Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Today is a very exciting day. We are gathered here alongside leaders in our administration, and I want to acknowledge our Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su; Council Member Virginia Maloney, chair of the Committee on Economic Development; and a special thank you to Tony's wife Maria [and] his son Michael. I'm proud to be here today to announce our appointee for president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation. The EDC holds an enormously important role, not just bringing businesses to the five boroughs, not just steering the economic direction of our city, but charting a vision of prosperity, an opportunity wide enough for all New Yorkers to recognize themselves within it.
As City Hall takes on the affordability crisis gripping our city as we work to reimagine economic models that give so much to so few and deny so many others the basics of a dignified life, we believe that economic development and economic justice must go hand in hand. This is no radical concept. If anything, it is unifying. New Yorkers struggling to make rent and Fortune 500 companies striving to attract the top talent in their headquarters in Midtown agree that if working people cannot afford to live in New York City, New York City itself will not succeed. In the words of economist Joseph Stiglitz: “The only true and sustainable prosperity is shared prosperity.” That belief has guided our search for the next president of the EDC. Through the process, I have had the immense privilege of speaking with many of our city's business leaders, many who shared our vision [and] others who raised thoughtful, productive challenges — all who love our city deeply. After conducting these interviews, I am thrilled to name Tony Shorris as our next president of the Economic Development Corporation.
Many of you may already be familiar with Tony. He is a veteran of City government, a respected business leader and a long-time educator. He has served in three mayoral administrations with his first role as deputy budget director under Mayor Ed Koch and his most recent as first deputy mayor under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Time and again, he has proven himself unafraid to use the levers of city to deliver real benefits for working New Yorkers. Under Mayor Koch, he oversaw the execution of the ambitious 10-year housing plan, creating more than 180,000 units of affordable housing across our city. As first deputy mayor, he led efforts to make the dream of universal pre-K a reality in our city. Then, like now, many said such ambition was unachievable. Today, universal pre-K and 3-K is a fact of life for nearly 100,000 children across our city.
Economic justice has long lived at the heart of his commitment to public service. He delivered a $15 minimum wage for 50,000 city workers, and an analysis conducted by the Independent Budget Office found that during Tony's tenure, the administration was able to reverse the trend of widening income disparity for the first time in decades. And as anyone who knows Tony will tell you, he does not just know how to make government work better. He genuinely loves this work. Who else would have a New York Times wedding announcement that describes the bride and groom as “city junkies”? In fact, he and his wife Maria, a former chief speechwriter to Mayor David Dinkins, said they look forward to watching unedited mayoral press conferences on WNYC TV, the way other couples look forward watching Seinfeld. To Tony, Maria and their son Michael, I hope this in-person version lives up to what you watched on TV. Our suits fit a little better now, we hope, especially those of my press secretary, Joe Calvello, that is.
I first met Tony at a diner for breakfast in the spring of 2025. What stood out to me — besides the way his eyes lit up at terms like OTPS and baselining — was his enthusiasm for this new era in our politics, and how more could be won for both businesses and working New Yorkers. He holds a clear vision for how to leverage the unique position of the economic development corporation to work with businesses that want to build and thrive in New York City. He speaks often of how we can pair economic growth with economic mobility. In his words: “There are no fixed allies or adversaries in this work, only potential partners.” That mindset is exactly what we need from our EDC president as we usher in a new era in New York City.
And I can think of no better civic leader to partner with Tony in this work than our second appointee of the day, former FTC Commissioner Lina Khan. I'm thrilled to announce that Lina will be joining the EDC as its newest board chair. As commissioner of the FTC, Lina Khan consistently delivered for working Americans, taking aim at the corporate monopolies that not only hurt working people at the checkout line, but make life harder for the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy. As co-chair of our administration's transition team, she helped City Hall find and appoint leaders committed to economic justice and helped to craft an agenda that put working New Yorkers at the heart of our first hundred days, and every day since, by identifying common sense reforms that quickly improve both consumers' and workers' lives. And not only is Lina a brilliant leader and someone I am proud to call a friend, she knows what it means to be a working parent in this city, having recently delivered her second baby. As Tony shepherds the EDC into a new moment of economic innovation, including the implementation of five city-run grocery stores — one in each borough — I know he and Lina will accomplish a great deal together. Frankly, this feels like the economic wonk's version of the 1992 Olympic basketball “Dream Team.”
It brings me great pleasure to say that today's appointees not only share a vision for the future of this office, but a commitment, too, to executing on it. Lina, we are proud to have you on board. Tony, you bring that rare mix of both decades of experience and an open, expansive view of what the future could still yet hold. I look forward to partnering with you both every step of the way, so that we may reach new heights for every business, every entrepreneur and every New Yorker who calls the city home and wants to be a part of its enduring promise. Thank you. And now with that, I'm going to pass it over to our new EDC president, Tony Shorris.
Anthony Shorris, President and CEO, Economic Development Corporation: A little shorter than that Dream Team basketball side. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, Deputy Mayor Su. What it is an honor and, by the way, a bit of a surprise to be standing up here with all of you after eight years away from it all. I did start talking to then candidate Mamdani back in April 2025 during breakfast at our local diner. And from the outset, I was moved by his passion for the city and for the values which animated his campaign — values which he stayed true to then and now. I was thrilled to see more than 1,000,000 New Yorkers sharing his sense of the need for change with their votes, and that's why I'm here. I've been around a long time, as you've heard, and I've seen the city expand and improve in many ways. But I've also seen it leave too many people behind, forcing hard choices for many and driving others to look elsewhere. While it's clearly safer, cleaner and in many ways more economically successful than before, it has clearly become unaffordable for too many. And that's the mandate the mayor and the deputy mayor have given me for EDC: to find ways to advance the goals of economic justice and affordability through economic development.
