New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has just dropped a bombshell by appointing a former armed robber turned rapper to help shape the city's criminal justice policies.
The New York Post reported that Mamdani has named Mysonne Linen, a 49-year-old Bronx activist with a felony past, to his transition committee on the criminal legal system, alongside other polarizing figures.
Let’s rewind to the late 1990s, when Linen, on the cusp of a music career with Def Jam Recordings, was convicted for two armed robberies in the Bronx.
The first incident targeted taxi driver Joseph Eziri on June 8, 1997, followed by a second robbery of cab driver Francisco Monsanto on March 31, 1998.
Linen faced up to 25 years behind bars, received a sentence of seven to fourteen years, and was paroled on July 5, 2006, all while maintaining his innocence.
Post-release, he pivoted to activism, working as a violence interrupter, founding Rising Kings to support inmates at Rikers Island, and co-launching the social justice group Until Freedom.
Now, Mamdani’s decision to place Linen on this key committee has law enforcement and advocacy groups up in arms, calling it a slap in the face to public safety.
Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, didn’t mince words on the matter. “It is both disheartening and deeply disturbing that individuals who are convicted felons and have a history of breaking the law are being given the opportunity to help shape the future of New York’s criminal justice system,” Boscio said.
Let’s unpack that—while redemption stories are admirable, entrusting someone with such a past to influence law enforcement policy feels like handing the fox the keys to the henhouse.
Adding fuel to the fire, recently retired NYPD Chief of Department John Chell also weighed in, pointing to a troubling pattern. “It’s just another appointed adviser that has a questionable past, which is in line with some of his other recent appointees who were anti-police and establishment,” Chell noted.
Chell’s right to raise an eyebrow—when you stack a transition team with figures who seem to oppose traditional law and order, it’s hard not to wonder if public safety is taking a backseat to a progressive agenda.
This isn’t just about Linen; Mamdani’s other picks, like Vincent Schiraldi, who stepped down from a Maryland post amid controversy, and Lumumba Bandele on community organizing, are raising similar red flags.
Then there’s Alex Vitale and Susan Herman on community safety, Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari on youth issues, and Ben Furnas on infrastructure—all choices that critics argue lean too far into activist territory.
Even activist group Jews Fight Back took to X to blast the appointment, alongside Mamdani’s broader anti-police and anti-Israel stances, signaling a growing divide over his vision for the city.
Throw in transition team members like Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser, tied to the Democratic Socialists of America, and it’s clear Mamdani is doubling down on a controversial, left-leaning blueprint—hardly a recipe for unity in a city craving stability.
