With 38 days until he takes office, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said Monday that he has appointed over 400 people across 17 committees to serve as “critical advisors,” providing both hiring recommendations and policy guidance ahead of his Jan. 1 inauguration.
Mamdani announced the committees and their members on Monday in Central Park’s Conservatory Garden, stating that they will play a central role in preparing his administration to address the city’s affordability challenges, including housing and childcare, among other pressing issues.
The committees, comprising leaders from government, labor, nonprofits, academia, and business, will advise on policy development, implementation, and best practices for agencies, according to the transition team.
The scale of the appointments coincides with what Mamdani described as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to rebuild public trust and deliver for working-class New Yorkers, announcing that 70,000 people have submitted applications to work in the new administration through an open portal, with an average applicant age of 28.
“Too often there is a distance between the intent of what City Hall does and the impact it has,” Mamdani said. The new committees, he added, are designed to help the administration learn directly from the communities most affected by government action.
Mamdani’s transition committees, with over 400 appointees across 17 committees, fall in between the sizes of recent mayoral transitions. Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams’ transition included more than 700 people across 20 committees and was led nine co-chairs, making it substantially larger than former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 60-person team. In comparison, when Michael Bloomberg took office in 2002, he had 56 people to his transition committee.
Applicants will be evaluated on their work rather than political connections, Mamdani said, adding that the committees will help define the metrics used to assess candidates from the 70,000-person pool.
The Mayor-elect cited deep dysfunction in the city’s current hiring process, including 17,000 vacancies, prolonged delays, and candidates who wait months or even a year for final approval after being told they were qualified. He said those delays leave agencies understaffed and degrade essential services. Hiring reform, he said, will begin immediately on Jan. 1.
Committed committees
The 17 committees span nearly every aspect of city governance, including housing, social services, youth development, economic and workforce development, public safety, transportation and infrastructure, the criminal legal system, health and mental health, arts and culture, immigrant justice, business operations, and government efficiency.
Two committees, Worker Justice and Community Organizing, are new for any mayoral transition, said Mamdani, who noted their creation reflects longstanding failures and the need to integrate worker protections and community leadership into the core of city policy.
Many workers, he said, continue to face wage theft, predatory debt, unsafe workplaces, and systemic neglect, while community organizing has too often been treated as separate from policymaking rather than essential to understanding the consequences of city decisions.
Each committee will be overseen by the transition’s four co-chairs, Lina Khan, Grace Bonilla, Maria Torres-Springer, and Melanie Hartzog. Transition Executive Director Elana Leopold said their oversight will ensure the administration is “staffed with top talent and ready on day one.”
During the press conference, Mamdani reiterated his campaign commitments to freeze rents for more than 2 million rent-stabilized tenants, increase density near transit, and reduce city-imposed barriers to construction — issues he said he raised directly with President Donald Trump during their recent Oval Office meeting.
Anne Marie Gray, executive director of Open New York and co-chair of the Housing Committee, said Monday that the city needs an “all of the above” approach that protects tenants while dramatically increasing housing supply.
Notable appointees to the transition committees include Atiba Edwards of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum on the Arts & Culture Committee, Farah Gardner, executive director of the Day Care Council of New York, who joins the Youth & Education Committee, while Garrett Hamilton, economist at The New School and chief economist for the AFL-CIO, will serve on the Economic and Workforce Development Committee. Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, is part of the new Worker Justice Committee.
Also on Monday, Mamdani said he will continue making the case for federal support “to anyone across the city or across this country,” arguing that New Yorkers deserve leaders who prioritize residents over political self-interest. The mayor-elect said he was “heartened” that the president expressed general interest in helping NYC on Friday.
With no date set, Mamdani said he looks forward to meeting with Mayor Eric Adams in the coming weeks — praising the cooperation of Adams’ staff and noting that their discussion will focus on ensuring a smooth transition.
