New York City Socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani explained Tuesday why he decided to appoint a convicted armed robber onto his mayoral transition team, stating he intends to "build a city for each and every person." 

Mamdani, who was elected as the city's next mayor last month, said 49-year-old Mysonne Linen will be on his transition team as he moves into city hall early next year. Linen, who was convicted of two armed robberies in 1999, served seven years in prison. 

Linen is currently a leader of the New York City social justice organization Until Freedom, according to Fox News. 

"We put together a team of more than 400 New Yorkers who are on 17 different committees," Mamdani said. "These are New Yorkers who bring with them both a fluency of the policies and politics of the city, the places that they've succeeded, the places they've failed, and we will take all of their experiences and analysis into account as we build a city for each and every person." 

Linen was convicted in the armed robbery of two taxi drivers, who both testified and identified Linen as one of the robbers. The men were robbed in 1997 and 1998, but Linen's defense team argued he did not need to rob people because he made money as a songwriter. Linen has maintained that he was falsely accused of the crimes.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.