Zohran Mamdani’s newly appointed director of appointments stepped down on Thursday following the discovery of antisemitic social media posts she made over a decade ago.
Catherine Almonte Da Costa, who had been selected for the position by New York City’s incoming mayor just a day before her resignation, faced criticism from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of New York/New Jersey due to these controversial posts.
The ADL expressed concern about her past online activity, stating, “Her social media history includes posts from more than ten years ago that perpetuate classic antisemitic stereotypes and disparage Jewish people,” as they noted on the platform X.
One of the contentious tweets, posted in January 2011 from a now-deleted account, read: “Money hungry Jews smh.”
Another tweet from June 2011 stated: “Woo! Promoted to the upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps.”
During the time these posts were made, Almonte Da Costa was employed as a receptionist and sales associate at Lens Lab Express in Astoria, Queens, according to her LinkedIn profile.
In July 2012 she returned to social media with yet another post, writing, ‘I always think its (sic) strange that orthodox Jewish women can’t expose their hair so they wear wigs. I guess that it beats wearing a head scarf.’
‘Far Rockaway train is the Jew train,’ she wrote in a separate post.
Catherine Almonte Da Costa gives a speech at a press conference on Wednesday, the day she was selected to be Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s Director of Appointments
Pictured: One of Da Costa’s antisemitic tweets, which were originally uncovered by Judge Street Journal, a Substack newsletter that covers New York politics
On Wednesday, Mamdani, 34, proudly announced that Da Costa was joining his incoming mayoral administration.
‘Welcome to A New Era, Catherine Almonte Da Costa!’ he wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post. ‘Cat’s spent over a decade in public service and personnel management, building strong teams across government.’
Da Costa spent three years working in former Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s office, starting as an intern in March 2014 before working her way up to an executive assistant and then the deputy director of scheduling.
The Judge Street Journal, a Substack newsletter that covers New York politics, was the first to report on Da Costa’s tweets.
The outlet, run by Timmy Facciola, claimed that Da Costa deleted the account that had the antisemitic tweets after she was approached for comment.
‘As the mother of two Jewish children, I deeply regret and apologize for these tweets from well over a decade ago,’ Da Costa said in a statement to the Daily Mail. ‘These comments do not in any way, shape, or form reflect who I am or my views and beliefs today.’
Her husband, Ricky Da Costa, also addressed her tweets, calling them ‘dumb’.
Mamdani proudly announced Da Costa’s appointment before promptly accepting her resignation the next day
‘I don’t come back to this awful place much these days but as the Jew who married Cat, I can guarantee she has grown so much since some dumb tweets when she was 19,’ wrote Ricky, who himself has worked in Bill DeBlasio’s office.
‘Her remorse, like everything else about her, is deeply genuine & she works so hard for a NYC where everyone is safe.’
Mamdani accepted Da Costa’s resignation and told the Daily Mail that ‘Catherine expressed her deep remorse over her past statements.’
Mamdani himself had troubles during his campaign with accusations of antisemitism, his critics repeatedly slamming him for not condemning the phrase ‘Globalize the Intifada.’
It has become a rallying cry for Palestinian activists opposed to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Mamdani has stopped short of condemning the phrase, but in a meeting with prominent business leaders in New York City over the summer, he told them that he would ‘discourage’ its use.
Da Costa would have been responsible for overseeing who joined Mamdani’s ranks at City Hall.
Mamdani and Da Costa declined to comment beyond the statements already given. The ADL also declined to comment further.
