Mayor Mamdani on Wednesday appointed a new head of the city Human Rights Commission, picking Christine Clarke, previously a litigator at anti-poverty group Legal Services NYC, to serve in the role.
Clarke will replace Annabel Palma. Palma was originally tapped to lead the commission by ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio and was reappointed by Mayor Eric Adams in 2022.
“We will make this city more just, and we will do so as New Yorkers, not by shying away from complexity or conflict, but by confronting what we know to be wrong wherever it arises,” Mamdani said at a Jackson Heights, Queens, news conference announcing Clarke’s appointment.
The commission is tasked with investigating complaints of discrimination and other human rights law violations.
“That work has never been more important, and the person entrusted to lead it has never been more important, either,” Mamdani said, praising Clarke for her dedication “to fighting for New Yorkers who need a champion.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces the appointment of Christine Clarke as the new chair and commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights in Jackson Heights, Queens on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Clarke named housing as one of her priorities, saying that she aims to improve on yearslong delays tenants with discrimination complaints have faced, per a December report from the state comptroller’s office.
“Ultimately,” she said, “no matter where you were born, what language you speak, what religion you practice, whether you have a disability, your race or ethnicity, your gender identity or your sexual orientation, if you live here, you are a New Yorker, and I promise as the chair of the Commission on Human Rights to work with you and to fight for you.”
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, left, looks at Christine Clarke, right, Commissioner of the City Commission on Human Rights, speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in the Queens neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Clarke will work under Julie Su, Mamdani’s deputy mayor for economic justice.
The mayor also on Wednesday appointed Simonia Brown as a top policy adviser to focus on executing Mamdani’s affordability agenda in Albany. Brown previously worked in de Blasio’s state legislative affairs office.