Mamdani walks back plan to oust NYC ‘racial equity’ leader

(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is walking back plans to replace the head of the city's "racial equity" watchdog panel after a backlash from the city's black community.

Mamdani reportedly sent a letter to the city council earlier this week announcing his intention to replace Commission on Racial Equity Chairwoman Linda Tigani with Christopher Alexander, the executive director of New York’s NAACP, as part of a shakeup in the agency.

“Our administration and residents across our city owe Linda Tigani thanks for her work to advance racial equity across the five boroughs," Mamdani said in a Thursday statement announcing the change of leadership. "As Linda’s tenure concludes next July, we look forward to welcoming Chris Alexander as CORE’s next leader."

But the move, first reported by the New York Times, drew immediate pushback from New York City's black and Latino leaders. They complained to City Council Speaker Julie Menin that the move appeared to be retaliatory.

In an Oct. 27 letter to Mamdani, the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus called on the mayor to keep Tigani in the job, saying she would "preserve continuity" in CORE's "planning, partnerships, and implementation." They said leadership change "risks interrupting that progress, diverting staff capacity, and requiring communities and partners to rebuild relationships central to the work's success."

"We recognize that appointment and reappointment processes are important mechanisms of governance and accountability," they wrote. "However, even when unintentional, uncertainty or disruption arising from these processes can be detrimental to the very work an institution is charged with carrying out."

Mamdani and Menin later issued a joint statement saying the transition will be delayed for a year. Alexander will take over as chair and executive director on Aug. 1, 2027. Tigani, who has led the panel since 2023, will remain in the position through July 31, 2027, the statement said.

Mamdani and Tigani have clashed over the past year after his administration released a draft racial equity report that excluded references to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

She also previously sued the city after a draft of the racial equity plan, which was originally due in 2024 under former Mayor Eric Adams, wasn't released. Adams stepped down in January after bowing out of his reelection bid. In August a state Superior Court Judge ruled that the city had delayed the plan and ordered it to release it.

Mamdani's draft plan calls for anti-racism training for all city employees, pay equity initiatives, and improving data collection on racial disparities across New York City's five boroughs.

The wrangling over the equity plan comes as President Donald Trump has restricted diversity, equity and inclusion programs on the federal level, and as some companies and local governments have backed away from DEI initiatives amid public backlash.