NYC Council confirms Mamdani housing boss who blasted local opposition as wealthy homeowner cartels

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial housing board nominee — who has dismissed local opposition to development as “wealthy homeowner cartels” — was easily confirmed by the City Council Thursday.John Mangin, the city Planning Department’s housing director and a key architect of recent citywide zoning changes, was tapped to chair the Board of Standards and Appeals by the City Council in an overwhelming 40-6-4 vote.The five-member independent BSA has the authority to grant zoning exceptions and can also override council objections to some affordable-housing projects — after recent changes to the city charter that voters OK’d. Mangin was instrumental in writing those controversial charter changes that created the shortcut to bypass council review.The council had viciously fought Mangin’s revisions in 2025, urging the Board of Elections to keep the charter changes off the ballot.After that effort failed, they rallied publicly against the plan and called on city residents to vote it down.“I don’t see how we go from a campaign against those proposals to put one of the principal architects in charge of the BSA,” said Council Member Frank Morano (R-Staten Island), one of the few who voted against Mangin’s confirmation.“We told New Yorkers that local input matters,” he added at the council’s stated meeting.The other “no” votes came from council members Joann Ariola (R-Queens), David Carr (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn), Vickie Paladino (R-Queens), Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) and Phil Wong (D-Queens), while Chris Banks (D-Brooklyn), Eric Dinowitz (D-Bronx), Linda Lee (D-Queens) and Christopher Marte (D-Manhattan) abstained from the vote.The change of heart from the council came after Mangin convinced members to back him during one-on-one meetings, according to Speaker Julie Menin (D-Manhattan).“We had concerns from a good number of members in the beginning,” Menin said Thursday after announcing she would vote in favor of his confirmation. �...