Mayor Mamdani Appoints Christine Clarke to Lead the NYC Commission on Human Rights

Mamdani Administration continues efforts to use law as a tool to fight the affordability crisis

Clarke has fought — and won — legal battles for low-income New Yorkers, securing language access rights for immigrant victims of domestic violence and life-saving housing subsidies for elderly and disabled New Yorkers

As Chair, Clarke will advance the Mayor’s agenda of fiercely defending the rights of working New Yorkers

NEW YORK, NY — TODAY, Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Christine Clarke as Chair of the Commission on Human Rights. As Chair, Clarke will tirelessly defend the rights of every single New Yorker, enforcing the NYC Human Rights Law, one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in the nation, and will promote public education so every New Yorker knows their rights. Clarke will report to Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su.

Christine Clarke is the Chief of Litigation and Advocacy and member of the executive team of the largest civil legal services organization in the country, Legal Services NYC — offering a vast array of legal services benefiting over 100,000 low-income New Yorkers each year. Clarke has fought, and won, countless legal battles for low-income New Yorkers, including helping secure access to life-saving housing subsidies for elderly and disabled New Yorkers after their head of household has died, access to residential water services for elderly or disabled low-income homeowners, and language access for NYCHA tenants.

She has also represented countless individual New Yorkers who were victims of workplace discrimination and harassment, survivors of domestic violence who faced housing and employment discrimination, people with disabilities who needed workplace and housing accommodations, and so much more.

Christine Clarke is the Chief of Litigation and Advocacy and member of the executive team of the largest civil legal services organization in the country, Legal Services NYC — offering a vast array of legal services benefitting over 100,000 low-income New Yorkers each year. Clarke has fought, and won, countless legal battles for low-income New Yorkers, including helping secure language access rights for immigrant victims of domestic violence in encounters with the NYPD, access to life-saving housing subsidies for elderly and disabled New Yorkers after their head of household has died, access toyhh residential water services for elderly or disabled low-income homeowners, and language access for NYCHA tenants.

Clarke’s passion for fighting oppression and injustice has been a driving force throughout her career. As the Director of LSNYC’s Civil Rights Justice Initiative until 2018, she worked on a range of civil rights matters including multiple lawsuits against the New York Police Department, NYC’s Department of Finance and NYC Housing Authority, which resulted in critical changes to policies and procedures, including better language access for immigrant and LEP New Yorkers.

Clarke also recently served as a staff attorney at Planned Parenthood Federation of America where she challenged abortion bans in multiple states, helping keep health center doors open as long as possible to ensure people had a chance to make their own decisions about their lives and futures.

She is a graduate of Oberlin College and Yale Law School, where she was a student editor of the Human Rights and Development Law Journal and a member of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association.

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January 7, 2026