Mamdani appointed Shorris as president and CEO of the powerful development corporation and Khan, the former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, as chair of its board of directors, bringing a months-long search for EDC’s next leader to a close.
The combination places a longtime government operator who is currently a partner at McKinsey & Co. alongside one of the country’s most prominent critics of corporate consolidation as Mamdani seeks to use EDC’s control of public land, financing and investment to advance his economic agenda.
Speaking at the announcement Wednesday morning in the City Hall rotunda, Shorris immediately signaled that the administration’s approach could mark a break from some of the corporation’s past work.
“There are projects in that history that I think today we wouldn’t do,” Shorris said, adding that others would be handled differently.
Shorris did not identify which past projects he had in mind or name any current projects that could be changed. He also defended EDC’s broader record, describing it as a “mixed portfolio” that has helped create jobs across the city.
“The direction, the vision is going to be the mayor’s vision, and my guess is that may change some of the direction of EDC,” Shorris said.
Mamdani described the EDC as the “Swiss Army knife of city government,” calling it one of the city’s most nimble entities and noting that it also operates the NYC Ferry system. The corporation also uses city-owned land, financing and investment to carry out development projects.
The clearest early example of that shift is Mamdani’s plan to establish five city-run grocery stores, one in each borough. Shorris called implementing the proposal “a top priority” and said work was underway on the remaining three stores after the administration selected its first two sites.
The Mamdani administration has selected two sites, in East Harlem and the South Bronx, and opened a portal for property owners to propose locations in the other three boroughs.
“Commitments that mayors make to the people are some of the highest priorities of anything the government does,” Shorris said. “Given that that was front and center in the minds of a million people, I take that pretty seriously.”
The administration announced no new locations, costs, or timelines for the stores on Wednesday.
Mamdani said EDC staff had already completed an “intensive amount of preparation” for the grocery initiative before Shorris’ arrival, describing the plan as an example of what the corporation could accomplish when its capacity is directed toward the problems facing working New Yorkers.
The appointments also represent an effort to balance Mamdani’s progressive economic agenda with the need to maintain relationships with businesses, developers, and employers that regularly work with EDC.
Shorris said he does not view business leaders as permanent allies or adversaries and would seek areas where the administration’s priorities overlap with companies’ goals of growing and employing people.
Those objectives are not inherently in conflict, he said, but bringing them together will require “work,” “understanding on both sides,” and “mutual respect.”
Khan similarly stressed that New York’s business community extends well beyond the city’s largest corporations.
“The business community in New York City is vast,” Khan said. “It spans the independent pharmacists to the Fortune 500 company to the scrappy startup seeking investment to the bodega.”
Khan said EDC could use its assets to grow the economy, create jobs, promote entrepreneurship and lower costs. She highlighted the corporation’s management of Hunts Point, which she described as the country’s largest food distribution center, as well as its control of some of the city’s most valuable land.
“It has enormous capacity to make life materially better for New Yorkers and to ensure that public resources are being used to build state capacity,” Khan said.
Mamdani called the pairing the economic policy equivalent of the 1992 Olympic basketball “Dream Team,” arguing that Shorris’ experience operating large public institutions and Khan’s record challenging monopolies would complement one another.
Asked later about the apparent contrast between the two appointees, Mamdani said they share a commitment to measuring the city’s economic strength by whether growth benefits New Yorkers who are being priced out.
“What you’ll actually find is that both Lina and Tony, their worldviews are aligned in looking to uplift working New Yorkers across the city,” Mamdani said.
The pairing nevertheless underscores the political balance the administration is attempting to strike.
Shorris has spent more than 40 years working across government, nonprofit institutions and the private sector. He served as first deputy mayor under Mayor Bill de Blasio, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, city finance commissioner and a deputy chancellor at the Department of Education.
He is currently a partner at McKinsey, the consulting firm whose work for the city has drawn scrutiny from the Mamdani administration.
Asked about Mamdani’s decision to hire a McKinsey partner after touting the cancellation of a Department of Social Services contract with the firm as an example of rooting out government waste during budget season, Shorris acknowledged that he had spent some time working on that contract.
