Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s tumultuous relationship with the leader of New York City’s Commission on Racial Equity has apparently reached a breaking point.
The mayor has taken steps to replace the chairwoman, Linda Tigani, an outspoken critic of the administration’s handling of the city’s first, long-delayed racial equity plan.
In a statement on Tuesday, he proposed replacing Ms. Tigani, who has led the commission since it was formed in 2023, with Christopher Alexander, executive director of the NAACP New York State Conference.
But faith leaders and the City Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, whose members make up almost 70 percent of the Council, have called on the mayor to leave Ms. Tigani in place during what they said was a critical period for the agency.
The work of studying reparations and a truth and reconciliation process is entering a “critical foundational stage,” the caucus wrote in a letter sent on Tuesday to Mr. Mamdani. Retaining Ms. Tigani would “preserve continuity” in the process, the letter said.
Mr. Mamdani thanked Ms. Tigani in his statement, but did not address the reason for the change. He cited Mr. Alexander’s work at the NAACP and his efforts behind the legalization of cannabis in expressing confidence that he would “deliver for those communities that have been historically underserved, while remaining undeterred in holding us accountable should we fall short.”
The commission came into being after voters approved a ballot measure in November 2022 that required city agencies to create racial equity plans. But the city — under Mr. Mamdani and his predecessor, Eric Adams — failed to do so in a timely manner.
Then, in a draft of the racial equity report, the Mamdani administration removed several references to diversity, equity and inclusion to avoid antagonizing the Trump administration. Ms. Tigani also said the report lacked City Charter-mandated elements such as a vision to increase racial equity in budgeting and policymaking.
Ms. Tigani characterized the mayor’s push to remove her as a “deeply political decision” that “undermines the independence” of the commission. She also questioned the mayor’s commitment to racial equity and justice, and compared herself to Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner who is highly regarded by most civic and business leaders, but has drawn complaints from police reform and civil libertarian advocates.
“So you’re willing to keep Jessica Tisch, who is allowing for our people to be beaten and killed with no accountability to officers,” Ms. Tigani said. “But the Black woman that’s holding you accountable in racial equity, this is the leadership that you’re saying you don’t want in the city.”
Ms. Tigani inflamed the situation on Monday, when she appeared on a streamed Instagram conversation with two R&B singers, Kelly Price and Tamar Braxton, who criticized the mayor. Ms. Tagani will appear at a rally Wednesday on the steps of City Hall with supporters.
Christopher Marte, a councilman from Manhattan who is the co-chair of the caucus, said Ms. Tagani was putting a spotlight on issues such as police reform and affordability. To remove her now was “ill timing,” he said.
Any change to the commission’s top leadership requires the approval of the mayor and Julie Menin, the speaker of the City Council, who indicated that she was inclined to back her members and oppose Ms. Tigani’s removal.
“After speaking with members of the Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus,” said Jack Lobel, a spokesman for Ms. Menin, “Speaker Menin conveyed to Mayor Mamdani her colleagues’ view that Ms. Tigani be allowed to remain in her position for an extended period.”
If the mayor and the speaker cannot agree on a replacement by Friday, Ms. Tigani’s term will be extended until July.
Mr. Mamdani has worked to improve his relationship with Black leaders after he won the Democratic primary for mayor without the majority support of Black voters. The mayor successfully worked to win Black support during the general election and remains popular with Black voters, according to the most recent polls.
But he has also made what several Black leaders felt were unforced errors. In a break from tradition, he did not initially hire a Black deputy mayor, but eventually named a Black woman to lead the Office of Community Safety as deputy mayor.
Mr. Mamdani later infuriated many Black homeowners when he threatened to raise property taxes by 9.5 percent if the state did not go along with his tax-the-rich proposals.
The mayor has said he is open to the idea of reparations and has called the racial equity report a pathway to “solve decades of neglect and discrimination.”
Jennifer Jones Austin, an informal adviser to the mayor who was recently appointed to lead the Civilian Complaint Review Board, praised the work that Ms. Tigani has done during her tenure, but said the mayor has the right to choose new leaders.
“I feel strongly that nobody’s entitled to a position,” Ms. Jones Austin said in an interview. “I may do a great job as C.C.R.B. chair, but when my term ends, my term ends.”
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