Page 16 - The Indian EYE 092526

North The Indian Eye

AMERICANNewsline

16 SEPTEMBER 25, 2026

Mamdani Expands City Team with Key

Media, Jobs and Health Appointments

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani has strengthened his administration with appointments spanning
ethnic and community media, workforce development and public health, bringing experienced

professionals into key positions across New York City government.

OUR BUREAU

NEW YORK, NY
ew York Mayor Zohran
Kwame Mamdani has an-
Nnounced a series of appoint-
ments aimed at strengthening the
city’s engagement with its diverse
communities, expanding pathways
to good jobs and reinforcing public
health leadership. Mazin Sidahmed named Dr Dave A. Chokshi Doug Lipari appointed
The appointments include jour- as Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of appointed to the NYC Board as Executive Director of the Office of Talent
nalist and community media entre-
preneur Mazin Sidahmed as Execu- Ethnic and Community Media of Health. and Workforce Development
tive Director of the Mayor’s Office
of Ethnic and Community Media, nity they belong to. ethnic and community media organi- ways into economic security,” Mam-
the reappointment of Doug Lipari “City services only matter if they sations thrive. dani said.
as Executive Director of the Office reach the people who need them,” Sidahmed previously worked as Mamdani appointed Dr Dave A.
of Talent and Workforce Develop- Mamdani said, stressing the impor- a reporter at The Guardian and The Chokshi to the NYC Board of Health,
ment, known as NYC Talent, and the tance of communicating with New Daily Star in Lebanon. His journal- with the City Council approving the
appointment of physician and former Yorkers through trusted local plat- ism and community media work has appointment on September 10. Chok-
New York City Health Commission- forms. received several awards, including the shi will serve the remainder of a six-
er Dr Dave A. Chokshi to the NYC The Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Edward R. Murrow, Deadline Club, year term expiring May 31, 2030.
Board of Health. Community Media was established Online Journalism and LION awards. Chokshi previously served as New
Together, the appointments high- under Local Law 83 of 2021 and is the Mamdani has also reappoint- York City’s 43rd Health Commission-
light three areas that are central to first mayoral office of its kind in the ed Doug Lipari to lead NYC Talent, er and Chair of the Board of Health.
the administration’s stated priorities: United States. The law requires each where he will oversee efforts to devel- He is also a practising physician
ensuring government information mayoral agency to seek to direct at op an inclusive economy centred on at Bellevue Hospital and currently
reaches New Yorkers across linguistic least 50 per cent of its total advertis- access to good jobs. serves as Sternberg Family Professor
and community lines, connecting res- ing spending to ethnic and community Lipari joined NYC Talent in 2023 and Founding Director of the Health
idents with economic opportunities media outlets. and played a key role in launching & Opportunity Leadership Institute
and strengthening the city’s public For New York’s large immigrant Community Hiring, an initiative that at the City College of New York.
health infrastructure. and multilingual population, that pol- uses the city’s purchasing power to His previous tenure as health
Sidahmed, co-founder and exec- icy gives community newspapers, ra- create employment pathways and commissioner included the city’s re-
utive director of Documented, brings dio programmes and other local me- union apprenticeships for low-income sponse to the COVID-19 pandemic,
nearly 15 years of experience in jour- dia an important role in connecting New Yorkers, including NYCHA resi- including its vaccination campaign,
nalism and community media. Doc- residents with government. dents and working-class communities. testing and treatment strategies and
umented is a multilingual nonprofit Sidahmed said his experience He also leads the city’s negotia- the reopening of schools and the
newsroom serving immigrant New at Documented had been based on tions of Project Labor Agreements economy.
Yorkers in English, Spanish, Chinese creating a connection between immi- covering billions of dollars in con- Current Health Commissioner
and Haitian Creole. grant New Yorkers and services that struction projects. The agreements Dr Alister F. Martin said Chokshi
In his new role, Sidahmed will they may not otherwise know about. are intended to control costs while would bring decades of experience
oversee paid media placement and “I created Documented to be the ensuring fair wages and benefits and at the city, state and federal levels to
marketing efforts across city agen- connective tissue between immi- creating pathways into union con- the Board.
cies, with a focus on ethnic and grant New Yorkers and the often struction careers. Chokshi said returning to the
community media outlets and ensur- lifesaving services that many are un- “Doug has spent years making Board was an honour, describing it
ing information about city services aware of,” he said. He added that he sure that when the City spends mon- as an institution that had safeguard-
reaches residents regardless of the was looking forward to continuing ey, New Yorkers get something back ed New Yorkers for more than two
language they speak or the commu- that work across the city while helping — good jobs, fair wages and real path- centuries.

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