Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has selected his choice to lead New York’s bravest.
The incoming mayor is said to pick longtime FDNY vet Lillian Bonsignore to head the city’s fire department, News 4 has learned. He’s expected to publicly announce her appointment Tuesday afternoon.
Bonsignore previously worked as FDNY chief of EMS operations before retiring from the department in 2022. retired from the department in 2022, a post she held since 2019.
The FDNY veteran started her career back in 1991, when she was appointed as an EMT for Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, according to the department. She also responded during the Sept. 11 terror attacks and worked as part of the rescue and recovery efforts.
Robert Tucker, the previous FDNY commissioner, announced his resignation the day after Mamdani was declared the winner of the mayoral race. He officially stepped down on Dec. 19.
“Look, it’s a complicated, emotional decision to leave. But ideologically, there’s no doubt that the mayor and I disagree on some very fundamental things to me,” Tucker told “CBS Mornings” after announcing he would be stepping down in November.
When it comes to New York’s finest, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has agreed to stay at the helm of the nation’s largest police department after accepting Mamdani’s offer to continue as the city’s top cop.
Mamdani has additional appointments to make, including the NYC Schools chancellor, commissioners for the departments of health, sanitation and transportation, as well as multiple deputy mayors.
This story is developing.