New York City landlords have pushed back against calls from Democratic Socialist activists to freeze rents and cap profits, arguing such policies would erode property owners' livelihoods and undermine the broader American dream of building wealth through investment. The dispute centres on claims made by NYC Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Gustavo Gordillo that landlords typically earn a 12% return on investment, a figure landlords dispute as misleading and unrepresentative of their actual costs and margins.

Landlords Jose Tur and Natalia Bonanno spoke out to detail the financial pressures they say make such returns unrealistic once expenses, maintenance and taxes are accounted for. The debate reflects wider tensions in New York City politics over housing affordability, rent regulation and the influence of socialist-aligned figures on rental policy debates.