The Mamdani administration’s 17 transition committees:
Housing
Youth & Education
Transportation, Climate & Infrastructure
Arts & Culture
Community Organizing
Community Safety
Economic Development & Workforce Development
Emergency Response
Government Operations
Health
Immigrant Justice
Criminal Legal System
Legal Affairs
Small Businesses & MWBEs
Social Services
Technology
Worker Justice
Committee Members
Committee on Arts & Culture
Hiba Abid, New York Public Library
Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, Mellon Foundation
Suroosh Alvi, Vice
Jessica Baker, Vodoor Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
Alexis Bittar, Jewelry Designer
Rocky Bucano, Hip Hop Museum
Gonzalo Casals, Culture & Arts Policy Institute
Carolyn Concepcion, ARTNOIR
Colm Dillane, KidSuper
Kimberly Drew, Pace Gallery
Atiba Edwards, Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Kamilah Forbes, Apollo Theatre
Lisa Gold, Asian American Arts Alliance
Jenna Hamed, Curator and Book maker
Kemi Ilesanmi, KG1
Wes Jackson, BRIC
Ruba Katrib, MoMA PS1
Coco Killingsworth, Cultural Institutions Group
Mino Lora, The Peoples Theatre
Patricia McGregor, NY Theatre Workshop
Lydia Pilcher, Cine Mosaic
Victoria Rogers, Leadership Strategist
Hal Rosenbluth, Kaufman Astoria Studios
Legacy Russell, The Kitchen
Kenny Savoca, IATSE 161
Hannah Traore, Hannah Traore Gallery
Diya Vij, Powerhouse Arts
Dennis Walcott, Queens Library
Committee on Community Organizing
Sherif Ahmed, Muslim American Society NY
Ibrahim Ahmed, Yankasa Organization
Abdul Aziz, Bhuiyan Hillside Islamic Center
Gianpaolo Baiocchi
Lumuumba Bandele, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
Marco Carrion, Consortium for Worker Education
Catie Fireman, Astoria Food Pantry
Joanne Grell, Community Action for Safe Apartments
Jasmine Gripper, Working Families Party
Sumathy Kumar, Tenant Bloc
Juanita Lewis, Community Voices Heard
Aji Fanta Marenah, Muslim Democratic Club of New York
Santosh Nandabalan, New York Communities for Change
Anthonine Pierre, Brooklyn Movement Center
Asher Ross, Democratic Socialists of America
Wanda Salaman, Mothers on the Move
Waleed Shahid, Strategist and Organizer
Jagpreet Singh, DRUM Beats
Celina Su, City University of New York
Katie Unger, Consultant
Julie Xu, CAAAV
Committee on Community Safety
K Bain, Community Capacity Development
Jonah Boyarin, Educator & Consultant
Jasmine Budnella, VOCAL NY
Erica Ford, LIFE Camp
Kassandra Frederique, Drug Policy Alliance
Rev. Charles Galbreath, Clarendon Road Church
Daniela Gilbert, Vera Institute
Elizabeth Glazer, Vital City
Shamshul Haq, Bangladeshi American Police Association
Tom Harris, Times Square Alliance
Rodney K. Harrison
Susan Herman
Rama Issa-Ibrahim, Center for Anti-Violence Education
Joo-Hyun Kang, Organizer and Strategist
Kevin Livingston, 100 Suits
Jose Lopez, Make the Road
Tamika Mallory
Max Markham, NYU Policing Project
Hassan Naveed, Naveed Consulting, LLC
Justine Oldermann, New York University
Dana Rachlin, We Build the Block
Mariela Ruiz Angel, Center for Innovations in Community Safety at Georgetown Law
Maurice Vann, City University of New York (CUNY)
Alex Vitale, Author
Jo-ann Yoo
Ken Zimmerman, Fountain House
Committee on the Criminal Legal System
Dan Ades, Center for Justice Innovation
Rachael Bedard, Physician and Writer
Ana Bermudez
Sarita Dafarty, Freedom Agenda
Meg Egan, Women’s Prison Association
Alice Fontier, Legal Aid Society
Benjamin Heller, Vera Institute of Justice
Michael Jacobson, City University of New York (CUNY)
Zachary Katznelson, A More Just NYC
Michael Klinger, Brooklyn Defenders
Scott Levy, FWD.us
Mysoone Linen
Deb Lolai
Janos Marton, Dream.org
Lisa Ohta, UAW Local 2325
Meghna Philip, Legal Aid Society
Angelo Pinto
Meg Reiss
Vincent Schiraldi
Jordan Stockdale
Committee on Economic Development & Workforce Development
Margaret Anadu, Vistria Group
Deyanira Del Río, New Economy
Mark Egerman
Gustavo Gordillo, Democratic Socialists of America
Jack Gross, Phenomenal World
Darrick Hamilton, The New School
Reed Jordan
Stephanie Luce, City University of New York (CUNY)
Rich Maroko, Hotel and Gaming Trades Council
