New York, New York - Zohran Mamdani on Monday made two major administration appointments on Monday as he prepares to take over as New York City mayor come January.
Dean Fuleihan (74) will serve as Mamdani's first deputy mayor. He was former Mayor Bill de Blasio's budget director and deputy mayor and also held various budget and policy roles in the state legislature throughout his career.
Elle Bisgaard-Church (34), Mamdani's chief of staff in the New York State Assembly and campaign manager for his Democratic mayoral primary run, will serve as chief of staff when he enters City Hall.
Mamdani made the announcements at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College – the place where Franklin D. Roosevelt set up his administration before his presidential inauguration in 1933.
"It is important when we are undertaking the work of transforming politics in our city, that we do so both with a relentless imagination as to what politics could be, and a fluency of what politics has been," Mamdani said.
"And what I so appreciate about both of those standing next to me is that they have displayed those two skills in spades."
Zohran Mamdani gears up to enter City Hall
Mamdani won the general election for New York City mayor last week in a contest that dominated headlines around the world.
The 34-year-old state assembly member campaigned on a platform centered around making the city more affordable. His proposed agenda includes rent freezes, free buses, no-cost childcare, and city-owned grocery stores.
Fuleihan's extensive budgeting experience and deep connections in Albany could prove instrumental in helping to actualize that vision, particularly as Governor Kathy Hochul has so far rejected raising taxes on the wealthiest individuals or increasing the top state corporate tax rate in order to fund Mamdani's proposals.
"New Yorkers elected you because they know you will build an administration of energy, ideas, and experience, one that uniquely reflects the diversity and strengths of our city," Fuleihan said on Monday.
"I firmly believe in this agenda, and I'm proud to join a team that will be devoted to this agenda and will work every day to make it happen," he added.
Mamdani last week named five women who are leading his transition as he gears up to become the next mayor of New York City on January 1, 2026.