Zohran Mamdani’s newly tapped director of appointments resigned Thursday hours after the discovery of antisemitic social media posts she made more than a decade ago.
“I spoke with the mayor-elect this afternoon, apologized, and expressed my deep regret for my past statements,” Catherine Almonte Da Costa said in a statement provided by Mamdani’s transition team.
One day after Mamdani’s announcement of the appointment, the Anti-Defamation League and others posted screenshots of antisemitic tweets from an account associated with Da Costa. For instance, one screenshot showed a 2011 post where she referred to “Money hungry Jews.” Another screenshot shows a 2012 tweet where she wrote, “Far Rockaway train is the Jew train.” Gothamist has not independently verified the tweets associated with Da Costa. The account associated with the tweets no longer exists on X.
“These statements are not indicative of who I am,” said Da Costa, 33. “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.”
Da Costa could not be immediately reached for comment. She previously worked at public relations firm Orchestra and auction house Sotheby’s.
Mamdani also issued a statement, saying, “Catherine expressed her deep remorse over her past statements and tendered her resignation, and I accepted.”
Prior to Da Costa’s resignation, the Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey called on Mamdani to respond to her old social media posts but did not demand her resignation.
“Tweeting about ‘money hungry Jews’ is indefensible,” the ADL said. “We appreciate Da Costa has relationships with members of the Jewish community, but her posts require immediate explanation — not just from Ms. Da Costa, but also from the mayor-elect.”
The group also raised questions about the vetting process for Mamdani’s transition team.
The resignation and tweets could intensify tensions between Mamdani and some members of the city’s Jewish community who have doubted his commitment to combating antisemitism. Mamdani is set to become New York City's first Muslim mayor, and has been outspoken about his criticisms toward Israel over the war in Gaza and its treatment of Palestinians.
Benjamin Tisch, the CEO of the Loews Corporation and the younger brother of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, called Mamdani an “enemy” of Jewish people at a fundraising gala this month. The police commissioner later apologized to Mamdani for his remarks.
During the mayoral race, Mamdani's opponents seized on his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” as evidence that he was unwilling to speak out against what some viewed as inflammatory language against Jewish people. Mamdani eventually said he would discourage such language.
During his campaign, he met with several Jewish leaders and rabbis and pledged to appoint a senior adviser in City Hall to address antisemitism.
But Mamdani drew more criticism last month after protesters chanted “death to the IDF” and “globalize the intifada" at people attending an Upper East Side synagogue to receive information about relocating to Israel and settlements in the West Bank.
Mamdani’s spokesperson responded by saying that the mayor-elect discouraged such language but also said “these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”
The latter statement prompted criticism from Jewish community leaders who accused the mayor-elect of failing to fully denounce the behavior of protesters.
Mamdani had praised Da Costa when he announced her appointment on Wednesday.
“Cat’s spent over a decade in public service and personnel management, building strong teams across government,” he said in a social media post. “Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, she’s joining us as director of appointments to bring top talent into this administration.”
Mamdani has announced only a handful of appointments so far. On Thursday, he hired Sherif Soliman, a veteran City Hall official, as his budget director.
