Mayor Mamdani announced two new appointments to lead the city’s Economic Development Corporation — one city government veteran and one close ally to Mamdani — as the mayor looks to steer the nonprofit in a more democratic socialist direction.
Anthony Shorris, a former deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio and most recently a partner at McKinsey, will be president, and Lina Khan, the former chairperson of the Federal Trade Commission, will serve as the board chairperson of EDC, a nonprofit that uses city resources to spur economic development, often with public-private partnerships.
Mamdani has pushed for EDC to emphasize economic justice and helping working-class New Yorkers instead of mostly focusing on the business class and corporations. Some of the mayor’s signature projects, including city-run grocery stores, fall under the purview of EDC.
At a press conference Wednesday announcing the appointments, Mamdani praised Shorris’ enthusiasm for that vision.
“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,” Mamdani said.
Shorris previously worked for former Mayors Koch and de Blasio. At McKinsey, his portfolio included government, social services and healthcare.
He said Wednesday he “did spend some time” working on a $9.9 million contract with the city’s Department of Social Services that was nixed by the Mamdani administration earlier this year. That contract, in part, helped the city establish an AI tool to help reduce errors in its administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Partnership for New York City President Steve Fulop, a frequent critic of Mamdani’s, praised Shorris as experienced and “well-suited” for the role — but slammed Khan’s appointment, saying it sent a “mixed message to the business community.”
“Lina Khan’s reputation has been built on an adversarial approach to large enterprises at the federal level, whereas NYCEDC’s mission has always been to support the growth and investment in NYC,” Fulop said in a statement. “It’s unclear to us the ultimate direction EDC will be taking and how this will play out over time.”