In a move that seemed designed to satisfy both business leaders and his democratic socialist supporters, Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday appointed two people whose perspectives might seem at odds to head the Economic Development Corporation in New York City.<\/p>\n
Anthony E. Shorris, a veteran of city government and a partner at the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, will serve as president<\/a>. Lina Khan, the former chair of the Federal Trade Commission and an advocate for strong government regulation, will serve as the board chairwoman.<\/p>\n The announcement by Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, comes as his administration has sought to shift the focus of the corporation, known as the E.D.C. It is a municipally run nonprofit designed to drive economic growth by creating jobs and encouraging economic development.<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani, whose campaign promises to improve life for working-class New Yorkers will most likely require a robust economy, has said he wants the organization to also focus on economic justice. The business community has expressed concerns about that shift and questioned whether the mayor was being inattentive to the city\u2019s economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those concerns heightened after The New York Times disclosed a memo<\/a>, circulated by Julie Su, the deputy mayor for economic justice, that demanded that every E.D.C. program be re-evaluated to ensure the organization was not focused solely on economic growth, but also on justice.<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani, speaking at a news conference at City Hall, said that he believed \u201cthat economic development and economic justice must go hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is no radical concept,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Mr. Shorris\u2019s appointment was applauded by some city business, union and political leaders.<\/p>\n In a statement, Carlo Scissura, the president and chief executive of the New York Building Congress, said Mr. Shorris would \u201ctruly bring together housing and economic development and growth.\u201d Richard R. Buery Jr., the chief executive of Robin Hood, an anti-poverty organization, said Mr. Shorris had the \u201ccross-sector credibility\u201d to spur job growth while focusing on \u201cequity and economic justice\u201d for city residents.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s news release announcing the appointments did not include anyone other than the mayor and Mr. Shorris praising Ms. Khan, one of the most influential advisers helping to shape the Mamdani administration\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n She is regarded as an antitrust crusader. During her time as chairwoman of the F.T.C., she sought to block acquisitions by Meta and Google<\/a>. She filed suit against Amazon<\/a>, accusing it of protecting a monopoly over online retailers.<\/p>\n During Mr. Mamdani\u2019s transition to becoming mayor, Ms. Khan led a team that scoured city laws to find executive and regulatory actions<\/a> that he could unilaterally take during his first days in office to protect workers and lower costs.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s obvious the mayor is trying to strike a balance between his commitment on jobs and economic growth and economic justice,\u201d Kathy Wylde, the former president of the influential business advocacy group the Partnership for New York City, said in an interview. \u201cThe appointment of Shorris and Khan does that.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Ms Khan praised the agency\u2019s role in building the economy and driving growth. She emphasized that those goals were not out of line with economic justice.<\/p>\n \u201cE.D.C. has key tools to drive projects that grow our economy, create good jobs, promote entrepreneurship and make life more affordable for New Yorkers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Steven Fulop, the current head of the Partnership for New York City, praised Mr. Shorris as an experienced government veteran but said Ms. Khan\u2019s appointment sends a \u201cmixed message to the business community.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Khan\u2019s reputation has been \u201cbuilt on an adversarial approach to large enterprises at the federal level,\u201d Mr. Fulop said in a statement<\/a>. The ultimate direction of the agency remained \u201cunclear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The agency is considered one of the city\u2019s most powerful instruments for economic growth. <\/p>\n Previous mayors have utilized its agility to manage major projects that have shaped the city, such as public financing for the expansive Hudson Yards development, the creation of a research university on Roosevelt Island and a citywide ferry system.<\/p>\n But the co-chairman of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Gustavo Gordillo, recently criticized the E.D.C. as \u201ca concierge service for a small number of wealthy New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the chapter supported Ms. Khan in her new role and hoped that Mr. Shorris would \u201cembrace\u201d the messages that voters have been sending: \u201cVoters want government officials to use every tool they have to tackle ambitious, transformative projects that increase affordability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Daniel Wortel-London, an assistant professor of history at Bard College, said that he expected the agency to continue to produce high-profile projects favored by groups like the Real Estate Board of New York, but he noted that Ms. Khan would face pressure from grass-roots groups to live up to the mayor\u2019s promise to use the agency to promote economic justice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to be anti-something, as in anti-trusts,\u201d said Mr. Wortel-London. \u201cIt\u2019s more difficult in some ways to think of what your positive vision for the city\u2019s economy is.\u201d<\/p>\n After Wednesday morning\u2019s announcement, former E.D.C. staff members began to exchange flurries of messages \u2014 many expressing excitement at Mr. Shorris\u2019s appointment, but also voicing some uncertainty about what Ms. Khan\u2019s role might mean.<\/p>\n Mr. Shorris, who has served as the first deputy mayor to Bill de Blasio, responsible for over 300,000 employees, and as the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said he was given a mandate to \u201cadvance the goals of economic justice and affordability through economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n During his time as first deputy mayor, Mr. Shorris was criticized for being part of \u201ca lack of accountability within city government\u201d for lifting the deed restriction for the sale of Rivington House<\/a>, a former nursing home in Manhattan, for $16.5 million. The owner then flipped the property for $116 million.<\/p>\n