Mayor Mamdani Appoints Former Councilman As NYC Media And Entertainment Commissioner

NEW YORK, NY — Rafael Espinal accepted a role as the commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The executive director of the Freelancers Union, Espinal takes over an office responsible for permitting and licensing, workforce development, incentives for creative projects and oversight of the city’s public media outlets.

Mamdani said the appointment comes amid rising costs that have pushed many artists and creative workers out of the city, threatening an industry central to New York’s identity and economy.

“You cannot tell the story of New York without the artists who have shaped it,” Mamdani said. “Yet, the cost-of-living crisis is driving creatives out of our city. That is a loss we cannot afford.”

Espinal brings a background rooted in labor advocacy and local government, where he served six years as a city council member.

“I’m honored to join Mayor Mamdani’s administration and lead the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment,” Espinal said. “New York City’s artists, creatives, and freelancers have made New York City into what it is today — if we want to keep our city’s culture, it is critical that they can afford to live and work here.”

The city’s creative economy employed more than 293,000 people in 2017 and generated billions of dollars in economic activity, according to city data. The administration has said MOME will continue efforts aimed at retaining creative jobs, supporting tourism and stabilizing the workforce behind the city’s cultural output.

Espinal will report to Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su.