New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani hasn’t taken office yet, but the Democrat party’s new superstar is already dealing with a public relations disaster over a high-profile appointee’s antisemitic social media posts.
Catherine Almonte Da Costa, who was just tapped by the incoming mayor to be his director of appointments, stepped down on Thursday after her old posts expressing derogatory opinions about Jewish people were dug up, with the Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey calling for an “immediate explanation” from both her and Mamdani.
In the posts from 2011 and 2012 that were shared on Twitter, since rebranded as X, Almonte Da Costa used such antisemitic tropes as “money hungry Jews” and that the Far Rockaway train was “the Jew train.” In another tweet, she wrote, “Woo! Promoted to the upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps.”
Meet Catherine Almonte Da Costa, Zohran Mamdani’s pick for Director of Appointments in his new administration:
– “Jew train”
– “money hungry Jews”
– “rich Jewish peeps”After her old posts resurfaced, she thankfully resigned this afternoon and says she is a mother to Jewish… pic.twitter.com/pNL1C9I2vH
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) December 18, 2025
The inflammatory posts remained up until Thursday afternoon when Almonte Da Costa deleted the account, and probably would still be there had they not been caught by researchers, even though they were apparently missed by Mamdani’s team during the vetting process, or even worse, they didn’t care.
In its own post to X, the New York-New Jersey ADL raised questions about the new mayor’s vetting process and the appropriateness of having an apparent antisemite in charge of staffing his administration.
Mayor-Elect Mamdani has announced Catherine (Cat) Almonte Da Costa as his Director of Appointments, tasked with “bring[ing] top talent into this administration.”
Her social media footprint includes posts from more than a decade ago that echo classic antisemitic tropes and… pic.twitter.com/fMe2zMuphA
— ADL New York / New Jersey (@ADL_NYNJ) December 18, 2025
“Mayor-Elect Mamdani has announced Catherine (Cat) Almonte Da Costa as his Director of Appointments, tasked with ‘bring[ing] top talent into this administration,’” the organization wrote. “Her social media footprint includes posts from more than a decade ago that echo classic antisemitic tropes and otherwise demean Jewish people. Tweeting about ‘Money hungry Jews’ is indefensible.”
“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 post read.
“Vetting the appointment of city leaders will be Ms. Da Costa’s responsibility and the Jewish community deserves to know: 1) Were these comments previously identified by the Mayor-elect’s team? If so, why were they excused? 2) What will be the policy of the new Administration if comments like these are discovered during the vetting process?”
The ADL asked questions that are very important despite her abrupt resignation.
“I spoke with the Mayor-elect this afternoon, apologized, and expressed my deep regret for my past statements,” Da Costa said in a statement explaining that she was resigning from the new job because she had become a “distraction” a mere day after her appointment had been announced.
“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. As this has become a distraction from the work at hand, I have offered my resignation,” she added.
In other posts, the veteran of the Bill de Blasio administration also trashed the New York City Police Department (NYPD) with one saying, “F— the police.”
“I’m going to need a couple of piggy banks to pay these off :/ but no I was referring to the nypd piggies!!!!” she wrote in a 2012 post.
Da Costa’s contempt isn’t limited to Jews and seems to include white people in general, according to resurfaced remarks posted to X and shared by former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk.
Troubling https://t.co/AlYrEzTqR2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2025
The appointment should raise questions about others in Mamdani’s regime, with antisemitism running deep in the Democratic Party.
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