powers that we would have as the mayor with the Rent Guidelines Board,” the leading mayoral candidate responded when quizzed by reporters over how he would specifically out-maneuver Mayor Eric Adams’ latest plan to stack the agency with members who would tank Mamdani’s keystone proposed policy.

“I continue to be confident of our ability to deliver a rent freeze, and I continue to be confident that we will be able to match whatever last minute betrayal that Eric Adams tries to concoct, because we’ve seen it’s not just that he’s actively looking to betray New Yorkers,” the Democratic Socialist said, without offering a scintilla of detail.

A political operative later quipped to The Post, “It’s hard to fix something when you don’t even know what tools are in your toolbox.”

Mamdani’s latest light-weight response to a crucial question on the minds of tens of thousands of New Yorkers is a trend for the lefty front-runner, who has been noticeably mum on other pivotal housing issues including proposals on the upcoming ballot.

Beyond selecting the next mayor, New Yorkers will be able to vote on ballot measures No. 2,3 and 4 which would consolidate more power into the mayor’s office to create housing.

As The Post exclusively reported, Mamdani’s silence on the issue has already started to ruffle the feathers of even City Council members who endorsed him for mayor.

“From the start of his proposal for a rent freeze, he clearly did not understand the role of the Rent Guidelines Board,” said Jay Martin, the executive vice president of the New York Apartment Association.

Longtime political operative Bill Cunningham told The Post that Mamdani’s mealy-mouthed responses were hurting his image right as the election hits a fever pitch.

Here are some highlights from the final 2025 NYC mayoral debate

“He’s trying to play ball control, and this is not college football or basketball. This is the pros, buddy,” Cunningham said, comparing Mamdani’s weak tactic to trying to run out the clock starting in the third quarter of a football game.

“You can try to run the clock out, but two weeks of running the clock out is a lot of clock — let me tell you.

“You know, one of the things about being mayor of New York, whether people like you or dislike you — they expect you to be decisive,” Cunningham said.

Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to Post requests for comment.