One of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s new appointees resigned after just a day on the job over decade-old social media posts that recalled antisemitic tropes.
Newly minted Director of Appointments Catherine Almonte Da Costa tendered her resignation this afternoon just hours after her past comments came to light.
“As the mother of Jewish children, I feel a profound sense of sadness and remorse at the harm these words have caused,” she said in a statement. “As this has become a distraction from the work at hand, I have offered my resignation.”
In a series of social media posts, Da Costa fired off statements that included: “Money hungry Jews smh”; “Woo! Promoted to the upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps.”; and “Far Rockaway train is the Jew train,” according to the
Judge Street Journal, which highlighted the posts before Da Costa deleted her X account.
Mamdani has struggled to win over Jewish communities, which — uncomfortable with his past criticism of Israel and his failure to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” — staunchly opposed his candidacy. The newly revealed tweets from a now-former top aide do little to help him mend those
deep divisions, as evidenced by social media posts from the Anti-Defamation League, which has a
contentious relationship with the incoming administration.
