{"id":98395,"date":"2026-01-13T08:13:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T08:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/98395\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T08:13:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T08:13:25","slug":"mayor-appoints-former-council-member-to-lead-media-office-withdraws-adams-hostile-press-credential-rules-amnewyork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/98395\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor appoints former council member to lead media office, withdraws Adams\u2019 \u2018hostile\u2019 press credential rules \u2013 amNewYork"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday, Jan. 12, marks the 12th day of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office<\/a>\u00a0as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city\u2019s finances. Here\u2019s a summary of what the mayor did today.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> on Monday announced Rafael Espinal as the new commissioner of the Mayor\u2019s Office of Media and Entertainment, and signaled another break with the previous administration by withdrawing proposed \u201chostile\u201d press credential rules that his predecessor, Eric Adams, introduced.<\/p>\n

The announcement came during a press conference at Samson Stages in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where Mamdani framed the creative industries as central to New York City\u2019s identity, economy, and labor future, while responding directly to reporters\u2019 questions about the Adams administration\u2019s final-hour proposal to overhaul City Hall press badge regulations.<\/p>\n

The MOME has been responsible for issuing valid credentials for reporters, editors, and photographers to cross police and fire lines to cover breaking news since a 2021 council bill pulled the responsibility from the NYPD. The proposed rules, released on Dec. 31 under Adams<\/a>, would have tightened credentialing standards and expanded the city\u2019s authority to suspend or revoke press badges.<\/p>\n

On his last day in office, former mayor Adams proposed new rules that would have tightened credentialing standards and expanded the city\u2019s authority to suspend or revoke press badges, making it more difficult for independent journalists to obtain a press pass with one of the proposed rules seeking to \u201crequire applicants to be either employed by or affiliated with a \u2018media platform\u2019 or be a member of a journalism association.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Mamdani, who has widely embraced new media and held his first Blue Room press conference with them last week,<\/a> said Monday that his administration \u201cwill be withdrawing those proposed rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the appointment of Rafael Espinal as Commissioner of the New York City Mayor\u2019s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME)Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

He added that the administration viewed the regulations as fundamentally hostile to press access. \u201cMuch of the reason for that, we view a number of these proposals being an attack on the press,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

Pressed by a reporter to explain what specifically the administration found objectionable, Mamdani said, \u201cWhen going through a number of the different specific proposals, we just see time and again that the intent is not to strengthen whether the public\u2019s accessible information or even the way in which we work with the press corps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore felt as if it was an intent to tighten and restrict the press\u2019s ability to engage with the mayor\u2019s office,\u201d he added, \u201cand that is not something that we want to do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Former mayor Adams was back in NYC Monday to launch a new digital coin<\/a> that he says will help fund education and awareness programs on anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n

Mamdani said he would not be purchasing Adams\u2019 crypto token in response to a reporter\u2019s question, and also declined to engage directly with Adams\u2019 public criticism of the new administration, saying he would \u201cleave the former mayor to answer\u2026that question.\u2019<\/p>\n

Appointments: Espinal back in city government<\/p>\n

The policy reversal came alongside the appointment of Rafael Espinal, the executive director of the Freelancers Union and a former Brooklyn City Council member, to head the agency that oversees film, television, and commercial production in the city.<\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, Mamdani emphasized the cultural and economic significance of the industry, describing New York as a city whose global image has been shaped by what is created on its streets and stages. He repeatedly highlighted the role of union labor, describing actors, writers, stagehands, camera operators, makeup artists, and technicians as central to the city\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis city that treasures the arts, that invests in the arts, that makes it possible for artists and all who contribute to making New York\u2019s entertainment industry to live lives of creativity,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rafael Espinal was appointed the new Commissioner of the New York City Mayor\u2019s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME)Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

He tied the administration\u2019s arts agenda directly to affordability, saying City Hall was confronting the cost-of-living crisis so that creative workers could \u201craise their children here,\u201d \u201cafford studios and homes here,\u201d and \u201ctake fast and free buses to shoots here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we don\u2019t want our efforts to be limited solely to making New York affordable for those making the arts,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cWe also want to make New York affordable to make the arts as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani said Rafael\u2019s background made him uniquely suited for the role, citing his experience in elected office and his leadership at the Freelancers Union, as well as his role in advancing the city\u2019s Freelance Isn\u2019t Free Act, which strengthened protections for independent workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many New Yorkers\u2026 Rafael\u2019s name is synonymous with fierce advocacy for the love of this city and with a commitment of uplifting those too often forgotten by our politics,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

Espinal, who grew up in East New York, used his remarks to describe how film and television shaped his childhood and inspired him to start making short films at the age of 13 \u2014 even as he struggled to see a clear pathway into a creative career.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up on the edges of our city, I didn\u2019t see a clear pipeline into a real career in the creative industries,\u201d he said, adding that he repeatedly heard the message that artists needed a backup plan.<\/p>\n

He framed his appointment as an opportunity to close that gap for future generations.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll work to keep New York the creative capital of the world,\u201d Espinal said, \u201cnot just a place where great work gets made, but a place where the people who make that work can actually live it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Espinal, aligning his agenda closely with the mayor\u2019s affordability platform, emphasized labor partnerships, union jobs, and access to training and benefits as central priorities of the office.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to join the administration because it\u2019s all a government approach to affordability,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause if New York is unaffordable, we don\u2019t just lose residents, we lose our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who previously served as commissioner of the MOME under Mayor Bill de Blasio, also spoke in support of Espinal\u2019s appointment, underscoring the industry\u2019s economic importance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a $104 billion industry with over 305,000 jobs,\u201d Menin said, adding that there are \u201cactually more jobs in New York City in media and entertainment than there are in the financial center.\u201d<\/p>\n

Menin pointed to Espinal\u2019s work on the Freelance Isn\u2019t Free Act, the city\u2019s Freelancers Hub, and the creation of the Office of Nightlife as evidence of his ability to bridge labor policy and creative industries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Monday, Jan. 12, marks the 12th day of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[45330,45331,81,45332,42784,45333,45334,23338,18516,45335,9,24,55,2695,54,56,1260,613,45336,45069,82],"class_list":["post-98395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-city-government-appointments","tag-creative-industries","tag-eric-adams","tag-film-and-television-production","tag-first-100-days","tag-freelancers","tag-journalism-access","tag-labor-unions","tag-mayors-office-of-media-and-entertainment","tag-media-freedom","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-mayor","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-nyc-politics","tag-pm-newsletter","tag-press-credentials","tag-rafael-espinal","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}