Overview
- The transition website lists Linen on the Committee on the Criminal Legal System, following a Nov. 26 Instagram announcement by Until Freedom celebrating the selection.
- Linen, 49, was convicted in 1999 of two armed robberies of Bronx taxi drivers and served seven years before focusing on violence prevention, Rikers volunteer work, and justice reform advocacy.
- Police unions, conservative groups, and former NYPD officials criticized the appointment, with COBA president Benny Boscio and retired Chief John Chell questioning its public-safety implications.
- The rollout drew scrutiny for typographical errors after the transition initially misspelled Linen’s first name as “Mysoone,” with the website later updated to correct multiple names, according to reports.
- The appointment tracks with Mamdani’s agenda to create a $1.1 billion Department of Community Safety, route non‑violent and mental‑health calls to civilian teams, halt NYPD encampment sweeps, and lower jail populations to move toward closing Rikers.