How will we do that? I've got a lot of thinking to do our plans, and I'm going to do that with Julie and Lina, but I can tell you some things that will be central to it. First, we have to find better ways to hear the voices of the communities we affect. Especially those voices that don't get heard, in ways that reflect this administration's commitment. Second, we need to have our purpose anchored in a vision of economic justice that advances hand in hand with economic development. Now, economic justice is a phrase that can mean a lot of things to many people. For me, some elements that would drive my thinking, include making sure that we avoid the trap of accepting the notion that the lives of those who are left behind are somehow worth less than the lives of those who have succeeded. It means that government's job is to combat inequalities created by circumstance or just plain luck. And it means helping the city create more opportunity for more people, the driving force that has been powering New York for centuries, so powerful that someone built a statue in the harbor to symbolize it, to represent the growth that has defined this city to the world. How does that translate into the work of EDC?
To start, the tools of EDC have to be used consistent with this administration's values, the people's values and the city's values [and] focused on making the city more affordable by reducing the cost of life here and increasing the capacity of New Yorkers to pay for the lives they deserve, all while attracting top talent and innovation to the city's engine. Ensuring our engagement with neighborhoods involves listening with respect rather than speaking with certainty, and acknowledging that taxpayer dollars have to be husbanded and used efficiently, where they will have the most impact for the most people in need. Change at scale is as always what has mattered to me, a phrase I used many times the last time I was around this building. Tangibly and meaningfully affecting the lives of many everyday New Yorkers. And that's why I'm so excited to be given this chance. But I won't be here alone. Besides the people standing up here, and some who are not — Dean, Elle, others in the rest of this building — there is a great staff at EDC that have been driving the mayor's agenda every day for the past seven months, and I'll be supported by others, some here and some in my head and my heart. My wife Maria, whose wisdom and strength have seen me through every challenge I've faced personally and professionally, whose compassion for people is matched only by her respect for difference — she's my foundation. My son Michael, who met the candidate, the same. Morning diner event as I did because he was such an early supporter is my moral compass. His love of the richness of New York's diversity matched by the rigor of his thinking and the sharp smack of his humor. And I still hear my parents' voices, although they're gone for some time, and I know somewhere my father is smiling that I have joined an administration like yours. It's a gift to me to be able to contribute again and once again my thanks to the mayor and the whole team. Many years ago, David Graeber wrote that “the ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make and could just as easily make differently.” So, let's start right now doing exactly that. Thank you.
Deputy Mayor Julie Su, Economic Justice: Thank you so much, Tony. So, the mayor has told you who Tony Shorris is. Tony has told himself what makes him tick; I wanted to tell you a little bit about how he works. But first, a little about how we got here. I am the first deputy mayor for economic justice this city has ever had. And many have said to the mayor and to me, “Economic justice, what about economic development and economic growth?” Such questions have just confirmed for me how long injustice has been accepted as the outcomes of economic growth and economic development. So, let's address the question, what does justice have to do with growth and development? Everything. A city can be booming and unaffordable at the same time. It can have ever-expanding skylines while its people live ever-shrinking lives. We are not going to pretend that that's good enough. As the mayor has said, we are the wealthiest city on earth, and yet close to 5 million New Yorkers still can't afford the true cost of living here. When that's true, it tells you that the ways that we've been measuring success has been missing something.
Economic growth and economic justice aren't two separate dials you turn up or down, depending on who's in the room asking. They're the same dial. A city that prices out its own workforce is like a business that stops investing in itself and wonders why output is falling. The Economic Development Corporation is, in a real sense, the city's toolbox: it holds the deeds to public land, it impacts what rises on a vacant lot and what gets financed in a neighborhood. A toolbox like that can build a city that works for the people who live in it or it can build monuments to whoever's holding the best-connected business card. The tools don't decide that; the person holding the tools does. Now, Tony has spent 40 years showing how government tools can be used. The mayor gave you some examples, let me give you another one. As first deputy mayor, he found the city paying private contractors a fortune on the 911 system. He brought that work in-house, made them city jobs through an agreement with DC 37, and showed that the city could do it better and cheaper itself. That is a leader who asks who a public dollar is actually working for and refuses to rest until the answer is something he can live with.
Back in 2013, Tony's son Michael found out that a band that he liked, Vampire Weekend, might show up at an event. So, Michael told his dad they had to go. It turned out the event was a fundraiser for Bill de Blasio and a few months later the new mayor called and asked Tony to be his first deputy mayor. So, I suppose we have a teenager's love for New York's indie music scene to thank for part of his dad's resume. Michael clearly has good instincts when it comes to his dad, and today, so do we. When Tony ran finance, one of the largest tax agencies in the country, he went after the people cheating the system, brought real money back to the city, and wrote its first taxpayer bill of rights, because he believed that accountability has to run in both directions. This is our vision for EDC: asking the right questions. How do we build an agency accountable to the people of the city? Is every tool being used to make the city more just? And then, doing the work. Specifically, using the tools of EDC to build housing that New Yorkers can afford; jobs that support a family; industries that strengthen the whole economy; real ownership that builds intergenerational wealth; grocery stores and other public goods, because the necessities of life shouldn't be out of reach. This is work we've been doing with EDC over the last seven months. And I look forward to not only asking these questions alongside Tony but answering them together.
That same standard for excellence extends to two of our most important waterfront and industrial institutions. So today, we're also reappointing Clare Newman as president and CEO of the Trust for Governors Island; and Lindsay Greene as president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. Both have taken public land and put it to work for New Yorkers, turning it into space for good jobs, artists, innovators and entrepreneurs. Finally, a mission as important as EDC's also needs someone watching over it. Someone who understands how to use the tools of government with creativity and vision. Someone who has spent her whole career making the most powerful institutions in the country answer to the public. Someone who, as the mayor has already said, as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, led our nation's effort to protect consumers, working people and small businesses from anti-competitive behavior and unchecked corporate consolidation. Someone who, like the mayor, immigrated to the U.S. at a young age; like our mayor, inspired the world about what government could do at a young age; and like our mayor, has shown over and over again what fearless commitment to bending the arc of the moral universe toward justice looks like. The mayor's appointee to the board chair of EDC, it is my honor to introduce my friend, Lina Khan.
Lina Khan, Chair, Economic Development Board: Good morning, everybody, so wonderful to be here with you. Thank you to the mayor, to Deputy Mayor Su and Tony. It's such a deep honor to be named as chair of the board of directors of the EDC, and it's so terrific to be here alongside our experienced and capable new EDC president, Tony Shorris. Mayor Mamdani has been relentless in using all of the tools and authorities of City Hall to ensure that New York City is a place that working people can afford to call home. That includes a critical role for EDC. EDC has key tools to drive projects that grow our economy, create good jobs, promote entrepreneurship and make life more affordable for New Yorkers. This is the agency that manages Hunts Point, the largest food distribution center in the country, along with some of our city's most valuable lands. EDC has enormous capacity to make life materially better for New Yorkers and to ensure that public resources are being used to build state capacity.
I know from my own time in government that you need the right people in key roles if you want to get anything done. You need people who can be maximally resourceful and innovative in using the full scope of an agency's tools to fully deliver for the people we serve. Tony has spent decades ensuring that New York's biggest and most complex public institutions can actually deliver — from managing two dozen agencies as first deputy mayor to running the Port Authority. Few people know the machinery of this city better and even fewer have used it at that scale. I know that Tony's experience and expertise can help ensure that EDC is a key vehicle for advancing the mayor's economic agenda. And I'm so excited to work alongside him, alongside Deputy Mayor Su and alongside Tony to make sure that the EDC can deliver an economy for our city that is affordable, efficient and resilient. Thank you so much.
Mayor Mamdani: I'd like to provide an update on the Legionnaires' cases reported on the Upper East Side. We have identified 82 cases of Legionnaires' disease in association with this cluster. Five New Yorkers have lost their lives in connection with the disease. I'm heartbroken by these losses and send my deepest condolences to their loved ones; our city mourns alongside you. Fifty-six New Yorkers have been discharged from the hospital after receiving treatment; thirteen people contracted the disease but were never hospitalized; eight people remain in the hospital at this time. We wish them a swift recovery. To all concerned New Yorkers, I want to reiterate that Legionnaires' disease is not communicable from person to person. All New Yorkers can continue to drink water from the tap, to bathe, to shower, to cook and to use air conditioners at home, no matter what zip code they call their own. Furthermore, we believe that we have now eliminated the source of the initial cluster. There has been no one with new symptoms reported in more than 10 days and no new diagnoses in a week.
I want to thank the quick and aggressive actions taken by our New York City Health Department. While in the past, the city began investigations after three confirmed cases in a tight time frame in geographic area, the department acted at the earliest indication of a potential cluster, launching our investigation on Thursday, July 2, at which point there were just two confirmed cases. We immediately mobilized to test all cooling towers in the investigation zone. When any tests came back positive, we ordered the respective building owners to fully clean and disinfect their cooling towers, and all have complied. This is the most aggressive remediation and enforcement strategy that our city has ever taken to eliminate the source of Legionella bacteria. And there is always more work to be done. Going forward, the New York City Health Department will continue to report test results and inspect cooling towers, enforce rigorous maintenance and oversight regulations, and hold non-compliant building owners accountable. I want to thank the New York City Health Department and our public health experts as they work around the clock to keep New Yorkers safe, healthy and informed. For the latest information, always visit NYC.gov/legionnaires.
Question: My question is, I guess, to start, for both Tony and Lina, how do you see the EDC's relationship with business now that you've been appointed? Are you looking to grow those relationships and obviously bring business back to the city? I also wanted to ask about city-run grocery stores. Is that going to be a top priority? I know that’s something that the mayor has already tasked the agency with.
Shorris: So, on the second one, yes, for sure it is a top priority. The mayor made that clear actually during the campaign. And one thing I'm very true to, I've been true to it in the past, I'm going to be true to now, is commitments that mayors make to the people are some of the highest priorities of anything the government does. So, given that that was front and center in the minds of a million people, I take that pretty seriously.
Question: [Inaudible] what the mayor has said?
Shorris: Yes, I mean, we're still working — we only have two, I think, so far. And I think we're working on the other three now. On the broader issue of partnership, as the mayor mentioned, I don't believe there are permanent adversaries and permanent allies. I've been around too long for that. I do think there are those in the business community who support a lot of what this mayor is trying to do. And I don't mean just business leaders, I mean people working across the city who support — and a lot them voted for this mayor. So, I think the breadth of support for the particular agenda is there, but I do think the support for the city’s success is even broader, if not universal. So, I think finding ways for us to sit down, laying out the agenda that we have, making very clear the values that this mayor and the people who supported him and all of us in this administration believe; and how those values intersect with the objectives that businesses have, which is to grow and employ people and be successful. Those are not — as Julie said, multiple times — those are not in conflict, they can be in confluence. But it takes work and it takes understanding on both sides. And I think the foundation of that is mutual respect. And I certainly will respect some of the views that some of these leaders may have even when they differ, and I expect that they will respect the views of a mayor who represents so many New Yorkers.
Khan: I'll just say the business community in New York City is vast. It spans the independent pharmacist, to the Fortune 500 company, to the scrappy startup seeking investment, to the bodega. And one thing I was so proud of my time in the FTC is making sure that all market participants in all businesses were really having an opportunity to engage with their government, and I'm excited for the same to be true at EDC.
Question: The first, I guess, is for you and for Tony. So earlier in the year, you boasted about canceling a contract DSS had with McKinsey as an example of you rooting out government waste. I don't know if — Tony, if you were working on this specific contract, and if you want to speak about how McKinsey’s role, how McKinsey plays a role, and I know this economic justice, I know a lot of the stuff they do, Tony hasn't been a part of, but there's a litany of things that don't seem aligned with you. And my second question, it is on topic, because yeah, he mentioned it. Department of Health does not have enough water inspectors to inspect for Legionnaires' disease. They can’t inspect Legionella; that's due to a number of factors. What have you done as mayor to speed up the hiring? It could take months to hire people when the lines have been approved. I know hiring people to the city was a big part of your transition, but what have you actually done to speed that up, not just to the Department of Health, but to make it an easier process so there could be more water inspectors to actually inspect for this?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'll go with the first question, then I'll go to the second question. I think on the first, as you know, we have been focused on cost-saving measures across City government, and I think that it does save money when you take the top talent from McKinsey instead of having to employ them for a contract. But in all seriousness, what I see in Tony is a breadth of experience that, as you've heard from Deputy Mayor Su, is experience that also looks at what the benefits are of insourcing and building public capacity at a time when outsourcing was all the vogue of how we could actually improve efficiency, and also a breadth of ambition. And sometimes the way it is caricatured is the more experience you have in City government, the less ambition you have for what city government can do. And one of the things that really stuck with me on that morning when we had breakfast at that diner was not only his willingness to speak to a candidate who at that point was still, were still a ways to go in that primary, but also the real sense of possibility of what City government could still offer and what we could bring together as a new administration to connect with the ideals that make the city what it is. And to your second question, I'm also going to invite our commissioner to just come up and join me.
[Crosstalk.]
Shorris: Yes, I did spend some time on that contract early on. Most of my work in McKinsey is for government, nonprofit and pro bono work. That was part of the government work that McKinsey did.
Mayor Mamdani: And to the question about hiring as a whole, one of the first things that we did when we came into City Hall was looking at what the obstacles were in hiring. And one of them was a directive given to OMB of two for one of in making it impossible for agencies to actually hire unless they had a specific number of vacancies that were being created at the same agency. And while we were still pursuing and continue to pursue savings, we also wanted to take away the unnecessary roadblocks in how those hires could actually happen. That work both continues, though we have already implemented that, but looking to speed this up. And when it comes specifically to the ecologist that you were speaking of, we have also seen a number of those hires over the course of these last few months. I'll pass it over to our health commissioner.
Alister Martin, Commissioner, Department of Health and Hygiene: So, first of all, let me just say a few words about our team. I'm proud of our team. They've run an incredible investigation and have been nonstop from the first moment we found out about this. With regard to the new hires that came in, the majority of those folks are either onboarded or matriculating in. In fact, on the first weekend that this happened, where we identified these first two cases, I myself was out there in the Upper East Side with some of those new hires. And so, for the remaining positions, we're eager to hire and onboard those folks and have them hit the streets with the rest of our really incredible staff. So, thank you.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: This administration, as you mentioned, is elected with a mandate to steer city initiatives towards working people. But the EDC in the past has been at times used as a somewhat unaccountable sinecure for the real estate class and developers. They built Casa Cipriani, which many of us have not had the pleasure to go to. They built the infrastructure for a stadium owned by literal monarchs. Can you give examples, maybe beyond the groceries or pilot, of how you're going to direct this agency or development corporation towards working people in New York City to make it more affordable, especially if it's currently geared in kind of a different direction right now?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I think there was a moment during the course of the campaign where the EDC was described to me as the Swiss Army knife of City government. It is one of the most nimble and agile departments that the city has, and much of its agenda is a reflection of the administration's agenda at large. Yes, the EDC has been those things, and the EDC is also where we have the New York City ferry system. And it speaks to — even before I go further into this question, I do also just want to acknowledge that those that we have at the EDC today — Jeanny Pak as well — I really want to acknowledge their incredible work over these past six months. It is thanks to them that Tony is stepping into a role, not having to build all of this from the ground up. In fact, what he is inheriting is an intensive amount of preparation toward city-run grocery stores that showcases what is possible when the capacity of a corporation like EDC is matched with a vision that is measuring its success by whether it is reaching to address the problems of working New Yorkers. So, I think that there are a wide variety of examples, and what I see in Tony and what I see in Lina are two excellent public servants who understand both the ambition that has often characterized EDC and what a new era for EDC could look like.
Question: I wanted to ask you about the length of time it took you to find somebody to fill the president CEO role. How much of the change in the approach to this job factored into finding someone? Do you find candidates were resistant to the idea of equal focus on economic development and economic justice? And also, I heard you were down to two candidates right to the end. Is that the case? And who was it?
Mayor Mamdani: What I will say is that we have long considered this to be a critical position in our administration. And we wanted to make sure that the way that we treated this process was also with the seriousness and the depth that this position requires, both in the fluency that it demands of someone and the imagination required to go beyond what historical precedent has seen when it comes to what this agency does. And we're talking about interviews that we've had over many months with incredible candidates, and what I can say is that Tony has long stood out to me as someone who both characterizes what is possible in City government and also the fluency required to get things done by having worked in a wide variety of positions both inside and outside of city government.
Question: [Inaudible] to find somebody that would approach the job in the way you were looking at them.
Mayor Mamdani: I think that we actually had far more people than we had the time to interview in terms of a willingness to approach this job in the manner that we'd hoped for. However, we always wanted to ensure that we were fully confident in who we were picking and that's where we found ourselves with Tony.
Question: Tony, I was just wondering if you support raising taxes on businesses and if that's something you're going to go in Albany forward to state lawmakers, if that something you are going to push. And then separately, I also was wondering if support raising the minimum wage and what your thoughts are on that as well.
Shorris: I have long been a strong supporter of raising the minimum wage. We fought pretty hard for it the last time I was in this building, and that's part of the reason we achieved a $15 minimum wage, which at the time was a great step forward and was part of the reason that we moved 800,000 people out of poverty and near poverty. It was one of the biggest reasons, along with pre-K, along with the rent freeze. I think there's opportunity to do more of that. Policy on those issues is made in this building, not in that building. So obviously [I’ll] be deferring to the crowd behind me on that. But as a personal matter, I do strongly believe that raising the minimum wage can be a very important tool. It was one of the elements of the mayor's platform. So how, when, under what circumstances, at what pace — all TBD. And obviously it's not the city's choice; it's the state's choice. So, obviously I'm going to leave that to others. But if you ask me in general, do I believe the minimum in America is too low? And then New York is too low? Yes.
Question: Is this something you’re going to lobby for in Albany, though, with state lawmakers?
Shorris: It's not really EDC's job to do that. We're not lobbyists for individual wage attacks or wage actions. It's really not our focus. Will we work with the business community and help them work their way through and understand our positions and be supportive of it, hopefully? Sure. That's part of my goal. But we're not really the Albany office. City Hall has very strong capacity to deal with that. They don't need my voice. But if they call on it, I’ll be there.
Question: I'm going to turn it back to Max's question. The mayor agreed with the premise of Max's question that the EDC has operated as concierge service for wealthy [inaudible].
Mayor Mamdani: So, let me just first state this very clearly: What I agreed with was the citation of what the EDC has in the past helped to develop across our city. And the fact that what we are looking to develop goes beyond those examples and in fact typifies a new kind of approach. But I'll pass it over to Tony.
Shorris: Look, this agency has a long history. Thirty five years since Carl Weisbrod started it a long time ago. There are projects in that history that I think today we wouldn't do or would do differently. And every mayor chooses a different way to implement their agenda. That's what the Swiss Army knife is for. Policies made in this building. I felt that when I used to work in this building and I'll feel that now. So, the direction, the vision, is going to be a mayor's vision, and my guess is that may change some of the direction of EDC. I’m certain that's true — exactly how and with which projects, TBD.
But I don't think there's any question there's also been some wonderful things that EDC has done that I think there should be a lot of pride. And there's a lot of people working in New York because of things EDC have done. So, it's a mixed portfolio and frankly, every administration comes to build on the work of the administrations before, and this one will too. So, I'm pretty confident we'll have our own direction following a vision laid out and supported by many, many New Yorkers.
Question: The question that we have for you or for the new president is about the affordable housing insurance program, something that the EDC is going to oversee in conjunction with HPD and HDC. The RFP or RFEI is already out there. What are you looking for in that program, and what kind of goals are you going to achieve in terms of providing affordable housing to providers? [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: You know, we are incredibly excited by this program. It's a program where we are putting $100 million over a few years to address what has been described to us by affordable housing stewards as one of the most difficult rising costs that they have to deal with at this time, which is that of insurance. I've heard from a number of landlords of affordable housing that this is something that is rising by more than 100 percent in their own estimates. And what we've seen, I think in the example, though Leila might correct me, I think it's Milford Street Captive, is an example of what it can look like when you are pooling risk and actually able to provide insurance at a cost that not only reflects what that risk is but also is one that allows these landlords to continue to do business. So, I would say the prevailing directive with this entire process is how to deliver lower cost insurance for landlords who are currently being priced out of the market because of the manner in which the cost-of-living crisis is hitting them.
Question: Some Jewish groups have noted that in your video you didn't include a reference to October 7 or Hamas leaders who carried out that attack. And it's not easy always to pin you down on this subject, forgive me, because there aren't many perfect analogies to draw. For instance, not all world leaders or alleged war criminals have ICC warrants, or they're not planning to come to the UN General Assembly, or perhaps they're dead.
So, my question is would you, if circumstances were different, would you have vowed to arrest the leaders of Hamas, who perpetrated the October 7 attack, if they were visiting New York? And if so, why not include something about that to show New Yorkers that you're presenting a more balanced approach? Why not include that in your video?
Mayor Mamdani: Didn't the ICC put forward a warrant for Yahya Sinwar?
Question: I mean, I know he's dead.
Mayor Mamdani: Yes, but my point is that they did. And in the video, I made very clear, as I have before, that my interest in executing that warrant is not specific to Benjamin Netanyahu, but to anyone who they put a warrant towards for war crimes and crimes against humanity. And part of that is a reflection of a universal politics, and it is from a universal politics that I can look [at] October 7 and describe it for what it is, which is a horrific war crime. And I can also look at Benjamin Netanyahu and see the way that he has orchestrated this genocide and also deem him to similarly be a war criminal.
And I think especially at a time when there are those in Washington who are discussing measures to take apart the International Criminal Court, what so many are looking for is a sense that there is, in fact, a rule of law across the world where there are crimes that are so grave that they offend all of humanity. And I believe that we should hold those who perpetrate them accountable, no matter who they are or where they're from. And when it comes to the ICC, they've put forward warrants, whether it's Yahya Sinwar, Benjamin Netanyahu, I think a few other members of the Israeli government. I believe all of them should be honored.
Question: And what is your response to the criticisms that were raised by Council Speaker Julie Menin on the Legionnaires' situation. And specifically given the fact that so many cooling towers turned out to have had live Legionella bacteria and then maybe more than we expected came back positive for live Legionella. With the benefit now of hindsight does that suggest in any way that blanket disinfecting might have made sense in retrospect?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'm frankly less interested in the politics of it all, more in the public health of it. And what I will say is that previous administration procedure had been that we would wait for the results of culture. And that would mean two weeks. We made the decision to do both culture tests and PCR tests. So that meant that we could actually test immediately, disinfect any of the cooling towers that came back, and then additionally, wait for the culture results. As you've mentioned, there are four additional culture results that came back positive beyond the PCRs. And the other point here is that we know that Legionnaires' is something that has affected our city over many, many years.
And we are both trying to stop this cluster in the moment and ensure that we are not weakening our ability to stop it in the future. And when I sat with public health experts, what I was told time and again is that if we were to do a blanket disinfectant of every single cooling tower across the Upper East Side, that would weaken those cooling towers' ability to protect against Legionnaires in the years to come. And so, we want to make sure that everything we're doing gives people both the safety and the public health they deserve and the confidence that this isn't going to be something that returns. I'm going to pass it over to our commissioner to add some details.
Commissioner Martin: Thanks, Mr. Mayor. So, we'll talk about Speaker Menin and the investigation. But first, let's talk about the people. Five New Yorkers have lost their lives because of this disease, and our hearts are with their families and their loved ones. Every single one of those deaths for us underscores the importance of identifying the source and eliminating the source that caused this investigation in the first place. So now turning to the investigation, the good news is we are in a very reassuring position. We feel confident that we've eliminated that source. You know, when we look at the data, the data demonstrates that the last new diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease was on July 15th, so about a week ago, as you heard the mayor say.
And then in terms of the last person to develop symptoms, they did so over a week ago, over 10 days ago. And so, we feel fairly confident. When you also add in the emergency room data, you're not seeing any concerning spikes or signals. Our focus has been and continues to be on accountability, accountability — identifying the cooling tower owner or owners that [are] at the source of this and holding them accountable to the full extent of [the] law. Now turning to Speaker Menin's point, here's what would happen if we blanket disinfected.
Number one, as you've heard from the mayor, every time we do this biocide treatment, it actually does degrade the cooling towers and thus, in the future, allows them to potentially harbor more Legionella bacteria. Now, it's always about finding the right sort of happy medium, but that's the first. The second is, had we blanket disinfected from the beginning, we wouldn't be able to actually get the samples. And we need the samples to know what caused this, and then that will give us an opportunity to learn.
Question: It seems to me that if 34 of the towers came back as having had live Legionella, that seemed to me, and according to some people I've spoken to, to be higher than what we anticipated. We thought maybe a small number would have come back positive. So, separately, what does that tell you about whether or not the procedures in place already, to try to prevent live Legionella bacteria in these cooling towers are working? Where’s the breakdown that so many of these towers on the Upper East Side were problematic?
Commissioner Martin: So, first of all, this bacteria is ubiquitous. It is everywhere. It is found in nature commonly. And to give you a sense of how common it is, when we looked at the data for last year's Harlem cluster, we had 12 of the 47 towers in that case that had live Legionella bacteria. So that's the first piece. These numbers are not out of what we've seen in the past. And in fact, the overall rate of Legionella bacteria in these cooling towers has decreased over time because the enforcement is working.
Now, in terms of enforcement, let's talk about that. So, over the course of the last year, we've issued countless violations. Just in the last years, [there have been] 1,300 violations to cooling tower operators and owners. And this amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars and finds. And the reality is that, you know, our job is to enforce this law and to make sure that we hold cooling tower operators who are not following the law accountable to the full extent of the law. And that's what we're going to do here once we identify which tower or towers are responsible.
Mayor Mamdani: I'll just add one thing to what the commissioner said, and I also want to acknowledge the deputy mayor who's here, who's been overseeing a lot of this work. We will not rest until each and every New Yorker is living [with] the public health that they deserve. And that means not only continuing to address this cluster but doing the work after this point to ensure that what has become an annual event in New York City is one that we are developing far enhanced processes for. Because what we've found over the course of this process itself is that there are so many more procedures that the city had been taking years prior that, in fact, could be expedited.
And I want to credit our Health Department and the leaders that are here on this stage for having taken that decision time and again, and we also know that while we are able to stand here and tell New Yorkers of the fact that no new symptoms have been developed for anyone in the last 10 days, [and] that we are confident we have found the source. We know that there are still New Yorkers who are in [the] hospital as a result of this cluster, and so we will continue to do this work and also continue to monitor this.
Question: [Inaudible] fines for building owners. Have there been [any] Legionella-related fines since the Council laws [inaudible] or were you talking about fines prior to this?
Commissioner Martin: So, the 2025 cooling tower fines and violations totaled over $600,000 in terms of all of the cooling tower operators that were not compliant with the law, so that was a 2025 number. And so, we have just begun the implementation and the promulgation of this new law in May, and what we see from the data is actually the vast majority of cooling tower operators have been compliant, giving us the information that we need, which is good and we expect that, by the way. Now, for the groups that have not been, it's a couple reasons; some of them have not gotten a cooling tower operational yet. So, their cooling tower has not been operational, and for the ones that have a cooling tower that is operational and have not given us the required information. Of course, there are consequences and there are fines.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: We are working on making sure that every single one of those cooling tower operators complies with our laws. And if they don't, there are consequences.
Question: [Inaudible]. You've been in office for six months, and you talk about promising to arrest the prime minister on the campaign. [Inaudible], I remember hearing you say it. Why did you not want to provide an answer to this question earlier than you did? Did you forget to look into the legality of it until it came up in this New York Times interview over the weekend? Why did you not make a [inaudible] determination on it?
Mayor Mamdani: I've been very clear about the fact that I believe that the warrant that the International Criminal Court has placed upon Benjamin Netanyahu is one that should be honored. And I've also been clear about that fact that I would follow and respect our local laws. And so, I asked my team to do a review of all applicable law, and it's clear that the city does not have the authority to execute this warrant. However, what is also clear is that the federal government does have the opportunity to execute this warrant. And I call on the federal government to join the International Criminal Court and to execute both this warrant as well as any warrant that the International Criminal Court holds.
Question: In terms of the Netanyahu decision last night, why did you decide to address the public in that way? Because that's usually reserved for much more serious situations. And in relation to Netanyahu as well, when exactly did your administration tell you that this was not possible? Because when you floated this idea last year, legal experts all came out and said, “This is not a possible thing that the city can do.”
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Mamdani: Jeff, you said that usually that kind of address is reserved for a more serious topic. Yesterday, I was on Staten Island for a meeting with faith leaders, and a young man from Gaza attended that meeting as part of an organization that houses refugees on Staten Island. He did not have one of his arms. He was one of the many children that have been maimed by this genocide. I think that is quite serious. I think there are tens of thousands. I do not think; I know. There are tens of thousands of children who have been maimed, who have been forced to undergo operations without anesthesia. And when we speak about the more than 70,000 Palestinians that have been killed. We know that likely that number is even higher, and yet we do not even know what it reaches. And also, we know that it is not a faraway issue.
I have met Palestinian New Yorkers who have told me how they've spent decades in this city building their lives, saving money to send it back home to build a home in the village they grew up in only to see it obliterated in an instant with an Israeli airstrike. And then that same older New Yorker tells me of how his son called him and begged him to send him money for food, that his grandchild was starving, and that he couldn't do anything about it. And so, I say that this is something that has not only offended the conscience, the morals [and] the mere humanity of so many New Yorkers, but it has also ripped apart the lives of many who've been personally affected by it as well. And I view that as a very serious issue. And I think that it is incredibly important that we ensure that we have done all of our due diligence when conducting a review. And so, I wanted to ensure that no matter what we heard from anyone on the topic, that I actually asked my team to do that. I'm appreciative of their work.
Question: Did they specifically tell you this was not possible?
Mayor Mamdani: That's a review that I asked them to do. They made it clear that this is not possible through applicable law, and that is something that I now believe is clear: that the federal government has the authority to do and that they can execute.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: That's a review that I made clear that I wanted to see, and then we've had that conversation.
Question: I see, you know, appointing someone from McKinsey and someone like Lina Khan with her background seems like a bit of an odd couple. I'm wondering where you see their views on economic justice actually lining up, and I'm wondering if you're concerned that the agency could be in for a bit of a bumpy ride if these two can't sort of meld their worldviews.
Mayor Mamdani: Well, I think what you'll actually find is that both Lina’s and Tony’s worldviews are aligned in looking to uplift working New Yorkers across the city and in understanding that we must also measure the economic strength of the city by whether it is able to lift up those who are currently being priced out of the city. And what I've seen even now in the incredible work of the civil servants we have at EDC is that there are so many who are currently there who are dedicated to this new vision. And I'm confident that in both of their appointments, what we're going to see is not only shared alignment, but also the execution of a vision that will have real tangible results for New Yorkers.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Mr. Mayor, I'd like to approach the Netanyahu issue from a different direction. I wonder what you would say to your Palestinian supporters and others who voted for you because of your vow to arrest Benjamin Netanyah. And are disappointed with the fact that you can't do it. Some of whom have taken to social media, saying, “Arrest him anyway, because ICE doesn't ask for permission that you should just do it.” And also, the second part of the question is, what do you think that these people who were frustrated with Netanyahu should do when he arrives in New York City for the United Nations meeting?
Mayor Mamdani: I think one of the bedrocks of our city is protest. It is something that has been a part of what makes our city so special: that New Yorkers can express themselves, whether they are in support or in opposition, no matter [the] topic. And I've always said that when we respect our Constitution, we also respect our First Amendment. And here in New York City, it'll always be a place where you can exercise that. And when it comes to the first question, you know, I have made clear both that I believe that this is an arrest warrant that should be executed.
And also, that I would follow the laws that we had and I would be respectful of those laws, and that is why I asked my administration to review of all applicable law, and I believe, however, in that same finding that the United States government does have the ability to both joining the International Criminal Court and execute that warrant, and that is something that I want to see happen.
Question: I just want to follow up. Can you tap into the disappointment that people in the Palestinian community feel that you're not going to be able to arrest them, and are you urging them to protest?
Mayor Mamdani: I'm simply saying that this is a city where — if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect. I leave it to New Yorkers themselves to make that decision. And when it comes to Palestinian New Yorkers who are disappointed, I understand it. Because we are talking about someone who has been charged with crimes against humanity. Someone who has visited this city on many an occasion and who has been welcomed by previous mayors. And I want to make it very clear that that welcome ends with me. I will not be welcoming Benjamin Netanyahu or any other war criminals when they come to this city, and I do believe that our federal government should join the International Criminal Court and ensure that there is accountability when it comes to crimes against humanity.
Question: Again, I wanted to stay on the same topic about Netanyahu. The United States doesn't recognize ICC warrants, so I'm wondering how much of this due diligence was always meant to be failed? Do you feel like this review was, for some people would say, political theater? And then I want to go back to the idea of Legionella and what the speaker said in her op-ed in the New York Post. Do you think some of the points she made were valid, or do you feel like she's taking aim and using this particular issue for political advantage?
Mayor Mamdani: I'll leave it to New Yorkers to make that determination. What I'll say is that my focus is on the public health of it all. And every conversation that I've had with our commissioner [and] with our deputy mayor has always been: How can we deliver for New Yorkers right now, those who are living in the Upper East Side, those [who] are fearful of contracting Legionnaires’, as well as those who have contracted Legionnaires. And what we've done time and time again is follow public health experts and their advice. And that is something that we will continue to do. Because we've seen what it looks like when public health is politicized across the country. We want this to be a city where it's clear that the guidance, the actions [and] the information that we share with New Yorkers, [are] done without any political incentive in mind, but rather with a public health incentive in mind.