Gregory Morris, New York City Employment and Training Coalition
Regina Myer, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
Larisa Ortiz, Streetsense
James Patchett, Gilbane
Emma Pfohman, The Association for a Better New York
Blondel Pinnock, Bed Stuy Restoration
Jeff Lee, Romero Invenergy
Yasser Salem, OneNYC
Anisha Steephen, Economic Security Project
Julie Stein, Union Square Partnership
Kathy Wylde, Partnership for NY
Committee on Emergency Response
Andy Ansbro, Uniformed Firefighters Association
Anne Bink
Jill Eisenhard, Eisenhard Consulting
Peter Gudaitis, New York Disaster and Interfaith Services
Ayo Harrington, NYC Volunteer Orgs Active in Disaster
Jonathan Logan, Vulcan Society
Kelly McKinney, NYU Langone Health
Daniel Nigro
Michael Partis, Red Hook Initiative
Joe Potasnik, NY Board of Rabbis
Chris Smith, Minister
Jilly Stephens, City Harvest
Doreen Thomann-Howe, American Red Cross of Greater NY
Vincent Variale, Uniformed EMS Officers Union Local 3621
Jeannette Torres, NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
Committee on Government Operations
Hector Batista, City University of New York (CUNY)
Francesco Brindisi, Office of NYC Comptroller
Dominic Campbell, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Cynthia Conti-Cook, Collaborative Research Center for Resilience
Nathan Gusdorf, Fiscal Policy Institute
Charlette Hamamgian, Office of NYC Comptroller
Shafeka Hashash, Economic Security Project
Danielle Kavanagh-Smith
Carol Kellermann
Bob Linn
Zara Nasir, The People’s Plan
Albert Pulido, New York State Executive Chamber
Helen Rosenthal, Former NYC Council Member
Marc Shaw
Marla Simpson, Independent Budget Office
Ajeet Singh, Illinois Dept of Health Data Modernization Strategy
Faiza Ali, NYC Council
Laura Kavanagh
Aliya Latif, Office of NYC Comptroller
Committee on Health
Tahir Amin, Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK)
Natasha Anushri Anandaraja, Public Health Practioner
Yvonne Armstrong, 1199 SEIU
Oxiris Barbot, United Hospital Fund
Mary Basset, Harvard University Chan School of Public Health
Elisabeth Benjamin, Community Service Society
Barbara Caress, Baruch College
Ebone Carrington, Manatt Health
Demetre Daskalakis
Traci Donnelly, The Child Center of NY
Torian Easterling, Brooklyn Community Collaboratives
Jen Gaboury, City University of New York (CUNY)
Nancy Hagans, New York State Nurses Association
Musaub Khan , Physician
Michael Kinnucan, Fiscal Policy Institute
Eric Linzer, NY Health Plan Association
Patrick McGovern, Callen Lorde
David Perlstein, St. Barnabas Hospital
Ken Raske, State and Government Affairs Greater New York Hospital Association
Ashna Shome, CIR/SEIU
Dr. Carla Smith, NYC LGBT Community Center
Wendy Stark, Planned Parenthood
Rabbi Abby Stein
Bruce Vladeck, Academic
Marlene Zurack
Committee on Housing
Nicholas Bloom, City University of New York (CUNY)
Dr. Dedrick Blue, Church of Seventh Day Adventists
Rafael Cestero, Community Preservation Corporation
Bea De la Torre, Trinity Foundation
Charlie Dulik, Housing Conservation Coordinators
Emily Eisner, Fiscal Policy Institute
Carolee Fink, COO M Squared
Moses Gates, Regional Plan Association
Lisa Gomez
Annemarie Gray, Open New York
David Greenberg, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Adriene Holder, Legal Aid Society
Olivia Leirer, New York Communities for Change
Allison Nickerson, LiveOn NY
Manny Pastreich, 32BJ SEIU
Carlina Rivera, New York State Association for Affordable Housing
Brian Scott, Pastor
Alina Shen, CAAAV
Iziah Thompson, Community Service Society
Jed Walentas, REBNY
Matt Wambua, Merchants Capital
Cea Weaver, Tenant Bloc
Barika Williams, Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development
Paul Williams, Center for Public Enterprise
Committee on Immigrant Justice
Jesus Aguais, Aid for Aids
Fahd Ahmed, DRUM Beats
Farihah Akhtar, CAAAV
Imam Shamsi Ali, Jamaica Muslim Center
Dr Debbie Almontaser, Emgage
Mohamed Q. Amin, Caribbean Equality Project
Natalia Aristizabal, Make the Road
Murad Awawdeh, New York Immigration Coalition
Adama Bah, Africana
Melissa Chua, NYLAG
Rosa Cohen-Cruz, Bronx Defenders
Stephanie Delia, Little Haiti, BK Inc.
