Lliam Finn, a senior financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, has decided not to serve as a public representative on the board, less than two weeks after Adams appointed him, three sources with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The real deal Wednesday. This gives the mayor less than 12 hours to find a replacement appointment before leaving office. It is unclear whether he will be able to do so.
A spokesperson for the mayor did not immediately comment. Finn did not return a message asking for more information.
Adams this month announced the appointment of two new members to the board, Finn and Sagar Sharma, an attorney with Legal Services NYC’s housing unit, as tenant representatives.
He also reappointed landlord attorney Christina Smyth as owner’s representative and Arpit Gupta as a public representative.
The last-minute appointments were seen by some as an attempt to sabotage Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election promise to freeze rents for stabilized tenants for four years. The city’s Rent Guidelines Board decides which rent increases are allowed for one- and two-year leases, although mayors have influenced their decisions.
The appointments meant that most of the board members in Mamdani’s first year would be Adams’ appointees. When he takes office, he can replace four members (the chairman, as well as the members whose term of office has expired and who represent the public, owners and tenants). He can replace the other five in 2027.
If Adams does not replace Finn, Mamdani would have five potential appointees in his first year as president, meaning he may have an easier time convincing the board to agree to a rent freeze. However, the board is supposed to be an independent body, and a rent freeze could lead to a legal challenge from landlords.
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