Zohran Mamdani appointee resigns after antisemitic posts resurface

Catherine Almonte Da Costa resigned a day after New York's mayor-elect named her to lead his administration's recruitment strategy.

An appointee tapped to lead New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's recruitment efforts resigned Thursday after antisemitic social media posts resurfaced.

Catherine Almonte Da Costa resigned a day after Mamdani named her director of appointments, with responsibilities to strategize recruitment in his administration.

"I spoke with the Mayor-elect this afternoon, apologized, and expressed my deep regret for my past statements. These statements are not indicative of who I am," Da Costa said in a statement through Mamdani’s transition team.

"As the mother of Jewish children, I feel a profound sense of sadness and remorse at the harm these words have caused. As this has become a distraction from the work at hand, I have offered my resignation," she added.

In remarks after Mamdani announced her appointment Wednesday, Da Costa had described “building a government that is both mission-driven and deeply capable, a government staffed by diverse leaders with the skill and the experience to turn vision into results” and recruiting talent “to reflect the rich diversity of race, faith, geography, language and ethnicity that defines the city.”