Milton Tingling, a judge appointed to a new Mayoral Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, is accused of ignoring allegations of racism and antisemitism at a nonprofit where he serves as board chair. The accusations are detailed in a lawsuit filed by a former board member of the West Harlem Development Corporation (WHDC).
According to court papers, Tingling, who also serves as Manhattan County Clerk, was appointed to the advisory committee last month. The committee aims to ensure the city's judicial system reflects the community it serves. However, Tingling is currently the board chair of WHDC, which is facing a lawsuit alleging its executive director, Zaed Ramadan, engaged in a pattern of discriminatory behavior.
The lawsuit, filed by former WHDC board member Vince Morgan, claims Ramadan made racist, antisemitic, and ethnically offensive remarks. These alleged comments intensified after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, with Ramadan reportedly consulting with a Brooklyn imam, identified as Siraj Wahhaj, on the WHDC's response. Wahhaj has previously been named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Morgan alleges that Ramadan devised coded language to mask his anti-Israeli and antisemitic statements, aiming to highlight alleged Jewish greed and control over New York politics. The lawsuit also states Ramadan accused New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and his staff of conspiring against him, claiming Jewish people unfairly control New York against the interests of other groups.
Ramadan, who also sits on the board of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in New York City, allegedly made other offensive remarks, including disparaging comments about Ross Frommer, vice president for government and community affairs at Columbia University, referring to him as a "messy f—ing Zionist Jewish guy."
Morgan, an African American who led a WHDC housing program, claims he filed a whistleblower complaint against Ramadan to Tingling in February 2024. He also provided recordings of Ramadan's alleged comments to The Post, stating he began recording his boss because he felt his claims might not otherwise be believed.
Despite Morgan's complaints, the lawsuit alleges Tingling failed to intervene and instead retaliated against Morgan by sending threatening correspondence and undermining his authority. Morgan claims this failure caused him "untold hardship" as he was forced to continue hearing the alleged racist language. Morgan was fired in January 2025, which he claims was partly due to his inquiries into financial and procedural abuses.
In May 2024, a motion to hire outside counsel to investigate Morgan's complaints was dismissed. Neither Ramadan nor Tingling have responded to requests for comment, and the WHDC has denied all allegations in its court filings. The Mayoral Advisory Committee on the Judiciary has also faced criticism for not including any Jewish community representatives among its appointees.