‘Reminiscent of what you’d find behind Iron Curtain,’ attorney says of ongoing effort to sue Mamdani admin for records

A lawsuit against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration, alleging illegal withholding of records concerning the revocation of executive orders protecting Jews, recently had its first hearing. Investigative journalist Richard Behar sued after his Freedom of Information Law requests for documents related to Mamdani's decision to rescind former Mayor Eric Adams's pro-Jewish executive orders went largely unfulfilled for over eight months. Just hours before the court hearing, a batch of documents was released, but Behar's attorney, Randy Mastro, stated they contained "nothing substantive at all" due to extensive redactions and a lack of explanations for City Hall's reasoning. Mastro described the administration's response as "gross inadequacy" and reminiscent of "what you would find behind the old Iron Curtain." Behar has since filed appeals with the city regarding the withheld and redacted records, vowing to continue litigation to uncover the truth.