Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met face-to-face Wednesday for the first time since Mamdani’s victory last month.
Mamdani, alongside his incoming Chief of Staff Elle Bisgaard Church and incoming First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, met with Adams and his staff at Gracie Mansion for an hour, per Mamdani’s campaign.
“The Mayor-elect met with the sitting Mayor to continue the work of the transition, and ensure all city services are provided without disruption through the change in leadership on Jan. 1,” Mamdani spokesperson Monica Klein said in a statement.
After the meeting, Mamdani shared some of the programs he wants to continue from the Adams administration.
“I’ve said time and again that I’ve appreciated the mayor’s work on City of Yes. I also think that trash containerization has been a good step forward in the way in which we handle garbage across this city, and these are things New Yorkers deserve to have to be built on, as opposed to be discarded,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani said the meeting went well and he talked with Adams about how to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Deputy Mayor of Communications Fabien Levy said in a statement that Adams and Mamdani have already communicated multiple times over the phone since the election.
“Mayor Adams wanted to ensure the mayor-elect knows our team is here to help ensure a smooth transition so that he can hit the ground running on day one, so Mayor Adams took the opportunity to discuss some of the programs and initiatives he has felt have been successful over the last four years, as well as some of the potential issues the incoming mayor may face once in office. The same way former Mayor de Blasio held this meeting with Mayor Adams, Mayor Adams felt an obligation to have this same sort of meeting with Mayor-elect Mamdani,” Levy said.