Overview
- At a Monday press conference, the mayor-elect unveiled his first senior appointments less than a week after his win as he prepares to take office on Jan. 1.
- Fuleihan, 74, previously served as Bill de Blasio’s first deputy mayor and budget director and brings decades in the state Assembly, positioning him to run day-to-day operations and oversee budget and finance functions.
- Bisgaard-Church, a close adviser who managed Mamdani’s primary campaign and served as his Assembly chief of staff, will lead the City Hall staff and has pledged an open-minded, pragmatic approach.
- Mamdani’s agenda—fare-free buses, expanded public child care and rent freezes—will require new funding and state approval, with Governor Kathy Hochul praising the Fuleihan pick even as she has questioned free-bus feasibility.
- The hires extend a pattern of tapping de Blasio-era talent and formalize Fuleihan’s behind-the-scenes advising, as the incoming administration also braces for potential federal pushback after President Trump’s criticisms reported by several outlets.