Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, named a graduate of Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law who has defended anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, as the inaugural director of the city’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.
The mayor said on Sunday that he was creating an office “that dedicates itself to protecting the health, safety and dignity of queer New Yorkers.”
He named Taylor Brown, formerly assistant New York state attorney general for civil rights and a former ACLU attorney, as the director of the city Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.
“Taylor will be the first out trans woman to lead a city office in New York City history,” he said.
“The queer community, as well as intersecting communities and adjacent communities, are under extreme attack in this country from all angles, it seems, from the highest levels of government to society in general and to even sometimes people that we consider friendly fire, unfortunately,” Brown said.
Brown posted on her LinkedIn page in support of Mahmoud Khalil, who was a leader of antisemitic protests at Columbia University and whom Mamdani recently invited to dine at Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence.
During the press conference, during which Mamdani announced the new office, he was asked about reporting that his wife illustrated an essay by an author who called Israelis parasites, cockroaches and demons.
“Was your wife aware of that writer’s kind of rhetoric before she took that job?” a reporter asked. “Do you think that type of rhetoric is acceptable about it?”
“I think that that rhetoric is patently unacceptable. I think it’s reprehensible,” Mamdani said. “As is common for freelance illustrators, the first lady was commissioned to illustrate an excerpt of a book by a third party. She has never engaged with or met with the author nor had she seen the tweets that you’re referring to.”
“We stand in our administration, and I can tell you our administration, which is separate from the first lady, as she doesn’t have a role within it against bigotry of all forms,” he said. “We do so unflinchingly because every single New Yorker deserves a place that they can call home without having to be wary of being their full self when they do so.”
Mamdani’s wife also reportedly liked social media posts glorifying the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attacks. She was reportedly an adviser to his mayoral campaign and has been described as an adviser to the mayor.
