Zohran Mamdani names Black lesbian archivist to lead NYC records agency

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, a Black lesbian archivist and librarian, as commissioner of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), placing an out LGBTQ+ Black woman at the helm of the city’s official archives.

DORIS manages the municipal archives, library, and records administration, making it central to how New York preserves its history and responds to public requests for government information. Smith-Cruz, a Brooklyn native who identifies as both queer and lesbian, has worked for nearly two decades across academic, public, and community archives.

Her appointment comes amid national disputes over public records and LGBTQ+ history. The Trump administration previously faced backlash for revising federal materials related to the Stonewall uprising to diminish references to transgender people, as well as for ordering the removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument. After lawsuits from LGBTQ+ advocates, the federal government agreed to restore the flag and maintain its display.

Speaking to The Advocate, Smith-Cruz said New York City’s history—particularly around Stonewall—must be preserved in full, including the experiences of communities that have often been left out of the record. That includes “other groups and other people whose voices and names were not documented or heard,” she said.

Her selection reflects Mamdani’s broader strategy of elevating leaders with backgrounds in community organizing and advocacy. In March, he created the city’s first Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs and appointed civil rights attorney Taylor Brown as its inaugural director, making Brown the first out transgender person to lead a city office or agency. Mamdani has also named Lillian Bonsignore as the Fire Department’s first out gay commissioner.

In her new post, Smith-Cruz will be responsible not only for preserving archival materials but also for overseeing responses to public records requests. She described the work as both technically complex and essential in an era of expanding digital data and growing public concern over government transparency.

“It’s really responding to FOIA requests or people who are thinking about open access to government data, government records, government information,” she said. “That is something that is a right for all people.”

Smith-Cruz’s career has centered on the intersection of archives, equity, and public access. Most recently dean of the Barnard College Library, she oversaw collections, digital infrastructure, and research services at the college. She has held senior positions at New York University, the CUNY Graduate Center, and the Brooklyn Public Library.

Her projects have frequently highlighted marginalized communities, including work supporting incarcerated people and exhibitions on LGBTQ+ history, such as those focused on the Salsa Soul Sisters, New York City’s first lesbian-of-color organization. As a teenager, she co-founded Sister Outsider, a Brooklyn nonprofit that offers paid peer education programs for young women emphasizing harm reduction and economic empowerment.

Smith-Cruz holds a master’s degree in library science with a concentration in archives, a master of fine arts in fiction, and a bachelor’s degree from the CUNY Baccalaureate Program.

Her appointment comes as advocates across the country warn of attempts by the Trump administration and Republicans to limit or reshape how government institutions document LGBTQ+ communities, racial history, and other marginalized narratives. Smith-Cruz noted that some activists are already engaged in large-scale efforts to copy and preserve government data before it can be altered or removed.

“Providing access to government records, documents, and data is our municipal responsibility,” she said in a statement announcing her appointment. The agency, she added, must ensure that New York City’s historical record accurately reflects “our many communities.”