Catherine Almonte da Costa has been announced as the next Mayor’s Director of Human Resources. The statements were from 2011 and 2012.
What’s next for New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani?
New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani has won, but what challenges might he face once he takes office?
The person appointed to head the incoming administration of New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani resigned on December 18, citing resurfacing of anti-Semitic social media posts.
The day before, Catherine Almonte da Costa was announced as the mayor’s next director of human resources, leading the administration’s recruitment efforts for the city’s leadership. She previously held positions in city government and the private sector, including Sotheby’s, according to a Dec. 17 news release from Mamdani’s transition team.
On Dec. 18, the Anti-Defamation League published a series of posts from 2011 and 2012 in which da Costa made anti-Semitic metaphors on da Costa’s old X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mamdani, who will be New York’s first Muslim mayor when he takes office on January 1, has faced criticism from many Jewish groups over his stance on Israel and Palestine. Exit polls showed that most Jewish voters did not support Mamdani. New York is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
In 2011, when she was about 19 years old, da Costa posted, “Money-hungry Jews, hmm,” as well as, “Wow! I got promoted to the office on the second floor today! Working with rich Jews.” In a 2012 post, he referred to a train line as the “Jewish train.”
Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekek confirmed that da Costa had submitted his resignation.
“I spoke with the mayor-elect this afternoon and apologized and expressed my deep regret for my past comments,” da Costa said in a statement. “These comments are not indicative of who I am. As a mother of Jewish children, I feel deep sadness and remorse for the harm these words have caused. I have tendered my resignation because this has interfered with the work at hand.”
Mamdani said in a statement that he had accepted his resignation.
“The Duchess of Cambridge has expressed deep remorse for her past comments and has offered to resign, which I have accepted,” he said.
The New York and New Jersey chapters of the ADL, an organization founded to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination, criticized da Costa’s social media footprint from more than a decade ago as “indefensible,” saying it included “classic anti-Semitic tropes and disparaging content against Jews.”
“While we appreciate Ms. da Costa’s association with members of the Jewish community, her post requires an immediate explanation. An explanation is needed not just from Ms. da Costa, but from the next mayor,” the ADL branch said in X.
ADL has criticized Mamdani. The day after Mamdani’s election victory on November 4, the ADL, which staunchly supports Israel, began tracking anti-Semitism in the incoming Mamdani government.
Hayley Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, an advocacy group, said on social media that she was happy to see da Costa’s resignation.
“The views she expressed are unacceptable and intolerable,” Soifer said. She had no place in the mayor’s office of the city with the world’s largest Jewish population, especially at a time when anti-Semitism was on the rise. ”
Da Costa’s husband, Ricky da Costa, is Jewish. He is a deputy to the city’s highest-ranking Jewish official, Comptroller Brad Lander, who mutually endorsed Mr. Mamdani in the Democratic primary for mayor and enthusiastically supported him in the general election.
In a post for X, Ricky da Costa said, “As a Jew who is married to Kat, I can guarantee you that she has come a long way since that stupid tweet she made when she was 19 years old. Her repentance, like everything else about her, is heartfelt and sincere, and she is working hard for a New York City where everyone is safe.”
Since being elected, Mamdani has attempted to reach out to the Jewish community.
A day after the December 14 shooting that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah event in Australia’s Bondi Beach, Mamdani visited the religious movement’s founder’s grave in Brooklyn. Mr Mamdani called the Bondi Beach attack a “horrifying and despicable act of anti-Semitism”.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
