Mayor Zohran Mamdani tried to replace the black female head of the city’s Commission on Racial Equity after she publicly criticized him for removing any mention of DEI from its “racial equity plan” released earlier this year.

Hizzoner sent a letter to the City Council this week asking lawmakers to sign off on replacing Linda Tigani with Christopher Alexander, the executive director of New York’s NAACP.

The request, which was first reported by The New York Times, was quickly met with fierce backlash from the council and others in the black community who argued that removing Tigani appeared retaliatory and came during a critical time for the independent commission.

“He wants to put it under his thumb, because she criticized him,” one insider said. “You can’t retaliate against someone because they are criticizing their administration.”

“The one commission that is supposed to deal with issues in the black community, and he tries to fire her,” they continued.

Mamdani and Tigani clashed early on in his tenure after the administration edited her commission’s draft report to eliminate racial inequity and removed all references to “diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The cuts were to avoid drawing the ire of the Trump administration, which had been cracking down on DEI policies across the country.

The commission was formed in 2022 in response to a ballot measure that tasked it with studying reparations, addressing inequality in the city and issuing a formal report on the findings.

Tigani fumed on City Hall steps Wednesday afternoon as she led a rally of lawmakers and others in the community who are fighting to keep her on.

“The only people that are holding the line in this decision are the black and Latino Asian Caucus and Speaker Julie Menin,” she said. “Speaker Menin understands that a removal of me in this moment is actually undermining the independence of the commission.”

The demonstrators slammed Mamdani for simply putting up token “black bodies” during his campaign, but falling far short of delivering for the community.

The mayor had been criticized early on for not appointing any black deputy mayors.

Council member Farah Louis said replacing Tigani “risks delaying and derailing a process that black New Yorkers have waited generations to see.”

Mamdani’s proposed Alexander previously had to resign after leading the botched rollout of New York legal weed program under Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The council has now struck tentative deal with the mayor to keep Tigani until next July but is open to vetting Alexander.

Mamdani was asked about the behind-the-schemes turmoil at a news conference on Wednesday, saying she served a full three-year term that has now come to an end. He said “we all owe her a debt of gratitude” for advancing racial equity in the city.

“Alongside the City Council, we have agreed to extend her term to next summer, and we’re excited to work with that same council to put forward Christopher Alexander as the next Commissioner,” Mamdani said.

Additional reporting by Hannah Fierick