Yasmine Farhang, Immigrant Defense Project
Emira Habiby, Center for the Integration and Advancement of New Americans, Inc.
Marwa Janini, Arab American Association of NY
Amaha Kassa, African Communities Together
Jason Klein, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
Peter Markowitz Cardozo
Yesenia Mata, La Colmena
Jocelyn McCalla, Haitian-American Foundation for Democracy
Christine Mendoza, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Ruth Messinger
Frankie Miranda, Hispanic Federation
Bitta Mostofi
Annetta Seecharran, Chhaya CDC
Rachel Timoner, Congregation Beth Elohim
Committee on Legal Affairs
Tahanie Aboushi, Aboushi Law Firm
Baher Azmy, Center for Constitutional Rights
Richard Briffault, Columbia Law
Twyla Carter, The Legal Aid Society
Susan Chapman, Business Leader
Catherine Christian, Liston Abramson LLP
Jerry Goldfeder, Cozen O’Connor LLP
LiJia Gong, Local Progress Impact Lab
Ramzi Kassem
Sania Khan, IN__SERVICE
Seher Khawaja, Legal Momentum
Jacques Léandre
Donna Lieberman, NYCLU
Kapil Longani, State University of New York (SUNY)
Mandeep Minhas, Scott & Scott LLP
Afaf Nasher, Council on American-Islamic Relations, New York
Shaifuli Puri
Julissa Reynoso, Winston Strawn
Derek Sells, Cochran Firm
Zephyr Teachout, Law Professor
Committee on Small Businesses & MWBEs
Mo Attia, Street Vendor Project
Arman Chowdhury, MUNA
Jonnel Doris, Start NY
Somia Elrowmeim, Women’s Empowerment Coalition of NYC
Jeffrey LeFrancois, Meatpacking District Management Association
Grace Mausser, Democratic Socialists of America
Youssef Mubaraz, Yemeni American Merchants Association (YAMA)
Jamie Y. Nagi, Business Owner
Imran Pasha
Kavita Pawria-Sanchez
Mary Pryor, Cannaclusive
Shah Rehman, BHALO/ Musvote
Andrew Rigie, New York City Hospitality Alliance
Tuulikki Robertson, Black Institute
Fernando Radhames Rodriguez, United Bodegas of America
Urgen Sherpa, Chhaya CDC
Lisa Sorin, Five Borough Alliance
Melba Wilson, Melba’s
Committee on Social Services
Lilliam Barrios-Paoli
Joel Berg, Hunger Free America
Catherine Chen, Asian American Federation
Dania Darwish, Asiyah Women Center
Nat Fields, URI
Orlando Findlayter
Beth Finkel, AARP NY
Lisa Fitzpatrick
Sienna Fontaine, Make the Road
Saratu Ghartey, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
Dave Giffen, Coalition for the homeless
Stephen Green, Greater Allen AME Cathedral of New York
Erum Hanif, APNA Community Center
Judy Herbstman, Settlement Housing Fund
Wayne Ho, Chinese-American Planning Council
Michelle Jackson, Human Services Council
David Jones, Community Service Society
Jennifer Jones-Austin, FPWA
Lorena Kourousias, Mixteca
Vanessa Leung, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families
Ellen Lippmann, Rabbi
Maria Lizardo, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corp
Dr. Sharon McLennon Weir, Center for the Independence of the Disabled (CIDNY)
Masha Pearl, Blue Card Fund
Christine Quinn, WIN
Jocelyn Rainey, Brooklyn Foundation
Bobbie Sackman
Ann Maria Scalia, JCCA
Catherine Trapani, Volunteers of America – Greater New York
Committee on Technology
Sarah Aoun
Ruha Benjamin, Ida B Wells Just Data Lab at Princeton
Myaisha Hayes, MediaJustice
Noel Hidalgo, BetaNYC
Sam Jacobs, Food Fight Lab
Katherine Jin, Democratic Socialists of America
Amba Kak, AI Now Institute
Huge Ma, Turbovax
Matt Mitchell
ReNika Moore, ACLU
Alondra Nelson, Institute for Advanced Study
Martha Norrick, Backbone Strategies
Julie Samuels, Tech NYC
Garfield Swaby, New York Public Library
Julie Swoope Democratic Socialists of America
Haley Van Dyck
Elyse Voegeli, 18F
Maia Woluchem, Data & Society
Committee on Transportation, Climate, & Infrastructure
