NYC probing accusation Probation Commissioner had inappropriate relationship with subordinate

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Apr 10, 2026

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NEW YORK — The city is probing an episode involving New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new Department of Probation commissioner after a former agency employee claimed she was fired in retaliation for blowing the whistle on a prior romantic relationship between the commissioner and a top aide.

The employee, Ebony Huntley, filed the claims Thursday in a Manhattan Supreme Court suit naming the Department of Probation, the commissioner, Sharun Goodwin and the aide she allegedly had a prior relationship with, department general counsel Wayne McKenzie.

The episode represents the first personnel scandal in the upper ranks of Mamdani’s administration.

“I take any allegations of misconduct incredibly seriously,” Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference in the Bronx. “I’m not going to be weighing in on any ongoing investigation however New Yorkers should rest assured that there is an investigation.”

Mamdani has often repeated that he wants to set a new tone after the scandal-scarred Adams administration.

“We take any concerns raised about our workplace environment, leadership, and operations seriously,” Regina Graham, a spokesperson for the DOP, said in a statement. “The allegations in this lawsuit will be duly addressed as the legal process runs its course.”

Huntley, who served as the department’s chief investigator before her termination, wrote in the lawsuit that she received an anonymous staff complaint about a “prior intimate relationship” between Goodwin and McKenzie. It was not clear when that relationship took place or if they were involved when Goodwin brought McKenzie on board as general counsel.

The staffer wrote in the late March complaint, which was included in the lawsuit, that the prior relationship “presented a conflict of interest and impacted impartial decision-making.” The anonymous staff also raised concerns about others in the department. The lawsuit was first reported by Politico.

“Collectively, the Complaint described a workplace environment where employees felt uneasy, discouraged from speaking openly, and uncertain about their job security,” the suit reads.

Huntley said she passed along the complaint the city’s Department of Investigation in accordance with her job duties.

A day later, McKenzie summoned her to a meeting and fired her, saying he was “disappointed” in her integrity, she alleges. “I cannot have a person like Ebony working for me,” she claimed McKenzie said in the meeting, at which others were present.

John Scola, Huntley’s attorney, called for Mamdani to take action. “Mayor Mamdani needs to send a clear message that whistleblower retaliation will not be tolerated in his administration,” Scola said.

The DOP was mired in allegations of nepotism and cronyism under ex-Mayor Adams and his commissioner, Juanita Holmes, who Goodwin worked under as a deputy commissioner in the department before retiring in 2024.

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