Inside Mamdani’s transition team: List of officials

NEW YORK - As New York City mayor Eric Adams prepares to leave City Hall, Zohran Mamdani is assembling what he has called a "new era" of leadership.

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What we know:

Mamdani announced Monday that he will keep several department heads from the Adams administration, even as key roles, including deputy mayor for operations, schools chancellor and transportation commissioner, remain vacant. So far, Mamdani’s team includes a mix of new faces and holdovers.

Why you should care:

Turnover plagued the Adams administration, particularly midway through the term, underscoring the uncertainty ahead.

Here’s a running list of key players who will be part of the Mamdani administration:

Mamdani has opted to retain several current commissioners and senior officials, including Dr. Mitchell Katz at Health and Hospitals, Dr. Jason Graham as chief medical examiner, Mir Bashar as chief administrative officer and Michael Garner as chief business diversity officer.

Deputy mayors

In his first order of business, Mamdani appointed five deputy mayors: Dean Fuleihan, Leila Bozorg, Julie Su, Julia Kerson and Helen Arteaga.

Dean Fuleihan, First Deputy Mayor

At 74, Fuleihan brings decades of City Hall experience after serving as first deputy mayor and budget director under Bill de Blasio. 

His institutional knowledge is seen as a strategic counterbalance to concerns about Mamdani’s youth and inexperience.

Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning 

Bozorg most recently served as executive director of housing under Mayor Eric Adams. 

A veteran civil servant, she played a key role in passing the "City of Yes" for housing rezoning and brings extensive city and federal housing experience.

Julie Su, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice

Su is the former acting U.S. secretary of labor under President Joe Biden and a former California labor secretary. New to New York City, she will oversee worker protections, labor enforcement and small business agencies in a newly created role.

Julia Kerson, Deputy Mayor of Operations

Julia Kerson was previously an infrastructure adviser to Gov. Kathy Hochul and a senior adviser to the deputy mayor for operations under the de Blasio administration.

Helen Arteaga, Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services

Elmhurst Hospital CEO Helen Arteaga will serve as deputy mayor for health and human services. Arteaga previously spent 15 years as an assistant vice president at Urban Health Plan Inc. before joining Elmhurst in 2021.

Elle Bisgaard-Church, Chief of Staff

At 34, Bisgaard-Church is Mamdani’s closest adviser and previously served as his Assembly chief of staff and campaign manager. 

A Democratic Socialists of America member, she represents continuity with the team that helped build Mamdani’s political rise.

Jessica Tisch, Police Commissioner

Tisch is a 17-year city bureaucrat and three-time commissioner who is staying on despite policy differences with Mamdani. 

Both say they are committed to working together to improve public safety.

Jahmila Edwards, Head of Intergovernmental Affairs

A longtime leader within District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal union, Edwards will manage relationships with local, state and federal officials. 

She most recently served as the union’s associate director and previously worked at the city Department of Education.

Sherif Soliman, Budget Director

Soliman comes to the role from CUNY, where he served as senior vice chancellor for budget and finance and chief financial officer. He will lead the Office of Management and Budget as the city faces mounting deficits. Soliman has served under mayors Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg.

Sam Levine, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner

Levine is the former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and worked closely with FTC Chair Lina Khan, a co-chair of Mamdani’s transition team. His portfolio will include cracking down on wage theft and labor abuses.

Lillian Bonsignore, Fire Commissioner

Bonsignore retired from the FDNY in 2022 after three decades as an EMT and as chief of the EMS division. 

She will become the department’s second female and first openly gay fire commissioner.

Steve Banks, Corporation Counsel 

Steve Banks, a former Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison attorney, will lead the New York City Law Department as corporation counsel.

Mamdani announced Tuesday that Banks will take on the role. Banks joined Paul Weiss in 2022 after nearly eight years as commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. Before that, he spent three decades at the Legal Aid Society, including as its attorney-in-chief.

Kamar Samuels, NYC Schools Chancellor

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has named Kamar Samuels as New York City’s next schools chancellor, tapping a nearly 20-year veteran of the public school system to lead the nation’s largest school district. Samuels, who has served as a teacher, principal and superintendent in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan, will oversee more than 1,500 schools and a budget exceeding $40 billion as the new administration takes office.

Ali Najmi, Chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed civil rights and election attorney Ali Najmi as chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, alongside signing an executive order aimed at making the judicial selection process more transparent. 

The order expands participation from the wider legal community, requires the publication of demographic data on judicial applicants and creates a searchable database to track upcoming judicial appointments.

Under the Mamdani Administration, the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary will be charged with increasing transparency around the judicial selection process and promoting engagement. 

Ali Najmi is a civil rights and election attorney in private practice. He is the founder and former President of the South Asian and Indo-Carribean Bar Association of Queens (SAICBAQ), and presently serves on their advisory board. 

Tascha Van Auken, head of Office of Mass Engagement

Mamdani has named Tascha Van Auken as head of the new Office of Mass Engagement.

Auken oversaw the campaign’s field operation during the primary and general campaigns, which reached more than 90,000 volunteers.

The office will oversee existing city units including The Public Engagement Unit, The Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, NYC Service and the Civic Engagement Commission.

Cea Weaver, Director of Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants

Mamdani has appointed nationally recognized tenant organizer and housing advocate Cea Weaver as director of the newly revitalized Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. 

Weaver, the executive director of Housing Justice for All and the New York State Tenant Bloc, played a key role in passing the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, which strengthened rent regulations and closed loopholes landlords used to raise rents. 

On her first day in office, Weaver joined Mamdani in announcing city intervention in the bankruptcy of Pinnacle Realty, a landlord tied to thousands of housing violations, marking an aggressive early move to improve conditions for tenants.

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