NYC Mayor Mamdani’s racial equity plan draws conservative and DOJ scrutiny
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his “Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan” on Monday, quickly drawing backlash from conservatives online and skepticism from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, with a top official saying she would “review” the decision.
press release that the preliminary report, which the mayor promised to release within 100 days of his term, shows racial disparities in areas such as housing, education and income, and that the new plan aims to “establish a new framework for how New York City measures affordability, understands inequality and plans for a more equitable future.”
“The True Cost of Living measure provides an honest account of what it really costs to live in this city. — and who is left behind. This shows that this is not a crisis affecting a small minority of New Yorkers. This is a crisis that affects the vast majority of our city, in every borough and every neighborhood,” Mamdani said in the statement.
“But we know that this crisis is not felt equally. Black and Latino New Yorkers — who have been driven out of this town for decades — bear the cost. The Draft Racial Equity Plan is where we begin to reverse this trend. These reports make one thing clear: we cannot address systemic racial inequities without confronting the affordability crisis head-on, and we cannot solve the cost of living crisis without dismantling systemic racial inequities. »
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New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani stands silently during a press conference on the Air Canada Express crash at Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026.
Mamdani’s announcement quickly drew backlash from conservatives, as well as the Trump administration, expressing concerns about race-based initiatives and spending that the administration has worked to roll back since taking office last year.
“It seems shady/illegal,” said Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights. posted on. “I’m going to study!”
“Outright racism against white people,” the conservative TikTok influencer account Libs posted on X.
“The reality is that Mamdani is implementing blatantly racist policies that reward and punish people based on their skin color,” conservative commentator Paul A. Szypula posted on X.
The city billed the racial equity plan as “the first time a New York City administration has required major city agencies to examine their work through a racial equity lens and identify and eliminate disparities” and said the plan sets goals in seven areas, including: “children, youth, seniors and families;
The report cites a significant gap in the median net worth of white households compared to black households, while reporting that black New Yorkers also have lower life expectancies, and suggests that the way to close these gaps is a broad framework including more than 200 agency-level goals, more than 800 proposed strategies, and approximately 600 performance indicators intended to track progress over time.
“Inequity has been embedded in the foundations of our city and nation since their inception; dismantling it requires a collective effort,” Afua Atta-Mensah, New York City’s director of equities and commissioner in New York City Mayor Afua Atta-Mensah’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice, said in Monday’s press release.
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“New York’s preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan reflects the City’s commitment to systemic transformation, turning our values into action. From housing and health care to education and infrastructure, each agency plays a central role in reshaping how government serves New Yorkers. This plan sets out measurable goals and concrete strategies to advance racial equity, promote justice, and create lasting change.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani’s office and the DOJ for comment.
Since his mayoral campaign, Mamdani has faced intense criticism for his focus on race and “equity, including a political proposal“Stop the Squeeze on New York Homeowners,” which outlined his plans to “shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods.”
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Ramadan Iftar hosted by his team at the New York Taxi Workers Association, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in New York. (Angelina Katsanis/AP)
In February, Mamdani compared to his budget plan which called for the Office of Racial Equity to receive $5.6 million per year, while the Commission on Racial Equity would receive $4.6 million, for a combined total of $10.2 million. The new figure represents an increase of about $3 million — a jump of about 42 percent — from the roughly $7.2 million allocated last year.
Amanda Macias of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
