Mayor Mamdani introduced Nadia Shihata as his choose for the brand new commissioner for the Division of Investigations on Feb 12, 2026.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s choose to run town’s Division of Investigation (DOI), a corruption watchdog, confronted pointed questions from Metropolis Council members Monday over her personal help for his marketing campaign.
Legislators peppered Nadia Shihata about her previous political help for Mamdani, together with making $700 in donations and a stint canvassing on his behalf, and pressed her on whether or not she might independently examine the administration that chosen her.
Throughout the April 6 listening to earlier than the Council’s Committee on Guidelines, Privileges, Elections, Requirements and Ethics, chaired by Linda Lee (D-Queens), Shihata was additionally quizzed about her relationship with senior figures in Metropolis Corridor and whether or not she would recuse herself from future investigations involving the mayor or his inside circle.
Shihata, a former federal prosecutor nominated by Mamdani on Feb. 12 to function DOI commissioner, acknowledged throughout the affirmation course of that she had donated 4 occasions to Mamdani’s mayoral marketing campaign, for a complete of $700. She additionally stated she as soon as canvassed for him, knocking on doorways for about an hour.
Council members used these disclosures to problem Shihata on whether or not New Yorkers would belief her to analyze the mayor and prime administration officers with out worry or favor. Within the listening to, Shihata defended her document and stated any investigation underneath her watch can be guided by information, regulation and proof quite than politics or private relationships.
“Why should New Yorkers believe that you can independently act when it comes to being the DOI commissioner with these relationships with the mayor?” Deputy Chief Chris Banks (D-Brooklyn) requested.
In later questioning, she stated she would method the job as she had her work as a federal prosecutor: “without fear or favor, following the evidence and the law and nothing else.” However she stopped in need of promising blanket recusals in each hypothetical case, saying as an alternative that she would search the recommendation of counsel and comply with that recommendation if conflicts arose.
She additionally stated she didn’t consider her prior monetary help for Mamdani created a battle.
Ties to mayor’s chief counsel
Lawmakers additionally questioned Shihata about her relationship with Ramzi Kassem, the mayor’s chief counsel. Shihata stated Kassem reached out to gauge her curiosity within the DOI put up earlier than she utilized. He reportedly reached out to her days after former DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber tendered her resignation in early January.
She additionally indicated she wouldn’t routinely step apart from issues involving Kassem, saying recusal would rely upon the circumstances and steerage from company counsel.
Beneath the Metropolis Constitution, the DOI commissioner oversees investigations into corruption, fraud, waste and abuse throughout metropolis businesses and amongst these doing enterprise with town. The earlier DOI management investigated misconduct at excessive ranges of municipal authorities, heightening scrutiny over who will take over the put up and the way unbiased that particular person will probably be.
Mamdani launched Shihata’s nomination in February as a part of a broader promise to revive belief in metropolis authorities. On the time, he described her as a veteran prosecutor with expertise in public corruption and arranged crime instances.
Shihata spent greater than a decade within the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Jap District of New York, the place she labored on main racketeering and public corruption issues, together with serving as a lead prosecutor within the R. Kelly case. She later co-founded a boutique regulation agency centered on legal protection, civil rights instances and inside investigations.
Metropolis Corridor pushed again on the criticism after the listening to. “The Mayor was proud to nominate Nadia Shihata for DOI Commissioner because of her demonstrated integrity, her extensive experience as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and her track record of rooting out corruption throughout her career,” spokesperson Dora Pekec stated.
Throughout Monday’s listening to, council members additionally widened the dialogue past her private ties to Metropolis Corridor. They requested about DOI’s funds and staffing ranges, the company’s independence, and its oversight of the New York Metropolis Housing Authority, the place members raised issues about procurement points, contractor accountability and whether or not investigations are resulting in lasting reforms.
Shihata stated DOI’s present headcount is a bit over 400 and down by greater than 100 positions from about 5 years in the past, and stated the company at the moment has 26 vacancies she would wish to fill. She described herself as a “relentless advocate” for DOI’s funds and stated making certain the company has the assets it wants can be a prime precedence if she is confirmed.
On NYCHA, Shihata stated one in every of her first priorities can be assessing whether or not DOI’s devoted squad has the assets it wants. She stated the company ought to keep away from duplicating federal displays, use grievance patterns to information proactive investigations and comply with up to make sure accepted suggestions are literally carried out. She additionally stated DOI ought to focus not simply on reacting to wrongdoing, however on stopping it by figuring out systemic dangers and utilizing knowledge extra successfully.
Shihata additionally stated DOI’s independence relies upon partially on sustaining confidentiality round ongoing investigations and never sharing delicate particulars past what’s legally required. She stated she was open to contemplating whether or not DOI’s funds must be pegged to a share of town funds, saying such a construction might assist shield each the company’s independence and the looks of its independence.
