WASHINGTON — Mayor Zohran Mamdani was slapped Tuesday with an ethics complaint from a watchdog group accusing him of misusing city resources to boost multiple Empire State Democrats, The Post has learned.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust urged the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board to launch a probe into Hizzoner’s endorsements of both Gov. Kathy Hochul’s re-election campaign and Lindsey Boylan’s failed bid for City Council.
“We write today to request you investigate Mayor Zohran Mamdani for using his official position and public resources for political activity,” reads the complaint from FACT, a Washington DC-based nonprofit.
The letter cited an advisory opinion from the board in 2009 advising Big Apple pols against using city resources to endorse candidates.
“Separating official activities from political ones is the foundation of sound ethics laws and imperative to maintain the public’s trust in government,” FACT executive director Kendra Arnold told The Post.
“The use of public resources to influence the political process gives a clear and unfair advantage to the individual or party in power,” Arnold said. “Allowing this conduct to go unchecked and unpunished is a threat to the democratic process.”
In its complaint, FACT homed in on three alleged violations by Mamdani since shortly after he ascended to Gracie Mansion in January.
First was his February endorsement of Hochul, the Democratic incumbent running for a second, full four-year term, during a press conference on universal childcare.
The socialist mayor had penned an op-ed giving the moderate gov his official stamp of approval. But during a press conference shortly after, he said of Hochul, “I’m proud to endorse her.”
The group also noted Mamdani’s endorsement of Boylan — the first woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of harassment — during an April press conference.
“The decision to endorse Lindsey is one that comes more from having seen her bravery and her courage in standing up over the years,” Mamdani said at the time. “Early voting will continue through the 26th. And it’s something that I’m glad to join my name to [support her].”
The complaint then cited his June press conference addressing a heat wave beating down on New Yorkers — where he gave his stamp of approval to eight candidates running in the Democratic primaries that month.
“I am looking forward to New Yorkers hearing about Claire, Darializa [and] Brad; [and] when it comes to the state legislator, Aber Kawas, Eli Northrup, Illapa Sairitupac, Samantha Kattan [and] Brian Romero,” he said then. “These are all candidates that I’m very excited about.”
FACT noted that in all three instances, Mamdani stood behind the seal of New York City and that his team put transcripts of those press conferences on the city website. The watchdog is urging the board to “impose the proper penalties” on him.
Mamdani’s predecessor, former Mayor Eric Adams, was hit with a $4,000 fine from the board in February after his staffers put multicolored whistles on reporters’ chairs during a press conference last year to jab at the harassment accusations against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The mayor’s office didn’t return a request for comment.
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