Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced the first major appointments of his incoming administration on Monday, naming Dean Fuleihan, a veteran of city and state government, as his top deputy in City Hall, while Elle Bisgaard-Church, his longtime aide in the State Assembly, will serve as chief of staff, reports Baltimore Chronicle with reference to the Times.
At 74, Fuleihan returns to a familiar role, having previously served as first deputy mayor under former Mayor Bill de Blasio until 2021. Tasked with overseeing the day-to-day operations of New York City, Fuleihan brings decades of experience and expertise to support the 34-year-old mayor-elect, who is four decades his junior. Bisgaard-Church, also 34, has long been a close advisor to Mamdani and will now assume the role of chief of staff.
The appointments signal Mamdani’s plan to combine the energy of his young, progressive inner circle with the institutional knowledge of seasoned government officials capable of navigating the city’s $115 billion budget and managing its 300,000 public employees. Speaking at a news briefing in Manhattan, Mamdani emphasized that his administration will be evaluated not only on ambitious economic policies but also on the effective delivery of everyday municipal services, such as trash collection.
He described Fuleihan and Bisgaard-Church as possessing “the fresh, innovative ideas needed to transform our city and the expertise needed to execute” them. Fuleihan, in particular, is expected to be crucial in helping Mamdani negotiate legislative and budgetary challenges in Albany. Fuleihan’s decades-long experience as a top aide to legislative leaders, combined with his recent appointment to the State Financial Control Board by Governor Kathy Hochul, positions him as a strategic asset in managing the city’s finances.
The announcement was made at Roosevelt House at Hunter College, the historic Upper East Side mansion where Franklin D. Roosevelt developed the early New Deal, highlighting the symbolic ambition of Mamdani’s upcoming tenure.
Mamdani faces significant challenges upon taking office on January 1. His campaign proposed expansive policies to tackle the city’s high cost of living, including making buses free, expanding government-funded child care, and freezing rents on nearly a million rent-stabilized apartments. To implement these measures, he will need Albany’s approval and potentially billions in new revenue from taxes or other sources. While Governor Hochul expressed willingness to collaborate, she has voiced reservations over eliminating bus fares.
The mayor-elect’s progressive policies have also drawn criticism from former President Donald Trump, who labeled Mamdani a radical “communist” and threatened to withhold federal funds or deploy the National Guard should policies conflict with his preferences.
Mamdani moved swiftly in announcing his appointments, shortly after returning from a post-election political gathering in Puerto Rico, contrasting with the longer timelines his predecessors followed. Previously, both Mayor Eric Adams and de Blasio waited a month before naming their first deputy mayors. Last week, Mamdani also appointed five women to lead his transition committee, and further selections, including candidates for schools chancellor, are expected in the coming weeks.
Fuleihan, who considered several candidates for the deputy mayor role, including Dan Garodnick and Maria Torres-Springer, brings extensive Albany experience, having served as a top aide to former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Joining de Blasio’s administration in 2013, he led the Office of Management and Budget, negotiating labor contracts and implementing universal prekindergarten. He later became first deputy mayor, serving as acting mayor during de Blasio’s absences and managing a complex relationship with President Trump during his first term.
Fuleihan highlighted optimism about navigating Albany’s political landscape under Mamdani’s leadership. He and Mamdani share progressive politics as well as personal backgrounds: Fuleihan is the child of Lebanese immigrants, while Mamdani was born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent. The two celebrated the announcement with Bisgaard-Church over lunch at a Lebanese restaurant near City Hall.
Bisgaard-Church, who has not previously worked in city government, led Mamdani’s unusually young campaign team and is regarded as the administration’s “moral compass” and strategic center. She emphasized that the new leadership will act pragmatically, assuring New Yorkers that the administration will remain open-minded and focused on practical governance despite its progressive agenda.
Earlier we wrote that Mamdani Defeats Cuomo to Become New York’s First Muslim Mayor.
