Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday that progressive antitrust regulator Lina Khan will serve as the chair of the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
Her appointment — along with Mamdani’s pick of government veteran Tony Shorris as EDC president — comes after months of speculation among political observers over how a democratic socialist mayor would run a powerful economic development agency that has been accused of prioritizing business interests over the public.
News of the announcement was first reported by Gothamist.
During a press conference at City Hall, Mamdani hailed Khan as a champion for working people and small businesses. He said that as the chair of his mayoral transition team, Khan had “helped to craft an agenda that put working New Yorkers at the heart of our first 100 days.” The chair position is unpaid.
Khan’s appointment — which comes seven months after Mamdani entered office — amounts to a shakeup for the agency. The board must approve the EDC’s projects and deals, which have included Hudson Yards, High Line, the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island and the city’s ferry system.
During her remarks, Khan said that the EDC is a key tool for affordability as well as economic growth.
“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,” she said. “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.”
Business leaders have been closely watching how the mayor manages the EDC. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has sought to change City Hall’s relationship to economic development. Rather than tapping a deputy mayor for economic development, he appointed the first-ever deputy mayor for economic justice.
At the same event, Mamdani announced Shorris, a former first deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio, would take over as EDC president. Some also viewed the former McKinsey partner's appointment as a nod to the business community.
Mamdani likened Shorris and Khan to the “economic wonks version of the 1992 Olympic basketball dream team.”
Khan chaired the Federal Trade Commission under the Biden administration, where she became a darling of the left for curbing monopolies and taking on big business interests. Critics accused her of overstepping her authority.
She has been a close adviser to the mayor, leaving many to wonder whether she would play a role in the administration.
The mayor appoints most of the EDC board members. While the president handles the day-to-day operations, the board helps guide the agency’s strategic mission.
This story has been updated with new information.
