Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appoints Veteran City Leader Anthony Shorris as President and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Today is a very exciting day. We are gathered here alongside leaders in our administration, and I want to acknowledge our Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su; Council Member Virginia Maloney, chair of the Committee on Economic Development; and a special thank you to Tony's wife Maria [and] his son Michael. I'm proud to be here today to announce our appointee for president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation. The EDC holds an enormously important role, not just bringing businesses to the five boroughs, not just steering the economic direction of our city, but charting a vision of prosperity, an opportunity wide enough for all New Yorkers to recognize themselves within it. As City Hall takes on the affordability crisis gripping our city as we work to reimagine economic models that give so much to so few and deny so many others the basics of a dignified life, we believe that economic development and economic justice must go hand in hand. This is no radical concept. If anything, it is unifying. New Yorkers struggling to make rent and Fortune 500 companies striving to attract the top talent in their headquarters in Midtown agree that if working people cannot afford to live in New York City, New York City itself will not succeed. In the words of economist Joseph Stiglitz: “The only true and sustainable prosperity is shared prosperity.” That belief has guided our search for the next president of the EDC. Through the process, I have had the immense privilege of speaking with many of our city's business leaders, many who shared our vision [and] others who raised thoughtful, productive challenges — all who love our city deeply. After conducting these interviews, I am thrilled to name Tony Shorris as our next president of the Economic Development Corporation. Many of you may already be familiar with Tony. He is a veteran of City government, a respected business leader and a long-time educator. He has served in three mayoral administrations with his first role as deputy budget director under Mayor Ed Koch and his most recent as first deputy mayor under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Time and again, he has proven himself unafraid to use the levers of city to deliver real benefits for working New Yorkers. Under Mayor Koch, he oversaw the execution of the ambitious 10-year housing plan, creating more than 180,000 units of affordable housing across our city. As first deputy mayor, he led efforts to make the dream of universal pre-K a reality in our city. Then, like now, many said such ambition was unachievable. Today, universal pre-K and 3-K is a fact of life for nearly 100,000 children across our city. Economic justice has long lived at the heart of his commitment to public service. He delivered a $15 minimum wage for 50,000 city workers, and an analysis conducted by the Independent Budget Office found that during Tony's tenure, the administration was able to reverse the trend of widening income disparity for the first time in decades. And as anyone who knows Tony will tell you, he does not just know how to make government work better. He genuinely loves this work. Who else would have a New York Times wedding announcement that describes the bride and groom as “city junkies”? In fact, he and his wife Maria, a former chief speechwriter to Mayor David Dinkins, said they look forward to watching unedited mayoral press conferences on WNYC TV, the way other couples look forward watching Seinfeld. To Tony, Maria and their son Michael, I hope this in-person version lives up to what you watched on TV. Our suits fit a little better now, we hope, especially those of my press secretary, Joe Calvello, that is. I first met Tony at a diner for breakfast in the spring of 2025. What stood out to me — besides the way his eyes lit up at terms like OTPS and baselining — was his enthusiasm for this new era in our politics, and how more could be won for both businesses and working New Yorkers. He holds a clear vision for how to leverage the unique position of the economic development corporation to work with businesses that want to build and thrive in New York City. He speaks often of how we can pair economic growth with economic mobility. In his words: “There are no fixed allies or adversaries in this work, only potential partners.” That mindset is exactly what we need from our EDC president as we usher in a new era in New York City. And I can think of no better civic leader to partner with Tony in this work than our second appointee of the day, former FTC Commissioner Lina Khan. I'm thrilled to announce that Lina will be joining the EDC as its newest board chair. As commissioner of the FTC, Lina Khan consistently delivered for working Americans, taking aim at the corporate monopolies that not only hurt working people at the checkout line, but make life harder for the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy. As co-chair of our administration's transition team, she helped City Hall find and appoint leaders committed to economic justice and helped to craft an agenda that put working New Yorkers at the heart of our first hundred days, and every day since, by identifying common sense reforms that quickly improve both consumers' and workers' lives. And not only is Lina a brilliant leader and someone I am proud to call a friend, she knows what it means to be a working parent in this city, having recently delivered her second baby. As Tony shepherds the EDC into a new moment of economic innovation, including the implementation of five city-run grocery stores — one in each borough — I know he and Lina will accomplish a great deal together. Frankly, this feels like the economic wonk's version of the 1992 Olympic basketball “Dream Team.” It brings me great pleasure to say that today's appointees not only share a vision for the future of this office, but a commitment, too, to executing on it. Lina, we are proud to have you on board. Tony, you bring that rare mix of both decades of experience and an open, expansive view of what the future could still yet hold. I look forward to partnering with you both every step of the way, so that we may reach new heights for every business, every entrepreneur and every New Yorker who calls the city home and wants to be a part of its enduring promise. Thank you. And now with that, I'm going to pass it over to our new EDC president, Tony Shorris.