Dean Fuleihan
First deputy mayor
Dean Fuleihan served as first deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio.
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Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
If Mamdani is a relative newbie, faced at every turn with concern about his youth and lack of experience, his pick for first deputy mayor is the opposite. Dean Fuleihan, at 74 years old, has been around the block, having served as first deputy mayor to Bill de Blasio, and before that, as his budget director. The pick is widely seen as both a smart strategic and tactical choice: Fuleihan’s profile helps mollify those concerned about Mamdani’s relative lack of experience, and his practical experience in Albany could help advance Mamdani’s policy promises. Fuleihan’s appointment was announced on Nov. 10, 2025.
Elle Bisgaard-Church
Chief of staff
Elle Bisgaard-Church is Mamdani’s most trusted adviser.
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Amy Lombard
Mamdani faces pressure to expand his tent, but he’s certainly not going to kick out the people who were instrumental in building that tent. Choosing his former Assembly chief of staff turned mayoral campaign manager to continue on as chief of staff in his administration was an unsurprising, if still satisfying choice, for Mamdani’s base. Bisgaard-Church does not come from the political consultant class. She, like Mamdani, is a DSA member and (at the time of her hiring) 34 years old. The fact that her hiring and Fuleihan’s were announced in a joint presser illustrated the kind of balance Mamdani will try to strike in building out his administration. Bisgaard-Church’s appointment was announced on Nov. 10, 2025.
Leila Bozorg
Deputy mayor for housing and planning
Leila Bozorg
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Annie McDonough
Housing is central to Mamdani’s promise to make New York City more affordable. To lead his housing efforts, he tapped Leila Bozorg, a well-known civil servant who most recently was Eric Adams’ executive director of housing. In that role, she helped negotiate the City of Yes for Housing rezoning policy with the City Council, ultimately getting it passed. She’s also worked closely with Adams’ former Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer, who is a co-chair of Mamdani’s transition committee. (Bozorg’s role is not an exact replica of Torres-Springer’s under the Adams administration, as Mamdani has updated the title to “deputy mayor for housing and planning,” and will include some different agencies under its portfolio.) Bozorg previously served as city planning commissioner and a deputy commissioner in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. She was a senior policy adviser at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration. Bozorg’s appointment was announced on Dec. 19, 2025.
Julie Su
Deputy mayor for economic justice
Julie Su
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Annie McDonough
Mamdani created a new deputy mayor role with a portfolio that includes the Taxi and Limousine Commission, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Small Business Services and several other agencies. Julie Su was formerly acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor under the Biden administration. She was never confirmed by the Senate despite two nomination attempts, but received praise from Mamdani supporter and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, who called her an “outstanding leader of the Labor Department.” Su is brand new to New York, and has moved to Queens for the position. Su’s appointment was announced on Dec. 19, 2025.
Jessica Tisch
New York City Police Department commissioner
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has many disagreements with Mamdani, but she’s sticking around.
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
The question every mayoral candidate faced during the 2025 election: Would you retain Jessica Tisch as police commissioner? Mamdani answered that twice: just before the last general election debate, with a stated desire to hire Tisch, and a few weeks after being elected, with an announcement that she accepted the offer. Tisch, a 17-year bureaucrat, three-time city commissioner and scion of a billionaire family, diverges from Mamdani on some key policing issues. Both say they’re committed to working together to make the city safer despite those differences. Tisch’s appointment was announced on Nov. 19, 2025.
Sherif Soliman
Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Zohran Mamdani introduced Sherif Soliman as his budget director on Dec. 18.
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Sahalie Donaldson
The budget director’s influence over how the city spends $115 billion makes them among the most powerful people in the administration. Sherif Soliman joins Mamdani’s administration after stints in the administrations of the past three mayors, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and, most recently, CUNY. Under Adams, he led the Mayor’s Office of Policy and Planning. Under de Blasio, he was commissioner of the Department of Finance. He has also previously served as executive director of the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform, experience that may come in handy as Mamdani has vowed to reform the city’s notorious property tax system.
Jahmila Edwards
Director of intergovernmental affairs
Incoming Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Jahmila Edwards
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Annie McDonough
To achieve some of his top policy promises, Mamdani will need a hand from other levels of government. To lead that coordination between city, state and federal officials, Mamdani tapped longtime union operative Jahmila Edwards. Edwards was previously the associate director of District Council 37, the politically powerful union representing 150,000 public sector workers. She served in the role for 11 years, according to her LinkedIn profile. DC 37 formed a close relationship with Mamdani after ranking him on their endorsement slate in the Democratic primary when most major unions backed Andrew Cuomo. Edwards is also a former staffer of Bill de Blasio, working in his administration’s Department of Education and as his deputy chief of staff while he was public advocate, and is currently a district leader for central Brooklyn’s Assembly District 43.
