Mamdani appointee edited out of New York magazine cover after antisemitic comments sparked resignation

An appointee tapped to join New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration was edited out of a magazine cover featuring his inner circle after antisemitic comments resurfaced, forcing her to resign.

Catherine Almonte Da Costa was selected to lead Mamdani’s office of appointments, handling “talent recruitment strategy,” until social media posts she wrote as a teenager in 2011 and 2012 were publicized.

Da Costa offered Mamdani her resignation on December 18, but had already taken part in a photoshoot for New York magazine the day before, which featured the then-Mayor-elect and his closest aides.

She was removed from the front cover by the magazine’s editors, who decided it would have been “inappropriate” to publish a photograph that included Da Costa, The New York Times reported.

“The magazine’s editors decided to remove her from the image, since it was meant to represent the mayor-elect’s inner circle for the new administration,” Lauren Starke, a spokeswoman for the magazine, told the Times.

There is an open white space where Da Costa originally featured on the cover, according to the outlet.

Starke said the magazine did not consult with Mamdani’s team about removing Da Costa from the photograph.

The Independent has contacted New York for further comment.

Da Costa’s disparaging social media posts were first reported by the Judge Street Journal newsletter and were amplified by the Anti-Defamation League.

“Money hungry Jews smh,” she wrote in one post from 2011.

“Far Rockaway train is the Jew train,” she said in another post in 2012.

In a statement, Da Costa said she expressed “deep regret” for the posts.

“These statements are not indicative of who I am. As the mother of Jewish children, I feel a profound sense of sadness and remorse at the harm these words have caused,” Da Costa said.

“Catherine expressed her deep remorse over her past statements and tendered her resignation, and I accepted,” Mamdani said in a statement at the time.

In the wake of Mamdani’s decisive victory in the New York City mayoral race, the ADL announced it was launching a “Mamdani Monitor” to track the mayor-elect’s policies and personnel appointments. Besides researching the Mamdani administration, the initiative will also include a tip line to report antisemitism related to City Hall.

Mamdani, who became the first-ever Muslim mayor of New York City, has been outspoken on his views about Israel’s war in Gaza and his fight for Palestinian rights.

At the same time, he has pushed back against criticism that his stance towards Israel is antisemitic, and his campaign gained the support of young and progressive Jewish voters.