Mayor Mamdani is in a race against time to rally support from the New York City Council for his nomination to lead the city’s oversight agency.
The mayor’s team is diligently organizing private meetings between Council members and Nadia Shihata, a former federal prosecutor, whom Mamdani has selected as the new commissioner of the Department of Investigation. This effort unfolds amidst high-stakes negotiations over the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, as reported by Politico on Saturday.
Controversy erupted on Monday when Shihata disclosed during a confirmation hearing that she had contributed $700 and volunteered time to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, raising concerns among Council members.
Insiders shared with both Politico and The Post that the Mayor’s Office aims to reassure Council members about Shihata’s ability to remain unbiased. Her nomination could face a vote as soon as Thursday.
Councilwoman Gale Brewer, representing Manhattan, expressed to Politico her belief that the mayor’s office is uncertain about Shihata’s level of support among Council members.
“They wouldn’t reach out otherwise,” Brewer commented, noting she was invited to meet Shihata but has yet to decide her position.
Another Council member who declined to be named said it’s unusual for a mayor to set up meetings with nominees and Council members after a confirmation hearing.
“Doing this post-hearing is weird,” the member said.
The mayor’s staff’s outreach has even stretched across party lines, with some GOP Council members contacted, although no meetings with Republicans had yet to been set as of Saturday, sources said.
The Mayor’s Office did not return messages but Shihata — who served in the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for 11 years — defended her ability to remain impartial during the hearing.
“I think anyone who knows me or who has worked with me knows my level of professionalism and integrity over my 20-year career, and that I will approach every investigation, including any that may involve the mayor or any senior officials in his administration,” she said.
The DOI assisted the feds in the September 2024 indictment of then-Mayor Eric Adams — prior to the US Department of Justice dropping the charges against him — as well as in other corruption-related probes involving City Hall.
