NYC DOT rankles staff in passing on recognizing Arab Heritage month with agency-wide message
Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez didn't recognize April as Arab American Heritage Month with an agency-wide email as he has in the past — an omission rankling some staffers who requested such a message be issued this year to voice solidarity with Muslim employees impacted by the war in Gaza.
In April 2024, Rodriguez issued agency-wide message marking Arab American Heritage Month that did address the human toll of the war in Gaza. It urged all DOT employees to 'pause and reflect on the pain being felt by so many in the Arab American community, who have had family and friends impacted by the war in Gaza.'
Communications reviewed by the Daily News and a DOT source confirmed staff asked department brass to issue a similar message this year. But Rodriguez issued no such message last month, sources confirmed.
The internal tensions at DOT come as the war between Israel and Hamas remains a hot-button issue in New York, with pro-Palestinian protests playing out on city streets nearly every week and the conflict being hotly debated during this year's mayoral campaign.
The DOT staffers told The News they were upset by Rodriguez's lack of agency-wide recognition at a time that Israel's war in Gaza — which was launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack — has left more than 50,000 Palestinians dead, according to estimates.
The staffers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were especially irked as Rodriguez did issue an agency-wide email recognizing May as Jewish American Heritage Month this past Tuesday that made multiple references to President Trump. That message, obtained by The News, lauded Trump for issuing a national proclamation on May 16 that made a commitment to the 'security of Israel.'
'This selective recognition not only undermines the agency's stated commitment to equity and diversity, but also sends a troubling message about which communities are deemed worthy of visibility and respect,' said one Muslim DOT source.
'The repeated use of Trump in the email when he made statements about moving out the Palestinians from their land shows a lack of sensitivity to the Arab and Muslim staff,' the source added, a reference to the president's proposal to expel all Palestinians from Gaza.
DOT spokesman Nick Benson declined to speak to the question of why Rodriguez didn't send an agency-wide email marking Arab American Heritage Month this year.
He said the department made a post about Arab American Heritage Month on an internal messaging board; that communication made no reference to the war in Gaza.
Kayla Mamelak, Mayor Adams' spokeswoman, said his office wasn't involved in crafting the DOT's messaging.
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