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'd like to provide an update on the Legionnaires' cases reported on the Upper East Side. We have identified 82 cases of Legionnaires' disease in association with this cluster. Five New Yorkers have lost their lives in connection with the disease. I'm heartbroken by these losses and send my deepest condolences to their loved ones; our city mourns alongside you. Fifty-six New Yorkers have been discharged from the hospital after receiving treatment; thirteen people contracted the disease but were never hospitalized; eight people remain in the hospital at this time. We wish them a swift recovery. To all concerned New Yorkers, I want to reiterate that Legionnaires' disease is not communicable from person to person. All New Yorkers can continue to drink water from the tap, to bathe, to shower, to cook and to use air conditioners at home, no matter what zip code they call their own. Furthermore, we believe that we have now eliminated the source of the initial cluster. There has been no one with new symptoms reported in more than 10 days and no new diagnoses in a week. I want to thank the quick and aggressive actions taken by our New York City Health Department. While in the past, the city began investigations after three confirmed cases in a tight time frame in geographic area, the department acted at the earliest indication of a potential cluster, launching our investigation on Thursday, July 2, at which point there were just two confirmed cases. We immediately mobilized to test all cooling towers in the investigation zone. When any tests came back positive, we ordered the respective building owners to fully clean and disinfect their cooling towers, and all have complied. This is the most aggressive remediation and enforcement strategy that our city has ever taken to eliminate the source of Legionella bacteria. And there is always more work to be done. Going forward, the New York City Health Department will continue to report test results and inspect cooling towers, enforce rigorous maintenance and oversight regulations, and hold non-compliant building owners accountable. I want to thank the New York City Health Department and our public health experts as they work around the clock to keep New Yorkers safe, healthy and informed. For the latest information, always visit NYC.gov/legionnaires.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I'll go with the first question, then I'll go to the second question. I think on the first, as you know, we have been focused on cost-saving measures across City government, and I think that it does save money when you take the top talent from McKinsey instead of having to employ them for a contract. But in all seriousness, what I see in Tony is a breadth of experience that, as you've heard from Deputy Mayor Su, is experience that also looks at what the benefits are of insourcing and building public capacity at a time when outsourcing was all the vogue of how we could actually improve efficiency, and also a breadth of ambition. And sometimes the way it is caricatured is the more experience you have in City government, the less ambition you have for what city government can do. And one of the things that really stuck with me on that morning when we had breakfast at that diner was not only his willingness to speak to a candidate who at that point was still, were still a ways to go in that primary, but also the real sense of possibility of what City government could still offer and what we could bring together as a new administration to connect with the ideals that make the city what it is. And to your second question, I'm also going to invite our commissioner to just come up and join me. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAnd to the question about hiring as a whole, one of the first things that we did when we came into City Hall was looking at what the obstacles were in hiring. And one of them was a directive given to OMB of two for one of in making it impossible for agencies to actually hire unless they had a specific number of vacancies that were being created at the same agency. And while we were still pursuing and continue to pursue savings, we also wanted to take away the unnecessary roadblocks in how those hires could actually happen. That work both continues, though we have already implemented that, but looking to speed this up. And when it comes specifically to the ecologist that you were speaking of, we have also seen a number of those hires over the course of these last few months. I'll pass it over to our health commissioner.