REFinBlog

March 19, 2026

Can Mayor Mamdani Freeze the Rent? It’s Complicated.

  I published a column with Nestor Davidson in Vital City, Can Mayor Mamdani Freeze the Rent? It’s Complicated. It reads, Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor who promised as a candidate to freeze the rent for rent-stabilized units each … Continue reading →

February 19, 2026

Mamdani’s First 50 Days: Housing Edition

I was interviewed for AMNewYork’s story, Mamdani’s First 50 Days. It reads, in part, For Professor David Reiss, a Cornell University housing expert and former chair of the Rent Guidelines Board, the mayor’s housing orientation so far is unmistakably pro-tenant, … Continue reading →

February 17, 2026

When Tokenized Real-World Assets Collide With The Real World

Biying Cheng and I have a column in Law 360, When Tokenized Real-World Assets Collide With Real World. It reads, The city of Detroit filed a public nuisance lawsuit in July of last year in the Michigan Circuit Court for the Third … Continue reading →

December 10, 2025

Housing Stability in the Mamdani Administration

I am looking forward to the discussion tonight on Housing Stability in the Mamdani Administration, hosted by the Urban Design Forum. While it is sold out, we will be discussing “what a potential rent freeze may look like under the … Continue reading →

November 5, 2025

Understanding NYC’s Rent-Stabilized Housing Stock

I will be moderating an NYU Furman Center Policy Breakfast on NYC’s Rent-Stabilized Housing: Understanding Different Segments of the Stock and Why It Matters on November 19th. The link to register is here. Nearly one million apartments in New York … Continue reading →

VIDEO: Retrenchment and Rollback in Consumer Protection and Housing

The video for the ABA Professor’s Corner webinar on Retrenchment and Rollback: Federal Consumer Protection and Housing has been posted. Rosa Newman (Elon) moderated and I spoke alongside Kathleen Engel (Suffolk) and Julie Patterson Forrester Rogers (SMU). The session explored “the federal government’s … Continue reading →

October 30, 2025

What’s Andrew Cuomo’s Plan to Help New York City Renters?

The New York Times interviewed me in a video, What’s Andrew Cuomo’s Plan to Help New York City Renters? The transcript reads, “Can you describe rent prices in New York?” “High.” “Expensive.” ”Out of control.” ”The rent here is absolutely … Continue reading →