Mamdani delays CORE chair replacement until August 2027
City Council pushback forces the mayor to keep Linda Tigani at her post through the end of 2026.
By Marco Kapoor ·
Linda Tigani will remain the chair of New York City’s independent racial equity commission until next summer. The delay in replacing her, which had been planned for this fall, stems from opposition by City Council members who wanted her to stay through the current legislative year.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed the decision on Wednesday. He stated that Tigani would hold her position until the summer of 2027, at which point he intends to install Christopher Alexander as the new chair. Alexander currently serves as the executive director of the NAACP New York State Conference.
The move follows a disagreement between the mayor and the City Council. Council Speaker Julie Menin supported her colleagues in opposing an immediate change in leadership. Her office is currently vetting Alexander for a potential start date in August 2027. The appointment has not yet been finalized.
The Commission on Racial Equity reviews the city’s racial equity plans and monitors compliance with requirements set by the City Charter. Under the charter, the mayor and the speaker must jointly appoint the commission’s chair. The chair can serve up to three three-year terms.
Tigani’s initial term began in August 2023 and expired on July 31, 2026. Because no successor was appointed in time, her tenure was automatically extended by one year when the charter’s 90-day appointment deadline passed on October 29.
The delay comes after months of friction between the commission and City Hall. The commission sued the city over missed deadlines for legally mandated plans. In August, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled that both former Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor Mamdani had failed to meet those deadlines, though the current administration’s failure was to a lesser extent.
In a September evaluation, the commission stated that Mamdani’s first final racial equity plan did not meet basic City Charter requirements. It cited the absence of overarching strategies, specific citywide measures of progress, and updated maps for targeted investment. The commission also noted that the administration failed to explain how community priorities shaped the plan.
The city’s 35-member Black, Latino and Asian Caucus urged Mamdani to retain Tigani in a letter dated October 27. The lawmakers argued that a leadership change would interrupt progress on reparations and a truth, healing and reconciliation process. They stated that such a change would divert staff capacity and require communities to rebuild relationships.
Tigani spoke at a rally outside City Hall on Wednesday. She criticized the decision to replace her, arguing it threatened the commission’s independence. She also questioned why the mayor was seeking to replace her while retaining Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Mamdani praised Alexander’s experience leading the NAACP and his previous work overseeing the state’s rollout of legal cannabis sales. He said he was confident in Alexander’s ability to hold the administration accountable if it fell short of its commitments. Alexander resigned as the executive director of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management in May 2024 following a review that identified management failures and licensing delays.
