Mamdani’s first moves as NYC mayor: Revoke Eric Adams’ orders, create task forces on housing

Zohran Mamdani has started off his term as New York City’s mayor by rescinding a host of orders by former Mayor Eric Adams, creating task forces on housing and drawing the ire of Israel.

On his first day in office, Mr. Mamdani revoked all orders issued by Mr. Adams after his indictment on federal corruption charges in September 2024.

One of those nine revoked orders had barred city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel, and another had adopted an expansive definition of antisemitism.

But Mr. Mamdani, a Democratic socialist and the city’s first Muslim mayor, did not revoke the city’s office to combat antisemitism that was created by Mr. Adams in May.

Rescinding the executive order by Mr. Adams that had adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism prompted swift criticism.

“On his very first day as New York City Mayor Mamdani shows his true face: He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on social media.

The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, welcomed Mr. Mamdani’s move.

They called Mr. Adams’ executive order an attack on free speech that would have unconstitutionally limited boycotts against only Israel.

“Mayor Adams’ order would have enshrined the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism even though its author has said it was never meant for government use and though the overly-broad definition declares any recognition of the Israeli government’s racism or disagreement with Zionism as antisemitic,” Executive Director Afaf Nasher said in a statement.

Mr. Mamdani’s outspoken criticism of Israel signaled alarm bells for many Jews in New York City, home to America’s largest Jewish population.

But the city’s new mayor vowed to protect Jewish New Yorkers, promising at a Thursday news conference “the continued incorporation of the Office to Combat Antisemitism.”

“That is an issue that we take very seriously and as part of the commitment that we’ve made to Jewish New Yorkers: to not only protect them, but to celebrate and cherish them,” Mr. Mamdani told reporters.

Immediately after his inauguration ceremony, Mr. Mamdani’s first order of business was to appoint Mike Flynn as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation. He formerly served as national security advisor for the first 22 days of the first Trump administration.

“The appointment underscores his administration’s commitment to delivering an affordability agenda through safer streets, faster buses, and transportation systems that work for working New Yorkers,” Mr. Mamdani’s office said in an official announcement.

He also signed three executive orders to “confront the city’s housing crisis,” Mr. Mamdani said.

“Today, on the first day of this new administration, on the day where so many rent payments are due, we will not wait to deliver action. We will stand up on behalf of the tenants of this city,” Mr. Mamdani said Thursday.

In an effort to revitalize the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, Mr. Mamdani appointed housing advocate Cea Weaver as director.

The office “will serve as a central coordinating body to defend tenants’ rights, stand up to landlords, and ensure city agencies act swiftly on behalf of renters facing unsafe or illegal conditions,” the announcement said.

After an executive order establishing five deputy mayors, he tapped two of them to lead task forces.

The new task forces are intended to accelerate housing construction, get people into homes faster and increase housing supply by identifying suitable city-owned properties.

The Land Inventory Fast Track Task Force will “review city-owned properties and identify sites suitable for housing development no later than July 1,” led by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg.

The Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development Task Force will “identify and remove bureaucratic and permitting barriers that drive up costs and slow housing construction and lease-up,” led by Ms. Bozorg and Deputy Mayor of Operations Julia Kerson.

Mr. Mamdani’s campaign gained traction as he pledged to address the city’s “affordability crisis” by making city bus service free, freezing rents and implementing a free universal child care program.

The Big Apple’s budget is about $116 billion, with more than 300,000 municipal employees and more than 250 agencies, departments, boards and commissions.

At his public inauguration at City Hall Thursday, the new mayor said that City Hall will no longer “hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.”

“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,” he said. “We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”