1) Rent Freeze and Tenant-First Housing Policies
Who sues: Rent Stabilization Association; Community Housing Improvement Program; individual landlords/LLCs.
Claims: Increased landlord-tenant court filings, Article 78 and declaratory judgment actions alleging arbitrary/capricious Rent Guidelines Board decisions, statutory conflicts with the Rent Stabilization Law/ETPA, and federal due process/takings claims.
2) Fare-Free Buses and MTA Conflict
Who sues: State of New York; MTA Board; taxpayer petitioners under GML § 51 (Prosecution of officers for illegal acts).
Claims: State preemption, funding authority violations, ultra vires municipal expenditures, interference with a state-controlled transit system.
3) $30 Minimum Wage Plan
Who sues: Chamber of Commerce; National Federation of Independent Business (“NFIB”); restaurant and retail groups.
Claims: State labor-law preemption, ERISA conflicts, Commerce Clause, municipal overreach; declaratory and injunctive relief.
4) City-Run Grocery / “Public Option” Retail
Who sues: Supermarket associations; franchise owners; municipal taxpayers.
Claims: Ultra vires and waste (GML § 51), procurement violations, interference with private enterprise.
5) Policing and Accountability Expansion
Who sues: NYPD unions (PBA, SBA, DEA); correction officers’ unions; potentially national unions if federal issues arise.
Claims: The Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act (“Taylor Law”)/collective bargaining challenges, scope-of-duty disputes, retaliation theories. Expect an increase in plaintiff civil-rights filings under NYC’s local cause of action (no qualified-immunity defense).
6) Rikers, Homeless Services, and Conditions Cases
Who sues: Legal Aid; prisoners’ rights counsel; DOJ/monitors; disability advocates.
Claims: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Law); ADA; Eighth/Fourteenth Amendment; consent-decree enforcement; Article 78 for right-to-shelter issues.
7) Immigration and Sanctuary Policy
Who sues: Federal DOJ (if hostile administration); ICE-aligned groups; State AG if state-law conflict.
Claims: Supremacy Clause; Spending Clause conditions/loss of grants; anti-commandeering. The City may counter-sue as plaintiff.
8) Public Power and Utility Control
Who sues: Con Edison; National Grid; utility bondholders.
Claims: Takings; Contract Clause; PSC/FERC jurisdiction; eminent-domain valuation challenges.
9) Education Governance and DOE Policy Shifts
Who sues: Parent coalitions; United Federation of Teachers (“UFT”); charter networks; advocacy groups.
Claims: Article 78; state constitutional issues; ADA/IDEA; Title VI; disputes over mayoral control and class-size mandates.
10) Procurement, Budgeting, and Bond Power
Who sues: GML § 51 taxpayer plaintiffs; municipal finance stakeholders; contractors/vendors.
Claims: Illegal expenditures; bonding-authority overreach; spending-clause concerns; procurement irregularities.
THE ANSWER
If New York is going to avoid years of reactive courtroom warfare, the only answer is legal and legislative guardrails now. Lawmakers, municipal attorneys, unions, property owners, and agencies must prepare for preemptive challenges rather than wait for crisis litigation. This is not about partisan ideology — it is about preventing the collapse of court function, budget integrity, and municipal authority under the weight of predictable lawsuits.
Also published on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/attorney-susan-chana-lask-lawsuits-crush-new-yorks-mayor-lask-esq–a2mce/
Analysis by Susan Chana Lask, New York civil-rights and appellate attorney.
Susan Chana Lask – Wiseberg Case Dismissal & Sanctions Outcome