A newly appointed key member in the incoming Zohran Mamdani administration on Friday resigned a day after her appointment was announced. Catherine Almonte Da Costa resigned following an old post on X. The Anti-Defamation League published messages from Da Costa dating back several years that the organisation described as antisemitic and demeaning to Jewish people.“Money hungry Jews smh” Da Costa, posted on X on January 4, 2011.
“Woo! Promoted to the upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps.” Da Costa posted on June 22, 2011.“I always think its (sic) strange that orthodox Jewish women can’t expose their hair so they wear wigs. I guess that it beats wearing a head scarf,” she wrote on July 10, 2012.
“Far Rockaway train is the Jew train,” she wrote on June 27, 2012.Da Costa had been set to join Mayor-elect Mamdani’s team in the newly formed office. On Thursday, the ADL drew attention to her past statements on the social-media platform. In a statement, Da Costa said, “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. 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.”“Catherine expressed her deep remorse over her past statements and tendered her resignation, and I accepted,” Mamdani said. The ADL has asked whether Mamdani was aware of the posts before appointing Da Costa. The administration said it had not known about them.Da Costa began her career at the Office of Appointments, and has worked for the New York City Census as well as at Sotheby’s as the global head of equity and impact.
