Mayor appoints new head of City’s Commission on Human Rights
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Christine Clarke as chair and commissioner of the City’s Commission on Human Rights. Eagle photo by Noah Powelson
By Noah Powelson
Mayor Zohran Mamdani continued with his string of administrative appointments on Wednesday, announcing a longtime civil rights attorney will lead the City’s Commission on Human Rights.
Mamdani appointed Christine Clarke as chair and commissioner of the CCHR, where she will lead a team tasked with both enforcing and educating New Yorkers on the Human Rights Law. She succeeds Annabel Palma, who was originally appointed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Originally founded in 1944, the commission has gone through a string of name changes over mayoral administrations but its major responsibility is the enforcement of the city’s Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.
Mamdani said on Wednesday the commission’s work not only ensures New Yorkers have equitable access to homes, employment and services; but also addresses the economic injustices which prevent them from living in the city.
“CCHR has done the vital work of protecting human rights in our city, of delivering justice,” Mamdani said. “That work has never been more important, and the person entrusted in leading it has never been more important either.”
Announcing the appointment at a press conference in Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights, Mamdani said Clarke will report directly to Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su.
A longtime member of Legal Services NYC, Clarke served as the organization’s director of the Civil Rights Justice Initiative for many years, working with working-class New Yorkers in their housing and employment discrimination cases. Before her appointment to CCHR, Clarke was LSNYC’s chief of litigation and advocacy.
Mamdani and Clarke both said they viewed the commission's role as one that will ensure the law is being followed and not one that slaps businesses with mounting fines for infractions. Education and outreach to small businesses will be a focus for the commission, Mamdani said.
Clarke also put a particular focus on housing during her appointment announcement, and said she intends to address the long delays in resolving housing discrimination complaints that have been building at the commission in recent years.
“It is obviously a huge privilege and honor to have the opportunity and great responsibility to lead the wonderful at the Commission on Human Rights to enact this vision of a great city that we all share,” Clarke said. “Because ultimately 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 sexual orientation, if you live here you are a New Yorker.
“I promise as the chair of the Commission on Human Rights, to work with you and fight for you,” Clarke added.
