BREAKING: DOJ's Harmeet Dhillon to probe Mamdani's 'racial equity plan' prioritizing 'black and brown' New Yorkers

The Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, has said that her department "will review" the racial equity plan released by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday. 

Mamdani said at a press conference, in which he also announced the release of the city’s true cost of living report, "While today's true cost of living measure confirms that the affordability crisis touches every corner of our city, we know that these effects are not applied evenly, so often it is black and brown New Yorkers who are hit the hardest. This preliminary racial equity plan is the first step in developing a whole-of-government approach to tackling that reality." 

Dhillon wrote in response, "Sounds fishy/illegal. Will review!"

Per a press release from the mayor’s office, the Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan "is the first government-wide racial equity framework in the city’s history, outlining data-driven agency goals, strategies and indicators to address long-standing disparities across public policy, services, and practices." 

The preliminary plan stated, "This preliminary plan is a new chapter in New York City's sustained commitment to advancing racial equity. Through coordinated action, regular assessment, and continuous engagement, racial equity planning will build a more equitable city for more than 8.2 million New Yorkers and write the next chapter in this City’s path towards equity and justice. This Preliminary Plan is open for public feedback, with the Final Citywide Racial Equity Plan to be released following community engagement and input. The City is committed to the pursuit of racial equity through policies, practices, and programs that are designed and administered to meet the requirements of our federal and state constitutions and all applicable federal, state, and local laws."

Speaking at Monday’s press conference, the city’s Chief Equity Officer, Afua Atta-Menseh, said that the equity plan "was born during a defining moment in our city's history, when New Yorkers were in the streets in the midst of a global pandemic, calling for justice, demanding accountability and bearing witness to brutality unfolding on our streets and on our screens." 

"In that moment, our city was asked to reckon with the deep, systemic inequities that have long shaped life here and to do better. New Yorkers across all five boroughs answered that call, their voices, their advocacy and their persistence are what brought us to this moment. The release of the preliminary citywide Racial Equity Plan is a reflection of that collective mandate."

She said the plan was "not just a document," but a "commitment to confront institutional and systemic racism within our city and to begin the work of dismantling it." 

She said her office is leading the effort, and that the plan "is just the first step, a step we took in spite of tensions around doing so." She said the city’s responsibility "now is to move from planning to action, and to do so with intention, transparency, and accountability, because plans alone do not create change, action does."

"This plan lays out a road map to address inequities through both targeted programs and deeper structural reforms. It challenges us to examine how systems operate, how decisions are made, and how resources are distributed, and to change what is not working. But this work cannot happen in isolation. Community input must remain central to how we move forward, the voices of those most impacted by inequity must continue to guide us, shape our approach and hold us accountable."