For the first six months of Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s tenure, the leadership of New York City\u2019s Economic Development Corporation remained a question mark.<\/p>\n
Last week he answered that question \u2014 and raised even more.<\/p>\n
Mamdani appointed Lina Khan<\/a>, President Joe Biden\u2019s notorious antitrust crusader, to chair the EDC\u2019s board, and selected Anthony Shorris, a former first deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio and current partner at McKinsey & Co., as EDC president.<\/p>\n Former mayors used the EDC as a vehicle for growth, investment and job creation.<\/p>\n Khan\u2019s appointment signals that Mamani, in contrast, plans to wield it as a lever to remake the city\u2019s economy in a progressive mold.<\/p>\n And as Gotham struggles to compete against fast-growing, low-tax Sun Belt cities, Khan\u2019s influence could make New York even less business-friendly.<\/p>\n For years, the EDC\u2019s primary ambit has involved overseeing real estate development and public-private partnerships within the city.<\/p>\n Because it operates under more flexible procurement and staffing rules than the infamously ossified city government does, it can move faster to pursue deals and complete projects.<\/p>\n Hudson Yards, the new Yankee Stadium and the NYC ferry system are just a few of its successes.<\/p>\n But Mamdani was slow to appoint new leadership, leaving the corporation rudderless.<\/p>\n And top aides like\u00a0Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su have made it clear that he intends to remake the EDC as a conduit for economic justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n Candidates for the agency\u2019s leadership positions were reportedly peppered with questions about holding companies accountable, not queries on boosting the city\u2019s economic competitiveness, in their job interviews.<\/p>\n Khan, who chaired of the Federal Trade Commission under Biden \u2014 and who, according to The New York Times, has \u201climited experience in economic development\u201d \u2014 oversaw those interviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n She\u2019s a controversial figure, and for good reason: Her reign as FTC chair was marked by her openly anti-business bent.<\/p>\n During her tenure, the agency axed a key line from its mission statement: a vow to pursue its policies \u201cwithout unduly burdening legitimate business activity.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, Khan appeared ideologically determined to burden businesses in any way possible.<\/p>\n Khan chose to expand the agency\u2019s authority well beyond enforcing antitrust law, its normal bailiwick.<\/p>\n She expanded its mission to include cracking down on \u201cunfair competition\u201d outside the antitrust realm, such as her war on \u201cjunk fees.\u201d<\/p>\n The FTC began operating as a roving government policeman, free to target any business conduct that met its disapproval.<\/p>\n Rather than relying on the agency\u2019s usual case-by-case method of enforcing the law, Khan started pursuing\u00a0broader rule-makings\u00a0that sought to restrict entire sectors of the economy.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet opinions and commentary from our columnists\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The agency passed a nationwide ban on noncompete agreements, a blatant overreach that was later\u00a0struck down\u00a0<\/a>in federal court.<\/p>\n The FTC also attempted to impose aggressive\u00a0rules\u00a0<\/a>on data security and surveillance advertising \u2014 an effort that would have turned the agency into a shadow legislature for our digital economy.<\/p>\n Under Khan, the FTC blocked several high-profile mergers<\/a>, including one between the grocery chains Albertsons and Kroger \u2014 even though the merger would have likely increased healthy competition in the grocery industry.<\/p>\n Khan is a leading proponent of the recent progressive push attacking big business and corporate consolidation.<\/p>\n Under this ideology, large companies are \u201cinherently dangerous\u201d \u2014 so the government should reshape the economy and restore power into \u201cthe hands of small-business owners.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s uncertain how this worldview might play out at the EDC with Khan as chair.<\/p>\n Shorris, who will run its day-to-day operations, may serve as a counterbalance to Khan\u2019s anti-business zeal.<\/p>\n But some early clues indicate otherwise.<\/p>\n In Mamdani\u2019s first few months, the EDC debuted what it\u2019s calling a first-of-its-kind government-backed insurance program<\/a> that\u2019s targeted toward affordable housing and rent-stabilized units.<\/p>\n But the program merely throws public money at the growing problem of high property-insurance costs, without addressing its sources, including the state\u2019s tort and liability laws.<\/p>\n