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, I think there was a moment during the course of the campaign where the EDC was described to me as the Swiss Army knife of City government. It is one of the most nimble and agile departments that the city has, and much of its agenda is a reflection of the administration's agenda at large. Yes, the EDC has been those things, and the EDC is also where we have the New York City ferry system. And it speaks to — even before I go further into this question, I do also just want to acknowledge that those that we have at the EDC today — Jeanny Pak as well — I really want to acknowledge their incredible work over these past six months. It is thanks to them that Tony is stepping into a role, not having to build all of this from the ground up. In fact, what he is inheriting is an intensive amount of preparation toward city-run grocery stores that showcases what is possible when the capacity of a corporation like EDC is matched with a vision that is measuring its success by whether it is reaching to address the problems of working New Yorkers. So, I think that there are a wide variety of examples, and what I see in Tony and what I see in Lina are two excellent public servants who understand both the ambition that has often characterized EDC and what a new era for EDC could look like.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWhat I will say is that we have long considered this to be a critical position in our administration. And we wanted to make sure that the way that we treated this process was also with the seriousness and the depth that this position requires, both in the fluency that it demands of someone and the imagination required to go beyond what historical precedent has seen when it comes to what this agency does. And we're talking about interviews that we've had over many months with incredible candidates, and what I can say is that Tony has long stood out to me as someone who both characterizes what is possible in City government and also the fluency required to get things done by having worked in a wide variety of positions both inside and outside of city government.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think that we actually had far more people than we had the time to interview in terms of a willingness to approach this job in the manner that we'd hoped for. However, we always wanted to ensure that we were fully confident in who we were picking and that's where we found ourselves with Tony.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, let me just first state this very clearly: What I agreed with was the citation of what the EDC has in the past helped to develop across our city. And the fact that what we are looking to develop goes beyond those examples and in fact typifies a new kind of approach. But I'll pass it over to Tony.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, we are incredibly excited by this program. It's a program where we are putting $100 million over a few years to address what has been described to us by affordable housing stewards as one of the most difficult rising costs that they have to deal with at this time, which is that of insurance. I've heard from a number of landlords of affordable housing that this is something that is rising by more than 100 percent in their own estimates. And what we've seen, I think in the example, though Leila might correct me, I think it's Milford Street Captive, is an example of what it can look like when you are pooling risk and actually able to provide insurance at a cost that not only reflects what that risk is but also is one that allows these landlords to continue to do business. So, I would say the prevailing directive with this entire process is how to deliver lower cost insurance for landlords who are currently being priced out of the market because of the manner in which the cost-of-living crisis is hitting them.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceDidn't the ICC put forward a warrant for Yahya Sinwar? Yes, but my point is that they did. And in the video, I made very clear, as I have before, that my interest in executing that warrant is not specific to Benjamin Netanyahu, but to anyone who they put a warrant towards for war crimes and crimes against humanity. And part of that is a reflection of a universal politics, and it is from a universal politics that I can look [at] October 7 and describe it for what it is, which is a horrific war crime. And I can also look at Benjamin Netanyahu and see the way that he has orchestrated this genocide and also deem him to similarly be a war criminal. And I think especially at a time when there are those in Washington who are discussing measures to take apart the International Criminal Court, what so many are looking for is a sense that there is, in fact, a rule of law across the world where there are crimes that are so grave that they offend all of humanity. And I believe that we should hold those who perpetrate them accountable, no matter who they are or where they're from. And when it comes to the ICC, they've put forward warrants, whether it's Yahya Sinwar, Benjamin Netanyahu, I think a few other members of the Israeli government. I believe all of them should be honored.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I'm frankly less interested in the politics of it all, more in the public health of it. And what I will say is that previous administration procedure had been that we would wait for the results of culture. And that would mean two weeks. We made the decision to do both culture tests and PCR tests. So that meant that we could actually test immediately, disinfect any of the cooling towers that came back, and then additionally, wait for the culture results. As you've mentioned, there are four additional culture results that came back positive beyond the PCRs. And the other point here is that we know that Legionnaires' is something that has affected our city over many, many years. And we are both trying to stop this cluster in the moment and ensure that we are not weakening our ability to stop it in the future. And when I sat with public health experts, what I was told time and again is that if we were to do a blanket disinfectant of every single cooling tower across the Upper East Side, that would weaken those cooling towers' ability to protect against Legionnaires in the years to come. And so, we want to make sure that everything we're doing gives people both the safety and the public health they deserve and the confidence that this isn't going to be something that returns. I'm going to pass it over to our commissioner to add some details.