NEW YORK \u2014 New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani unveiled his first two big City Hall hires Monday, tapping government expert Dean Fuleihan to be his top deputy and political confidant Elle Bisgaard-Church to serve as his chief of staff.<\/p>\n
The appointments of Fuleihan, a 74-year-old alumni of the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Bisgaard-Church, a 34-year-old member of the Democratic Socialists of America who served as Mamdani\u2019s campaign manager, showcase how the mayor-elect, also 34, plans to build out his City Hall team with a blend of seasoned municipal technocrats and younger, ideologically aligned allies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope their reputations and records of accomplishment are proof of intent to deliver tangible change,\u201d Mamdani said at a news conference with Fuleihan and Bisgaard-Church on the Upper East Side. \u201cThis is a moment of opportunity that comes along rarely, and we seize upon it to usher in a new day for New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Mamdani\u2019s first deputy mayor and chief of staff, Fuleihan and Bisgaard-Church will quickly have their hands full.<\/p>\n
Mamdani, who is set to be sworn in Jan. 1 as New York City\u2019s youngest mayor in more than a century, told reporters he didn\u2019t have exact portfolios in mind for either Fuleihan or Bisgaard-Church yet. But he said he expects both of them to play \u201ckey\u201d roles in executing the ambitious policy promises he campaigned on.<\/p>\n
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won<\/a> the Nov. 4 mayoral election after pledging to tackle the city\u2019s cost of living crisis<\/a> by freezing the rent for the city\u2019s 2 million stabilized tenants, vastly expanding subsidized child care and making public buses free \u2014 proposals that would require action from the governor and the state Legislature. To pay for such initiatives, Mamdani has proposed jacking up taxes on millionaires and corporations, initiatives that would also require state-level action.<\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat who\u2019s facing a competitive reelection race next year, has been critical of the idea of raising taxes in 2026 and signaled over the weekend she\u2019s also conceptually skeptical of Mamdani\u2019s free bus plan, potentially throwing a wrench into his agenda.<\/p>\n But Fuleihan, who served as de Blasio\u2019s first deputy for four years and was the state Assembly\u2019s top budget honcho for decades before that, said he\u2019s confident in the momentum behind Mamdani\u2019s policy pushes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an agenda that\u2019s achievable,\u201d said Fuleihan, who was de Blasio\u2019s City Hall budget director when the ex-mayor secured state funding to create the city\u2019s \u201cPre-K for All\u201d program in 2014. \u201cWe have to work on how to make sure that we come to those agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n As first deputy, Fuleihan will help manage the day-to-day operations of city government and also serve as acting mayor when Mamdani\u2019s out of town.<\/p>\n Fuleihan\u2019s elevation was praised even by some Mamdani skeptics, including Rep. Ritchie Torres, a centrist Bronx Democrat who supported Mamdani\u2019s main mayoral race opponent, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are few people on earth who know the workings of city and state government as deeply as Dean Fuleihan,\u201d Torres wrote on X<\/a>, calling his appointment \u201cexceptional.\u201d<\/p>\n De Blasio, who has been informally advising Mamdani, also hailed the pick. \u201cLiterally the perfect choice,\u201d the ex-mayor told the New York Daily News. \u201cTremendous skill and experience combined with philosophical alignment.\u201d<\/p>\n Where Fuleihan can be seen as a symbol of the city\u2019s old government guard, Bisgaard-Church is cut from the same cloth as Mamdani.<\/p>\n A dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Bisgaard-Church in late 2024 became Mamdani\u2019s mayoral campaign manager after having served as the chief of staff in his Assembly office since 2021. She\u2019s widely credited with being a big influence<\/a> on Mamdani\u2019s populist policy agenda and has been extensively involved in working on his transition team.<\/p>\n At the news conference, Mamdani called her his team\u2019s \u201cmoral compass, our brilliant strategic center and a genuinely kind and selfless person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe will work relentlessly to make good on our campaign promises,\u201d Bisgaard-Church said.<\/p>\n Fuleihan is among a number of de Blasio administration alums who have become part of Mamdani\u2019s team since his election.<\/p>\n Melanie Hartzog, de Blasio\u2019s former deputy mayor for health and human services, is co-chairing Mamdani\u2019s transition team, whose executive director is Elana Leopold, another de Blasio administration veteran.<\/p>\n