Mamdani initially joked that “it does save money when you take the top talent from McKinsey instead of having to employ them for a contract.”
Mamdani said Shorris’ experience included recognizing the benefits of bringing work in-house and building public capacity, arguing that his years in government had not diminished his ambitions for what it could accomplish. Mamdani is also attempting to bring more technology work in-house through the Public Interest Technology Crews, which he launched earlier this month. Some 2,800 people have applied for 30 permanent positions so far.
Shorris said most of his work at McKinsey involved governments, nonprofit organizations, and pro bono projects.
Khan chaired the FTC from June 2021 until January 2025, overseeing federal antitrust and consumer protection enforcement. Her initiatives included challenging noncompete agreements and corporate practices the agency said harmed workers, consumers and smaller businesses. She is now an associate professor at Columbia Law School.
Khan also co-chaired Mamdani’s transition after his 2025 election, helping advise the incoming mayor as he assembled his administration. At the time, she pointed to what she described as the “discipline, rigor” and talent of his campaign as evidence that he could effectively govern.
Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su offered the administration’s most pointed description of how it intends to change EDC’s priorities.
Su described the corporation as the city’s “toolbox,” noting that it holds deeds to public property and influences what is built and financed in neighborhoods.
“A toolbox like that can build a city that works for the people who live in it, or it can build monuments to whoever’s holding the best-connected business card,” Su said. “The tools don’t decide that; the person holding the tools does.”
Su said the administration wants EDC to use those powers to build affordable housing, create jobs that support families, strengthen industries, expand ownership and deliver grocery stores and other public goods.
Shorris also said he personally supports raising New York’s minimum wage, which he described as too low, but stressed that EDC would not lead the administration’s lobbying over wage or tax policy.
“How, when, under what circumstances, at what pace — all TBD,” Shorris said, noting that the minimum wage is ultimately set by the state. He said he would be available if City Hall called on him to advocate on the issue.
The administration did not present a comprehensive new EDC agenda Wednesday or identify projects that will be canceled or reconsidered. Shorris said he still had significant planning to do with Su and Khan.
But he said the corporation’s work would be anchored in making New York more affordable, reducing living costs and increasing residents’ ability to pay for the lives they deserve while continuing to attract top talent and innovation.
The administration also reappointed Clare Newman as president and CEO of the Trust for Governors Island and Lindsay Greene as president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.
Mixed message?
State Attorney General Letitia James praised both appointments, saying Shorris and Khan brought years of experience and that she trusted the city would continue to thrive under their leadership.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin highlighted her previous work with Shorris during Lower Manhattan’s recovery after the Sept. 11 attacks, when he served at the Port Authority.
“I know he’ll bring tremendous experience to EDC at a time when strong economic development has never been more important to creating jobs and growing our economy,” Menin said.
Meanwhile, Jessica Walker, president and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, welcomed Shorris’ experience but said the new leadership would be judged on whether EDC produces a credible plan for economic growth and diversification.
“This moment asks for more than steady management,” Walker said. “It asks for vision: a real plan to diversify our economy, to defend New York as the place where companies choose to grow and hire, and to make job creation the everyday measure of whether EDC is succeeding.”
Walker pointed to persistent storefront vacancies, an uneven recovery in Lower Manhattan and what she described as an economy overly dependent on a small number of sectors.
“The question business owners are asking is a fair one — does the city have a plan to grow?” she said. “EDC is where that answer gets written.”
The Partnership for New York City, one of the city’s most influential business groups, praised Shorris’ experience but said Khan’s appointment sent a “mixed message” to employers and investors.
“Lina Khan’s reputation has been built on an adversarial approach to large enterprises at the federal level, whereas NYCEDC’s mission has always been to support the growth and investment in NYC,” Partnership President and CEO Steven Fulop said. “It’s unclear to us the ultimate direction EDC will be taking and how this will play out over time.”
Fulop said the city needs a clear economic agenda as it confronts affordability pressures, outmigration and increasing competition from other cities and states.
Adam Daly
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