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'll just add one thing to what the commissioner said, and I also want to acknowledge the deputy mayor who's here, who's been overseeing a lot of this work. We will not rest until each and every New Yorker is living [with] the public health that they deserve. And that means not only continuing to address this cluster but doing the work after this point to ensure that what has become an annual event in New York City is one that we are developing far enhanced processes for. Because what we've found over the course of this process itself is that there are so many more procedures that the city had been taking years prior that, in fact, could be expedited. And I want to credit our Health Department and the leaders that are here on this stage for having taken that decision time and again, and we also know that while we are able to stand here and tell New Yorkers of the fact that no new symptoms have been developed for anyone in the last 10 days, [and] that we are confident we have found the source. We know that there are still New Yorkers who are in [the] hospital as a result of this cluster, and so we will continue to do this work and also continue to monitor this.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe are working on making sure that every single one of those cooling tower operators complies with our laws. And if they don't, there are consequences.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI've been very clear about the fact that I believe that the warrant that the International Criminal Court has placed upon Benjamin Netanyahu is one that should be honored. And I've also been clear about that fact that I would follow and respect our local laws. And so, I asked my team to do a review of all applicable law, and it's clear that the city does not have the authority to execute this warrant. However, what is also clear is that the federal government does have the opportunity to execute this warrant. And I call on the federal government to join the International Criminal Court and to execute both this warrant as well as any warrant that the International Criminal Court holds.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceJeff, you said that usually that kind of address is reserved for a more serious topic. Yesterday, I was on Staten Island for a meeting with faith leaders, and a young man from Gaza attended that meeting as part of an organization that houses refugees on Staten Island. He did not have one of his arms. He was one of the many children that have been maimed by this genocide. I think that is quite serious. I think there are tens of thousands. I do not think; I know. There are tens of thousands of children who have been maimed, who have been forced to undergo operations without anesthesia. And when we speak about the more than 70,000 Palestinians that have been killed. We know that likely that number is even higher, and yet we do not even know what it reaches. And also, we know that it is not a faraway issue. I have met Palestinian New Yorkers who have told me how they've spent decades in this city building their lives, saving money to send it back home to build a home in the village they grew up in only to see it obliterated in an instant with an Israeli airstrike. And then that same older New Yorker tells me of how his son called him and begged him to send him money for food, that his grandchild was starving, and that he couldn't do anything about it. And so, I say that this is something that has not only offended the conscience, the morals [and] the mere humanity of so many New Yorkers, but it has also ripped apart the lives of many who've been personally affected by it as well. And I view that as a very serious issue. And I think that it is incredibly important that we ensure that we have done all of our due diligence when conducting a review. And so, I wanted to ensure that no matter what we heard from anyone on the topic, that I actually asked my team to do that. I'm appreciative of their work.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThat's a review that I asked them to do. They made it clear that this is not possible through applicable law, and that is something that I now believe is clear: that the federal government has the authority to do and that they can execute. That's a review that I made clear that I wanted to see, and then we've had that conversation.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWell, I think what you'll actually find is that both Lina’s and Tony’s worldviews are aligned in looking to uplift working New Yorkers across the city and in understanding that we must also measure the economic strength of the city by whether it is able to lift up those who are currently being priced out of the city. And what I've seen even now in the incredible work of the civil servants we have at EDC is that there are so many who are currently there who are dedicated to this new vision. And I'm confident that in both of their appointments, what we're going to see is not only shared alignment, but also the execution of a vision that will have real tangible results for New Yorkers. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think one of the bedrocks of our city is protest. It is something that has been a part of what makes our city so special: that New Yorkers can express themselves, whether they are in support or in opposition, no matter [the] topic. And I've always said that when we respect our Constitution, we also respect our First Amendment. And here in New York City, it'll always be a place where you can exercise that. And when it comes to the first question, you know, I have made clear both that I believe that this is an arrest warrant that should be executed. And also, that I would follow the laws that we had and I would be respectful of those laws, and that is why I asked my administration to review of all applicable law, and I believe, however, in that same finding that the United States government does have the ability to both joining the International Criminal Court and execute that warrant, and that is something that I want to see happen.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'm simply saying that this is a city where — if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect. I leave it to New Yorkers themselves to make that decision. And when it comes to Palestinian New Yorkers who are disappointed, I understand it. Because we are talking about someone who has been charged with crimes against humanity. Someone who has visited this city on many an occasion and who has been welcomed by previous mayors. And I want to make it very clear that that welcome ends with me. I will not be welcoming Benjamin Netanyahu or any other war criminals when they come to this city, and I do believe that our federal government should join the International Criminal Court and ensure that there is accountability when it comes to crimes against humanity.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'll leave it to New Yorkers to make that determination. What I'll say is that my focus is on the public health of it all. And every conversation that I've had with our commissioner [and] with our deputy mayor has always been: How can we deliver for New Yorkers right now, those who are living in the Upper East Side, those [who] are fearful of contracting Legionnaires’, as well as those who have contracted Legionnaires. And what we've done time and time again is follow public health experts and their advice. And that is something that we will continue to do. Because we've seen what it looks like when public health is politicized across the country. We want this to be a city where it's clear that the guidance, the actions [and] the information that we share with New Yorkers, [are] done without any political incentive in mind, but rather with a public health incentive in mind. [To] your first question, to that, I always want to make sure that as the mayor, regardless of what others opine, we do a thorough review internally before coming to a decision.[Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI consider October 7 to be a horrific war crime. I've considered it to be something that should be deeply opposed with every single fiber of our being. And what I would also say is what brings me to my conclusions about Israel and Palestine, about the world beyond, is a belief in the universality of humanity. And what universality means is that we cannot pick and choose which crimes against humanity we oppose. We must be in opposition to all of them. And I think that, you know, to the earlier question of which ICC warrant would you honor, it has to be all of them. And I think that the other point to be made clear here is that I'm the mayor of every New Yorker, and that means that I am the mayor of those who agree with me and those who disagree with me and those who frankly don't even know what I think on any issue. And my responsibility is to deliver for all of those. And frankly, I know that there are Jewish New Yorkers who agree with my analysis, there are those who disagree with my analysis and my responsibility to them is to ensure that they are cherished, they are celebrated and they are safe in their city. And that never are they made to feel as if their opinions on any one issue is the precondition for that safety.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI would say that the International Criminal Court is a body that seeks to hold those across the world accountable for crimes against humanity, for war crimes [and] for things of that nature. And I think that the United States should not only be a party to that court but should also execute the warrants that that court issues. And what I have spoken up about, Nicolás Maduro, who I've also described appropriately as a dictator, is that the violation of international law is one that has to also be taken very seriously. It stems from the same belief in the International Criminal Court, and now he is here in New York City. On that day when the United States did violate international law, I made clear that I was in opposition to that, and it all stems from the same belief in how can there be a sanctity and something beyond an understanding of the world where might is right and justice is simply decided by those who are the strongest.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think we will consider any proposal that we believe to be helpful to both public health and awareness of public health. What I will say is that we've also had a Health Department that has had a number of town halls, press availabilities [and a] presence physically on the streets as well. I recall, in fact, speaking to the health commissioner over the holiday weekend, which is when this began, and asking that we do everything that we can. And this was his vision to ensure that we were physically present at that time — to be there. And also, as you said, to the website as well as in any of these press availabilities, but we will always consider anything that we can do that can further that guidance, and I'll just pass it over to the commissioner on the first question.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appoints Veteran City Leader Anthony Shorris as President and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation.