Zohran Mamdani has tapped former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan to lead New York City's Economic Development Board, a move that reshapes leadership at the city's most powerful development agencies.
Khan, who served as FTC chair during the Biden administration, has been advising Mamdani and played a role in evaluating candidates for other posts within the city's economic development structure. Her appointment signals the mayor's intent to steer economic policy in a new direction.
Tony Shorris, a veteran of city government dating back to 1979, will head the Economic Development Corporation. Shorris left municipal service years ago to become a partner at McKinsey and Company but is now returning to public administration. At a Wednesday press conference, he recalled his recent introduction to Mamdani, saying the mayor's vision for New York's future aligned with principles central to his campaign.
The EDC operates as the city's official economic development agency and manages a sprawling portfolio. It controls more than 60 million square feet of property as New York's largest landlord and oversees roughly 100 active construction projects worth approximately $6 billion in total investment.
The agency's board has greenlit some of the city's most visible developments over the years, from Hudson Yards and the High Line to the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island and the city's ferry system. That power has drawn criticism from those who argue the EDC has historically favored business interests over broader public concerns.
Rather than naming a deputy mayor for economic development, Mamdani created the city's first deputy mayor for economic justice, a structural choice that underscores a different philosophy about how city government should approach economic development.
Author James Rodriguez: "Khan's move from federal antitrust enforcement to steering city development money is a striking choice that tells you exactly where Mamdani wants to take economic policy in New York."
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