Overview
- Announcing the hires during his first full week in office, Mamdani introduced the appointees at Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens.
- Christine Clarke, a longtime Legal Services NYC litigator and civil-rights advocate, becomes chair and commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights.
- Clarke will report to Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and succeeds Annabel Palma.
- Clarke cited housing discrimination as a top priority, pledging to tackle yearslong delays in tenant complaint resolutions noted by the state comptroller.
- Simonia Brown, appointed senior adviser for policy and strategy, will work with Albany on the mayor’s affordability agenda and report to First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, drawing on prior roles under Bill de Blasio and with Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.