Mayor’s Fund advisers ousted as Mamdani resets city giving

Mayor’s Fund advisers were dismissed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, severing City Hall’s formal philanthropic ties with prominent business leaders.

The move disbands the advisory board of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, a city-affiliated nonprofit that collects private donations for public programs tied to the mayor’s agenda. According to letters sent to members, Mamdani thanked the advisers for their service as their tenure ended.

Mamdani cuts adviser ties

The dismissal removes a long-running group of corporate and civic figures from the fund’s orbit. The fund said in a separate email that the full board of advisers would be dissolved, making it the first full dismissal of the group in at least three mayoral administrations, according to the source material.

Among those who received letters were Richard Born of BD Hotels, Jeffrey Gural, chairman of GFP Real Estate, Alex Katz, a senior managing director at Blackstone Inc., Edward Skyler, Citigroup Inc.’s head of enterprise services and public affairs, and James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. The advisers had helped connect City Hall’s philanthropic arm with donors across New York’s business community.

“I commend you for your dedication and the benefit you have brought to our City as you conclude your tenure on the Mayor’s Fund Board of Advisors,” the letter signed by Mamdani said. The wording framed the departures as a close to existing service rather than as an appeal for continuity.

Private dollars meet public goods

The Mayor’s Fund raises private money for causes selected by City Hall, placing it at the intersection of philanthropy, municipal policy and political access. Its advisory board did not run the city, but it gave major business figures a formal role in mobilizing support for public initiatives.

The fund raised nearly $8 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, according to the source material. That was far below a recent high of more than $77 million in the 12 months through mid-2020, when the pandemic created urgent demand for emergency support across the city.

Dora Pekec, senior spokesperson for the mayor, said the administration plans to rebuild the advisory structure. “The creation of a new advisory board is an important next step in reimagining how philanthropy can augment, but not replace, public dollars and public goods, and we are eager to share more about our new board of advisors later this year,” she said in an emailed response.

April appointments showed the shift

The advisory board dismissal follows an earlier change to the fund’s separately appointed board of directors. In April, Mamdani named new directors including a high school teacher and a former dockworker, moving away from prior groups that drew heavily from corporate and business leadership.

Pekec tied the overhaul to the administration’s broader political argument about representation. “In January, our city entered a new era – one that demands our city government reflect our communities,” she said, adding that the new fund would put “those directly impacted in the rooms where decisions are made.”

For the Mayor’s Fund, the immediate operational question is whether a redesigned advisory board can preserve donor capacity while changing who shapes priorities. If the new board broadens community legitimacy without weakening fundraising networks, the fund could gain political cover and keep private money flowing into city-backed programs.

If major donors pull back instead, the fund may have less flexibility for programs that sit outside normal budget channels. That would matter most in moments when city agencies need quick supplemental support and elected officials want private dollars to reinforce public services.

The wider nonprofit and real estate sectors will read the decision as a signal about access under Mamdani. If City Hall builds a new donor base around labor, community and neighborhood figures, the philanthropic model could shift away from corporate gatekeepers; if fundraising falls, pressure may grow to restore deeper ties with business leaders.

The macro effect is limited in scale, but the mechanism is broader: large cities often use philanthropic arms to bridge gaps between public budgets and urgent local needs. New York’s test is whether that tool can be made more representative without losing the money and relationships that made it useful.