Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Nominates Nadia Shihata as Commissioner of the Department of Investigation
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
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Good morning, everyone. We are together today in City Hall, mere steps away from one of our city's greatest civic buildings. From many windows in City Hall, including my office, you can see Tweed Courthouse, where so much of the vital work of the New York City public school systems and other municipal agencies is done. Today, Tweed Courthouse is a testament to the power of City government to improve New Yorkers' lives. Tweed, however, is named after Boss Tweed, the Tammany Hall boss who ran his political machine through a well-oiled system of patronage and graft. The name is also a reminder of the culture of corruption that has long permeated our politics. And while we can look back in amazement at a project that cost as much as 56 times its original budget, where a single carpenter was paid over $360,000, in 1860s dollars, for one month's work, we know that that culture of corruption is no relic of the past, nor is anyone amused today when working New Yorkers' hard-earned dollars are wasted and abused by those who dare to betray the public trust. When many New Yorkers cast their ballots in November, they didn't just vote for an agenda that prioritized affordability and dignity for every working New Yorker. Many also voted for a new kind of City Hall, one where the expectation would be that their elected officials were working for the people and not themselves, that when those fortunate enough to work for the city came to work each morning, they were motivated not by a desire to line their own pockets, but by a genuine commitment to service. As we strive to deliver a new era, fulfilling that expectation is at the heart of our mission, not solely because New Yorkers deserve nothing less, but because it is only by fostering a culture of competence, transparency, and honesty that we can restore a diminished faith in our democracy. There will be zero tolerance for self-enrichment or corruption in my City Hall. But words are not enough, they must be backed up by action and accountability. That's why we are here together today, to announce the leader who will be tasked with holding City government to the highest standard, and in so doing, to set a new standard for ourselves. I am delighted to announce that I am nominating Nadia Shihata to serve as the commissioner of the Department of Investigation. In this role, Nadia will oversee an independent oversight body tasked with rooting out corruption, fraud, waste and abuse across City government. And she will hold the responsibility of investigating any agency, officer, elected official, or employee of the city who does not fulfill the public trust, as well as leading investigations into those who do business with or receive benefits from the city. This is a tremendously important role, and I can think of no one more scrupulous or prepared to hold it than Nadia. She served as a federal prosecutor within the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District for more than a decade, where she investigated racketeering and violent crimes as the chief of the Organized Crime Section. Before that, she held the role of deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section, where she supervised much of the same work that she will lead at DOI. When Nadia left the U.S. Attorney's Office, she co-founded a law firm, crossed the courtroom aisle, and worked as a defense attorney and on civil rights cases, further demonstrating her commitment to fairness for all and the rule of law. Hers is a historic appointment, the first woman of color to ever hold this role. I am immensely grateful to Nadia for returning to public service, and I look forward to ushering in a new era of public excellence together. I will close with this. I understand why many New Yorkers are loath to place their faith in government. They have been betrayed before. They do not want to allow themselves to hope that things have changed only to be betrayed again. It will take time, accountability, and genuine commitment to these values to win back that trust. We are taking one step in that direction today, just one of many, many more over the years to come. Thank you very much. And now, our nominee, Nadia Shihata.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I can say that the previous commissioner who served underneath the administration, she did so [by] performing an extraordinary job at rooting out corruption at the highest levels of government. And we are going to build on that work here in our administration.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source That is work that will be built upon in our administration.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think, first and foremost, thank you for highlighting this issue. And clearly, it's not something that is working to the best of its ability, it's something that we will follow up on. Thank you.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source So, that's a policy that was in place in the prior administration. It has continued thus far. It is the subject of internal conversations. We will have an update on that very soon, as to what the new policy will be.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source So, I am in regular communication with our police commissioner. The different incidents that you've highlighted are heartbreaking and horrific. And I'm thankful for the work of the NYPD, not only in responding to them, but also in the actions they're taking to ensure that we work to prevent them in the future. That is work that is ongoing, and we will continue to focus on delivering that public safety to New Yorkers. Question: Have you spoken with Commissioner Tisch about these shootings, and do you plan to send any additional resources to the neighborhood? Those are conversations that are ongoing. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source The number one crisis that New Yorkers are facing is a crisis of affordability. This is both the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and also one where one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty. It's the most expensive city in the United States of America. And every day I meet people who are working day and night in this city, but can't even afford to live in this city any longer. And so, we are constantly asking ourselves how we can address this cost-of-living crisis. I'm proud that on day eight, we took an immense step forward in our plans for universal childcare, securing more than a billion dollars in funding from the state to not only fix childcare for three-year-olds, what we call 3K, but also to start to deliver childcare for two-year-olds, what we call 2K. That is one of the foremost crisis-facing working families. Our focus continues, however, on the housing, on public transit, and on any other place which is squeezing New Yorkers.