A senior appointee selected by New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is facing scrutiny after a series of antisemitic and anti-police social media posts from more than a decade ago resurfaced this week, as reported by the New York Post.
Catherine Almonte Da Costa, whom Mamdani announced Wednesday as the city’s next director of appointments, authored multiple posts on X in 2011 and 2012 that relied on antisemitic stereotypes and included derogatory language targeting the New York Police Department, according to newly uncovered screenshots shared by the Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey.
Welcome to A New Era, Catherine Almonte Da Costa!
Cat’s spent over a decade in public service and personnel management, building strong teams across government. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, she’s joining us as Director of Appointments to bring top talent… pic.twitter.com/TSdvOV190E
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) December 17, 2025
The ADL publicly demanded answers Thursday, questioning whether Mamdani and his transition team were aware of Da Costa’s past posts and how they plan to respond.
“Her social media footprint includes posts from more than a decade ago that echo classic antisemitic tropes and otherwise demean Jewish people,” the ADL wrote on X. “Tweeting about ‘Money hungry Jews’ is indefensible.”
Among the posts highlighted was a January 2011 tweet from Da Costa that read, “Money hungry Jews smh.”
In June 2011, she wrote, “Woo! Promoted to the upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps.” Another post from June 2012 stated, “Far Rockaway train is the Jew train.”
The ADL noted that the posts remained publicly accessible until Thursday afternoon, when Da Costa’s account was apparently deleted.
Before the account went dark, the organization pressed Mamdani’s team for clarity on whether the remarks were known, excused, or would be addressed going forward.
“We appreciate Da Costa has relationships with members of the Jewish community, but her posts require immediate explanation — not just from Ms. Da Costa, but also from the Mayor-Elect,” the ADL said.
🚨 Zohran Mamdani appointee Catherine Almonte Da Costa made vile antisemitic comments in unearthed social media posts, which are now deleted pic.twitter.com/K7RbEmIbU6
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) December 18, 2025
In addition to the antisemitic remarks, Da Costa’s social media history included repeated attacks on law enforcement. In one post, she wrote “F— the police.”
Another included a pig emoji following “#nypd.”
In a separate 2012 post, Da Costa wrote, “I’m going to need a couple of piggy banks to pay these off :/ but no I was referring to the nypd piggies!!!!”
Da Costa also publicly supported the “defund the police” movement during the unrest following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
On June 15, 2020, she posted, “#DefundNYPD by $1B in FY2021, get cops out of our schools & subways, and invest in our communities!”
Da Costa previously worked in former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration on its census team.
At the time of her appointment, Mamdani’s transition team said she would be leaving her role as head of culture at the Orchestra to help “bring top talent” into the incoming administration.
As director of appointments, Da Costa would play a central role in staffing Mamdani’s administration, a position that places her at the center of city government hiring decisions.
Da Costa did not return a request for comment. Mamdani’s office also did not immediately respond to questions regarding whether the posts were reviewed before her appointment or whether her role is being reconsidered.
The controversy marks an early personnel challenge for the mayor-elect as his transition gets underway, with Jewish advocacy groups now calling for direct answers from City Hall before Da Costa assumes her post.
