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Mamdani Taps Dean Fuleihan as First Deputy Mayor, Elevates Elle Bisgaard-Church to Chief of Staff

The picks pair Albany-tested budget expertise with the strategist who built his affordability-focused campaign.

CORRECTS NAME SPELLING: New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, left, announces the appointment of Dean Fuleihan, center, as first deputy mayor and Elle Bisgaard-Church as chief of staff, in New York, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announces the appointment of Dean Fuleih as first deputy mayor, and Elle Bisgaard-Church as chief of staff, in New York, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Some usiness leaders and Wall Street players threatened to leave New York City if Zohran Mamdani became mayor—now they're facing reality.
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Overview

  • Fuleihan, 74, returns to City Hall after serving as Bill de Blasio’s budget director and first deputy mayor, following decades as the Assembly’s chief budget negotiator in Albany.
  • Bisgaard-Church, Mamdani’s Assembly chief of staff and primary campaign manager, is credited with shaping the rent freeze, free buses, and universal childcare platform and pledged a pragmatic, strategy-driven City Hall.
  • Many marquee proposals require state approval and funding, with Gov. Kathy Hochul signaling openness on childcare but casting doubt on fare-free buses as budget talks approach.
  • Hochul publicly praised Fuleihan’s selection, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said his experience will help pursue the new administration’s affordability agenda.
  • Mamdani, who takes office Jan. 1 as the city’s youngest mayor in generations and its first Muslim and South Asian mayor, is accelerating transition hires while weighing whether to keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch as he braces for criticism from President Trump.