Rafael and Kirk return to the subject of homelessness with a focus on unhoused New Yorkers living with mental illness. Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, joins The Housing Problem to talk about housing as a critical foundation for addressing mental illness.

Rafael and Kirk recap the 2025 NYC mayoral election, including Mayor-elect Mamdani's first hires, what's needed to make a rent-freeze feasible, what's broken at City Hall that needs fixing, and what a successful first 100 days would look like.

Rafael and Kirk kick off season 5 with Alec Schierenbeck, executive director of the NYC Charter Revision Commission to give voters a primer on the major housing measures on the ballot this Election Day.

Rafael and Kirk talk to Deborah VanAmerongen of Nixon Peabody about Mitchell Lama. What is it, how close did Timothee Chalamet come to getting it right, and is Mitchell Lama 2.0 the easy solution so many NY politicians think it is?

Rafael and Kirk talk to Andrew Kimball, President and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, better known as EDC.

Rafael and Kirk talk to Doug Apple, chair of the Rent Guidelines Board, about the contentious process of deciding what owners of NYC's 1 million rent stabilized apartments can charge tenants. Plus, managing scarcity and the 2019 rent stabilization law.

Rafael and Kirk talk to former New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson about what the Wall Street Journal called "the city that defied NIMBY." They dive into how the New Rochelle model works and if it can be replicated.

Rafael and Kirk talk to Molly Park, commissioner of NYC's Department of Social Services, about the real drivers of homelessness in New York, the city's unique right to shelter, and how to house our neighbors with the most acute mental health challenges. Also, supportive housing, how to improve rental assistance, and using project-based vouchers to create homes.