Question: My first question?
Mayor Mamdani: [To] your first question, to that, I always want to make sure that as the mayor, regardless of what others opine, we do a thorough review internally before coming to a decision.[Crosstalk.]
Question: A two-fold question: How do you respond to the critics that say that you're trying to create a one-sided narrative of the conflict that many Jewish New Yorkers reject about October 7, the Gaza War and using the Mayor's Office to do that? And second, do you also consider October 7 [inaudible] genocide?
Mayor Mamdani: I consider October 7 to be a horrific war crime. I've considered it to be something that should be deeply opposed with every single fiber of our being. And what I would also say is what brings me to my conclusions about Israel and Palestine, about the world beyond, is a belief in the universality of humanity. And what universality means is that we cannot pick and choose which crimes against humanity we oppose. We must be in opposition to all of them. And I think that, you know, to the earlier question of which ICC warrant would you honor, it has to be all of them. And I think that the other point to be made clear here is that I'm the mayor of every New Yorker, and that means that I am the mayor of those who agree with me and those who disagree with me and those who frankly don't even know what I think on any issue.
And my responsibility is to deliver for all of those. And frankly, I know that there are Jewish New Yorkers who agree with my analysis, there are those who disagree with my analysis and my responsibility to them is to ensure that they are cherished, they are celebrated and they are safe in their city. And that never are they made to feel as if their opinions on any one issue is the precondition for that safety.
Question: I just wanted to follow up on Melissa's question about why Netanyahu specifically is often targeted in some of your comments. For example, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was arrested for a warrant that was here in the U.S. And you were very against that. So, I guess how do you — do you place more emphasis on the warrants that were issued by the International Criminal Court than here in U.S.? How do you reconcile those two?
Mayor Mamdani: I would say that the International Criminal Court is a body that seeks to hold those across the world accountable for crimes against humanity, for war crimes [and] for things of that nature. And I think that the United States should not only be a party to that court but should also execute the warrants that that court issues. And what I have spoken up about, Nicolás Maduro, who I've also described appropriately as a dictator, is that the violation of international law is one that has to also be taken very seriously.
It stems from the same belief in the International Criminal Court, and now he is here in New York City. On that day when the United States did violate international law, I made clear that I was in opposition to that, and it all stems from the same belief in how can there be a sanctity and something beyond an understanding of the world where might is right and justice is simply decided by those who are the strongest.
Question: Really quick, back to Legionnaires, on the NYC Gov website, it says there's a six-month delay in posting inspection results to the public. Is there any way that that six-month lag could be updated so people can see when their buildings are being inspected on a faster timeline? And secondly, during the speaker's press conference yesterday, she called for there to be a dedicated hotline during peak Legionella season just to notify the public and inform them of — can they walk past this building outside? Is it safe to do so? Or do they need to be wearing a mask, et cetera. Is that something that the Health Department would consider doing, especially in the summer months when we're seeing it more rampant?
Mayor Mamdani: I think we will consider any proposal that we believe to be helpful to both public health and awareness of public health. What I will say is that we've also had a Health Department that has had a number of town halls, press availabilities [and a] presence physically on the streets as well. I recall, in fact, speaking to the health commissioner over the holiday weekend, which is when this began, and asking that we do everything that we can. And this was his vision to ensure that we were physically present at that time — to be there. And also, as you said, to the website as well as in any of these press availabilities, but we will always consider anything that we can do that can further that guidance, and I'll just pass it over to the commissioner on the first question.
Commissioner Martin: So, transparency has been a key focus throughout this whole investigation. And you've seen our administration be more transparent than any other administration with regard to handling this cluster. Let me explain that. So, in the past, we would only release the names of the cooling towers that were bacterial-culture positive. What we decided to do this time was to expedite the whole process, because the culture-positive step takes two weeks. New Yorkers don't have time to wait for two weeks.
And so, we decided to make the decision of releasing the names of the towers and the addresses at the PCR-positive step, which is a much quicker test to get back. We're committed to identifying every single way that we can be more transparent. And so, I'll speak to the mayor's point and then come back to what you mentioned about the speaker. We are eager to identify ways to push nation-leading Legionella laws even further to keep New Yorkers safe.
Question: To Dr. Martin, a point of clarity on Legionella: Initially, I think you and the team believed that there was a single source of the Legionella infections, right? It sounds now as if you believe there may have been or are multiple sources of Legionella. Can you clarify that for us?
Commissioner Martin: So, we started with 183 cooling towers, 76 of which were PCR positive. Let me explain what that means, right? So, the PCR-positive towers mean that we find evidence of DNA of Legionella in that tower. Now the DNA could be live, or it could be dead, right? The only version that can hurt you is the live Legionella bacteria, so we now have a preliminary list of 34 cooling towers that have that live Legionella bacteria. Now, the next step is, quite frankly, my favorite. This is the nerdiest step, and this is the whole genome sequence step. We take the bacteria that we found in those 34 towers, and we identify the samples from our patients, and we try and make a match. And what we typically find in these clusters is that there is one tower. Last time in Harlem, there were two.
My expectation is that we're going to have a similar pattern here, where there will likely be one tower, or perhaps two, that actually do have the same DNA pattern as the one that caused this cluster. Why are there so many? I think there's a question underneath that question, which is, why are there so many bacterial culture positives? As you heard us say earlier, this is a bacteria which is ubiquitous. It's everywhere. And the vast majority of these towers have infinitesimal, small, trace amounts of Legionella bacteria. Some have enough to cause a cluster. Our job now, now that we've eliminated the source, is to identify specifically which tower caused this cluster. So, that's the work ahead of us.