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source No, the promises that we made were at the scale of the crisis that New Yorkers are facing. We spoke about the need to deliver universal childcare, the need for tenants of rent-stabilized housing to have their rents frozen, the need for the slowest buses in America to be fast and free. We're delivering that progress, and we also know that it continues each and every day.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I am encouraged by the conversations we've been having, not only with the governor but also with legislative leaders in Albany, and these are conversations about putting the city back on firm financial footing. When I was standing here in this room weeks ago announcing the fact that our conclusions were coming to the same level of assessment, at the very least, as the previous city comptroller, the current city comptroller, and the current state comptroller, we also said that we would then be updating those assessments as we got more information about Wall Street bonuses, as we got more information about the economic forecast, and as we also took savings measures of our own. And so, in that time since, as I shared yesterday in Albany, that $12 billion deficit is now one that we have been able to bring down to $7 billion, and that's, in part, because of the revenues, the Wall Street bonuses, also an aggressive savings plan, and the use of in-year reserves. I am encouraged by the conversations we're having with Albany about how we can bridge that $7 billion gap for these next two fiscal years. I'm encouraged by where we are, and I'll tell you that I think that the most straightforward ways of dealing with this are structural measures, whether it be the taxation of the wealthiest New Yorkers, increasing taxes on the most profitable corporations, as well as by ending the drain, the relationship between the city and the state.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source To my understanding, we've continued the policy as it has been. We've sought to be transparent with New Yorkers about this information.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source So, I'll start with the second question, and then you can bring me back to the first. First, we want to create a new era of politics where it's not just a debate about how to distribute the same pie, but how we can actually grow that same pie. And for too long, we've seen a politics which is pitting other parts of the state against each other. What we're talking about also is the potential for additional revenues to ensure that a place like Dunkirk that was mentioned yesterday in the hearing, as well as a place like New York City, is able to actually meet the needs of its residents. And what we saw is that the gap between what New York City contributes to the state revenues versus what it receives from the state is one that only was exacerbated under the former governor's leadership. We saw that gap now extend to more than about 14 percentage points, 54.5 versus 40.5, in terms of what's sent versus what's received. And this has taken the form of a number of specific cuts and cost-sharing moves over the years, whether it be the exclusion of New York City from AIM funding, whether it be the shift in the way we're getting reimbursements for certain programs in a like that is not comparable to other municipalities. And we're encouraged by a vision of that relationship that is separate. And then to your first question, we'll be having that meeting later this afternoon.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I look forward to getting to know him and also to speaking about the importance of protecting each one of our residents, including the immigrants who call both of our cities home.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source Absolutely. So, we've been speaking about the consequences of mismanagement, gross fiscal mismanagement, at the budget level here in our city. And one of the many ways that we've seen that is [in the] underbudgeting that took place, especially in the most recent fiscal plan versus what the city knew it had to spend versus what it actually put on its books for what it would have to spend. And, right now, we're pursuing a settlement in this case. And that is a pursuit that looks to both prevent homelessness in our city while also delivering a budget that is not just responsible, but also sustainable. And rental assistance is just one aspect of our city's approach to delivering a more affordable city. The other aspects also ensure that we keep people in their homes, and we ensure that our city services are delivering a quality of service that keeps New Yorkers being able to live in the city they call home.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source We're taking a number of different measures, I would say. The first is ensuring --- for example, by putting together rental ripoff hearings across our city, which will be starting soon, ensuring that tenants actually have recourse when they are facing undue burden from their landlords, that they actually have a contact in city government [and] policies informed by their experiences in city government. We continue to take an all-of-government approach on this.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I am proud of our sanctuary city policies that we have. I believe that our values and our laws are not bargaining chips. They are not things for us to be ashamed of. And they are also policies that have sought and delivered on keeping New Yorker safe over many years. I'll let the mayor of Minneapolis speak to the policies there.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source This is the privilege of a lifetime to be the mayor of a city that I and so many others love. And each and every day is an opportunity to deliver for New Yorkers. I've been so proud of the work that our team is doing to do just that, and I know every single day that there's more to be done. And frankly, that is something that fills me with a real sense of opportunity and a sense of gratitude to New Yorkers for giving me this position and one that I look to deliver on. And we will continue to have conversations with landlords about how to ensure that this city is meeting their needs. Before I was an Assembly member, I was a foreclosure prevention housing counselor. I would work with low- to moderate-income homeowners across Queens, working to bring them back into an agreement with their lenders, take them out of delinquency. And a number of them had rented out the other unit in their home to be able to pay their mortgage. So, I'm quite familiar with the struggles that a number of small landlords are facing. And our city government is one that is committed to ensuring that we deliver stability, not on the basis of what status you have in New York City, whether as a tenant or a homeowner or a landlord, but stability for everyone. And we're looking forward to delivering on that. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Nominates Nadia Shihata as Commissioner of the Department of Investigation.