 "Zohran Mamdani alongside his transition team, from left, Elana Leopold, Melanie Hartzog, Maria Torres-Springer, Grace Bonilla and Lina Khan, in Queens, New York, on 5 November 2025. AP")
The New York City mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani , announced a transition team to help enact what he called the city’s most ambitious policy platform in a generation. Right after his mayoral race win, Mamdani vowed to get right to work as he prepares to take office on January 1.
While addressing a morning press conference in Queens, the 34-year-old Democratic socialists revealed an all-female transition team led by Elana Leopold as executive director. The team also included co-chairs Maria Torres-Springer, the former first deputy mayor; Lina Khan, the former Federal Trade Commission Chair; the United Way’s president and CEO, Grace Bonilla; and the former deputy mayor for health and human services, Melanie Hartzog.
“In the coming months, my team and I will build a city hall capable of delivering on the promises of this campaign,” Mamdani told reporters on Wednesday. “We will form an administration that is equal parts capable and compassionate, driven by integrity and willing to work just as hard as the millions of New Yorkers who call this city home.”
Many pointed to the selection of Khan, who gained national prominence for her aggressive antitrust enforcement at the FTC under former US President Joe Biden . She has been popular among both progressives and populist Republicans, signalling that Mamdani plans to bring bold reformers into his administration as he prepares to lead the nation’s largest city.
Mamdani’s team remains ready before January 1
In his first televised interview after defeating Andrew Cuomo , the former governor of New York and Republican Curtis Sliwa on Tuesday night, Mamdani stressed the urgency of preparation. “We owe it to this city to be ready on 1 January to start delivering,” he said on Wednesday. “We have 57 days, and those are 57 days to start to do the work of preparing," he said.
What makes his win significant is that Mamdani will become the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage, the first born in Africa, and the youngest in more than a century. The incoming administration in NYC will be facing formidable obstacles.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEven before winning the polls, US President Donald Trump had repeatedly threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani took office. In his post on TruthSocial, the president, who also hails from Queens, referred to Mamdani as a “communist”.
Trump wrote that if Mamdani won the mayoral election, “it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required” to New York City. He often labels the democratic socialist a “communist”. It is pertinent to note that New York City’s budget for fiscal year 2026 includes approximately $7.4bn in federal funding, accounting for 6.4 per cent of total spending.
On election day, Trump went on to unleash a new set of criticisms against Mamdani on TruthSocial, insisting that “any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self-professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person”, despite Mamdani’s repeated condemnations of antisemitism.
In light of this, the mayor-elect acknowledged the significant challenges ahead, including navigating city hall bureaucracy and working under a hostile Trump administration. However, Mamdani said he is convinced of his ability to deliver on his campaign promises.
“I’m confident in delivering these same policies that we ran on for the last year,” he said, adding that he aims to unite New Yorkers across political divides. “No matter what your politics, we’re all facing the same issues.”