A comprehensive guide to every key appointment in the Mamdani administration and what each commissioner signals about the mayor’s priorities
Building the Bench
City and State New York has maintained the most comprehensive public guide to the Mamdani administration’s appointments since the mayor took office on January 1, 2026. The roster has been updated steadily as the administration filled key positions, and as of early March, the cabinet is largely in place. This comprehensive guide draws on that reporting alongside official Mayor’s Office announcements to give New Yorkers a clear picture of who is making decisions across the agencies that shape daily life in the city.
Senior Leadership
First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, formerly a senior fellow at CUNY’s Institute for State and Local Governance, is the administration’s chief policy strategist and has been the primary architect of the fiscal arguments Mamdani has brought to Albany. Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson oversees the administrative agencies that keep the city running day to day. Corporation Counsel Steven Banks, whose career was defined by advocacy for homeless New Yorkers before he served as social services commissioner under de Blasio, brings a legal and social justice orientation to the city’s law department.
Key Commissioners
The administration’s cabinet spans the full range of city government functions. Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, praised by Mamdani for his work improving literacy scores, is the operational leader of the city’s 1.1 million student public school system. DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn, hired from consulting firm TYLin, has articulated a vision of streets “that are the envy of the world.” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, retained from the Adams administration, maintains the data-driven policing approach that produced record-low shootings in 2025. Dr. Alister Martin, a Jackson Heights native and Harvard Medical School graduate, leads the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Stanley Richards, the first formerly incarcerated person to lead the Department of Correction in the city’s history, represents one of the administration’s most symbolically significant appointments. Lisa Garcia, an environmental and climate justice leader, leads the Department of Environmental Protection. Lisa Gelobter, who served in the Obama Administration as Chief Digital Service Officer at the Department of Education, is the city’s Chief Technology Officer.
Immigrant Affairs and Community Engagement
Ana Maria Archila, former co-director of the New York Working Families Party, leads the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs. Faiza Ali, daughter of Pakistani immigrants, leads the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. Tascha Van Auken, the organizer who led Mamdani’s three-million-door campaign, leads the newly created Office of Mass Engagement. The Mayor’s Office publishes full biographies and appointment announcements for all senior officials. City and State New York maintains a running “who’s who” guide with analysis of what each appointment signals about the administration’s direction. Understanding the cabinet is essential context for evaluating any of the Mamdani administration’s specific policies, because the people implementing policy shape it as much as the mayor who announces it.
