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New York City taxpayers are expected to fund more than $5 million in salaries for employees in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly created Office of Mass Engagement, a figure that critics say far exceeds initial projections and raises questions about the purpose of the rapidly expanding agency, the NY Post reports.

According to the city’s recently released 2027 executive budget, the office’s staffing level has grown from 14 positions to 40 in just over a month, with $5,123,756 allocated for employee salaries. The amount represents a dramatic increase from earlier estimates that placed the office’s payroll costs at approximately $1.6 million.

The budget for the new office exceeds the entire funding levels of several existing city agencies, including the Board of Corrections, the Community Affairs Unit, and the Office for People with Disabilities.

The New York Post reported in March that the office had begun recruiting for 14 positions with combined compensation totaling roughly $1.6 million. Among those jobs was a campaign director position carrying a salary of $150,000, with responsibilities that critics said closely resembled those of political campaign staff.

Under current plans, City Hall intends to add another 26 employees by next year. Based on budget documents, those hires would receive average salaries of approximately $125,000.

The budget also includes an additional $30,000 designated for operating expenses unrelated to personnel.

Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf sharply criticized the expansion.

“This is purely politics at a time when real services are needed,” Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf told The Post. “We have real deficits and this mayor is spending five million dollars to put 40 political operatives on the payroll. It’s morally incomprehensible . . . It’s outrageous.”

“This isn’t for anybody’s benefit but the mayor’s.”

City Hall has said the office was established to encourage broader participation in government decision-making. Opponents, however, argue that it resembles a political organizing operation funded by taxpayers and designed to build support for the mayor’s agenda.

Budget documents did not include a full list of all 40 positions. Among those already hired are Commissioner Tascha Van Auken, who previously served as Mamdani’s campaign field director, and Mohamed Alharbi, who is serving as deputy borough director for Queens.

The new office is separate from the mayor’s communications staff, which sources told The Post is expected to become larger than that of any previous New York City mayor.

Mamdani has proposed a $51.8 million budget for the mayor’s office in fiscal year 2027, an increase of approximately $7 million compared to the final budget approved during former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.

When announcing the creation of the Office of Mass Engagement, Mamdani said its purpose was to ensure that communities traditionally excluded from government had a stronger voice in city affairs. Critics contend that the office’s early activities have focused primarily on the Democratic Socialists of America activists who formed a key part of his political base.

Earlier this week, The Post observed three employees canvassing residents on the Lower East Side and encouraging attendance at Rent Guidelines Board hearings ahead of a June vote on a proposed rent freeze, a centerpiece of Mamdani’s campaign platform. The decision could affect approximately two million residents living in rent-stabilized apartments.

The effort is part of the office’s first major initiative, known as Organize NYC, which focuses on volunteer recruitment and door-to-door outreach using methods that critics say resemble those employed by the Democratic Socialists of America during Mamdani’s campaign.

Since early May, staff members have reportedly conducted canvassing operations in sections of the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. Staten Island had not initially been included, although a city spokesperson told The Post that a representative has now been hired for the borough and that outreach efforts there will also move forward.

Additional positions within the office have also attracted attention. One such role, a deputy director of co-governance earning $150,000 annually, included language in its job description that critics said closely mirrored proposals advanced by New York City DSA co-chair Grace Mausser in her essay, “Building Municipal Socialism in New York with DSA.”

The new agency has also prompted comparisons to the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose office produced more than 250 promotional videos during his first two years in office.

A City Hall spokesperson told The Post that outreach efforts have not been limited to supporters of the mayor’s agenda and said landlord advocacy groups have also been invited to testify at the rent hearings. Officials further insisted that the Office of Mass Engagement is not advocating for any predetermined outcome.

“Every New Yorker should have a say in the future of their city,” said Penelope Birnbaum.

{Matzav.com}

The Kassau family welcomed a new baby girl this week, but even amid the joy of a growing family, they say the celebration has been overshadowed by the painful absence of 11-year-old Haimanot Kassau, who has been missing for more than two years.

The family announced Sunday that a baby girl had been born, becoming the youngest sibling in the household. Yet relatives said the happy occasion also served as a painful reminder that one chair at the family table remains empty.

Family members said what should have been one of the most joyous moments of their lives was also emotionally overwhelming because of Haimanot’s continued disappearance.

“This is a moment of kindness and blessing, but it comes on an unbearably difficult day,” the family said in a statement. “We are moving between opposite emotions: between the happiness of the new baby and the longing and anxiety for Haimanot. This joy only sharpens the fact that nothing is complete without her.”

Haimanot, now 11 years old, disappeared on February 25, 2024, from the absorption center in Tzfas where her family had been living after immigrating from Ethiopia. Since that day, no trace of her has been found, and her family continues to hold on to hope while pressing authorities to intensify efforts to locate her.

Just last month, the family marked 800 days since her disappearance. They say her room remains untouched, her bed is still made, and her school bag continues to wait for her at home.

Relatives said they dream of the day Haimanot will return and meet her newborn sister for the first time.

“At this time, we ask the media and the public to respect our privacy,” the family said, “but we are also using this moment to cry out once again: Do not forget Haimanot!”

The family renewed its call for the establishment of a special investigative task force dedicated to finding the missing girl and urged the public to continue supporting their efforts.

“We ask people to continue walking with us in the determined struggle to bring our beloved daughter home,” the family said.

Last Wednesday, demonstrators wearing shirts bearing Haimanot’s photograph gathered outside the offices of Lahav 433 in Lod. A separate protest was held simultaneously alongside family members at the Kiryat Motzkin Junction.

The demonstrations came one week after police representatives told a Knesset Immigration Committee hearing that there had been developments in the investigation.

Tesfai Bishao, a leading activist in an organization working to secure Haimanot’s return, sharply criticized the authorities and said: “It was a show by Lahav 433, to make it look like they are working.”

{Matzav.com}