Eddie Bautista, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance
Amy Chester, Rebuild by Design
Tabitha Decker, Spring Street Climate Fund
Minelly DeCoo
Michael Flynn, TYLin
Ben Furnas, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives
Noah Ginsburg, New York Solar Energy Industries Association
Eric Goldwyn, NYU Marron Institute
Rhiana Gunn-Wright , Green New Deal
Chris Halfnight, Urban Green Council
Monika Hansen
Meera Joshi, Greenwood Cemetery
Benjamin Kabak, 2nd Ave Subway
Marc Kagan, Public School Teacher at Bronx Science
Sara Lind, Open Plans
Nivardo Lopez, Gateway Development Commission
Clare Miflin, ThinkWoven
Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance
Lauren Phillips, NRDC
Betsy Plum, Riders Alliance
Nancy Romer, PSC-CUNY
Esther Rosario, Climate Jobs NY
John Samuelsen, TWU
Daphany Rose Sanchez, Kinetic Communities Consulting
Siddhartha Sanchez, Bronx River Alliance
Dennis Schock, Teamsters Local 831 – Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association
Peggy Shepard, WE ACT
Lise Strickler, Three Cairns Group
Tyler Taba, Waterfront Alliance
Tiffany Ann Taylor, Regional Plan Association
Midori Valdivia
Laurie Wheelock, PULP
Justin Wood, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Committee on Worker Justice
Amit Singh Bagga, Public Progress Solutions
Mohammed Karim Chowdhury, ASAAL
Hidalyn Colon Hernandez, NICE
Bhairavi Desai, New York Taxi Workers Alliance
Rebecca Dixon, National Employment Law Project
Rafael Espinal, Freelancers Union
Kazi Fouzia, DRUM Beats
Terri Gerstein, NYU Wagner Labor Initiative
Brendan Griffith, NYC Central Labor Council
Ligia Guallpa, Los Deliveristas Unidos and Worker Justice Project
Chaumtoli Huq, CUNY School of Law
Elizabeth Jordan, Make the Road
Hyungwoo David Kim, Strategic Organizing Center
Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
Sam Levine
Rebecca Lynch, Office of NYC Comptroller
Brandon Mancilla, UAW 9A
Theo Moore, ALIGN
James Parrott, Economist
Ai-jen Poo, National Domestic Workers Alliance
Lorelai Salas
Edwin Tablada
Candis Tall, 32BJ SEIU
Dennis Trainor, CWA District 1
Committee on Youth & Education
Tazin Azad
Rebecca Bailin, New Yorkers United for Child Care
Nyah Berg, Appleseed
Evelyn Castro, Medgar Evers College
Jason Cone, Robin Hood Foundation
James Davis, PSC-CUNY
Marielys Divanne, Futuro Solutions
Mark Dunetz, New Visions for Public Schools
Kesi Foster, Partners for Dignity & Rights
Amy Freitag, NY Community Trust
Tara Gardner, Daycare Council of NY
Debra Ellen Glickstein, KidsRise
Karin Goldmark, GreenLink Education
Matt Gonzales, New Yorkers for Racially Just Public Schools (RJPS)
Sharon Greenberger, YMCA Greater NY
Brian Jones, Center for Education & Schools and New York Public Library
John King, State University of New York (SUNY)
Sebastian Leon Martinez YDSA
Randi Levine, Advocates for Children
Christine Marinoni, Public School Advocate
Felix Matos Rodriguez, City University of New York (CUNY)
Rashad Moore, Crown Heights Baptist Church
Michael Mulgrew, United Federation of Teachers (UFT)
Lori Podvesker, INCLUDEnyc
Hasoni Pratts, National Urban League
Grace Rauh, Citizens Union
Arva Rice, NY Urban League
Raysa Rodriquez, Citizen’s Committee for Children
Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, Alliance for Quality Education
Edie Sharp
Felicia Singh, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families
Susan Stamler, United Neighborhood Houses
Hannah Towfeik, Muslim American Society (MAS)
Mary Vaccarro, United Federation of Teachers (UFT)
Joshua Wallack
Eric Waterman, East Flatbush Village Inc.
Terrence Winston, Coalition for Community Schools Excellence
