5 things to know about Dean Fuleihan

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced his first official picks for his upcoming administration Monday, tapping seasoned government veteran Dean Fuleihan to serve as his first deputy mayor and his longtime adviser Elle Bisgaard-Church to be his chief of staff. (City & State profiled Bisgaard-Church here.)

While the exact duties of the first deputy mayor vary somewhat depending on who is in the seat, Fuleihan will officially be tasked with managing the day-to-day operations of city government. Some deputy mayors are more empowered than others. And some stay in the role longer than others. Eric Adams’ first first deputy mayor, Lorraine Grillo, left the administration after just a year, for example. 

“Dean's steadiness, his managerial competence and his clarity of vision will support me as we take on those who would wish this to be a continuation of politics as it has been, and instead deliver what politics can be in the city that we call home,” Mamdani said at a press conference Monday, alluding to his avowed opponents in the federal government. The news of Fuleihan’s appointment was first reported by the Daily News Monday morning ahead of the official announcement.

Fuleihan has worked in and around city government for nearly a half a century. “He knows where all the bodies are buried. Let's put it that way,” said Partnership for New York City CEO Kathy Wylde.

The announcement, made just after Mamdani returned from Puerto Rico for the annual Somos political gathering, signals that the 34-year-old Democratic socialist is moving quickly to roll out appointments. The morning following Mamdani’s victory in the general election, he announced the names of the five women who would be leading his transition committee (including another former first deputy mayor, Maria Torres-Springer). Both New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former Mayor Bill de Blasio had waited until December to announce their first deputy mayor picks.

Here are five things to know about Fuleihan, soon to be Mamdani’s second in-command at City Hall. 

He’s an old hand

At 74 years old, Fuleihan will be serving under a mayor who is less than half his age. He started his career in government in the late 1970s. 

Mamdani’s age and relative lack of experience have been big points of conversation throughout his campaign. He’s the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century and has only been a state Assembly member for about five years. And while many of his supporters saw his youth as fresh and exciting, it’s also been a major attack line for critics. Mamdani’s decision to appoint someone as seasoned as Fuleihan as his second in command is likely in part to quell those concerns.

A younger candidate, the Gen X Dan Garodnick, was reportedly in the running for the role as well, and he may still be in the mix for another top role.

He’s a de Blasio alum 

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio touted Fuleihan’s lefty bona fides when he announced Fuleihan would be his budget director in 2013, saying, “A lot of people told me that the history of budget directors is they tend to be more philosophically conservative. … I resolved in the beginning that we would find a verified progressive who also had extraordinary skill to navigate and run our budget process,” Politico reported at the time. De Blasio elevated Fuleihan to first deputy mayor in 2018 following the departure of Anthony Shorris. It was a role he kept until de Blasio left office at the end of 2021, keeping watch over the city during de Blasio’s failed presidential run.

“Nobody will work harder than Dean, we always joke he doesn’t eat. He just drinks a steady diet of black coffee” said a de Blasio alum. 

“Dean was part of truly – and I'm not just saying this – every significant accomplishment in the de Blasio administration,” said Emma Wolfe, de Blasio’s former chief of staff and deputy mayor for administration. “Certainly universal pre-K was a marquee one, but I think any mayoral administration would be fortunate to have him, and we certainly were.”

He knows his way around Capitol

Fuleihan started as a policy analyst in the state Assembly and worked closely with the late former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as his “right arm” until 2011. He knows the complex inner workings of Albany well, serving in multiple posts across the Assembly for more than 30 years. He also worked as the chamber’s chief staff negotiator for the state’s $130 billion budget, according to a biography shared by Mamdani’s transition team. 

Fuleihan’s deep knowledge of Albany and the legislative process will likely prove handy as Mamdani looks to enact his ambitious agenda. Many of the policy planks he ran on – like free buses, hiking taxes for the wealthiest New Yorkers and universal child care – need the assent of state leaders to have a chance of succeeding.

Kathy Hochul is pleased

Fuleihan’s many connections in city and state government include Gov. Kathy Hochul. Just last year, she appointed him to serve on the New York State Financial Control Board. Following news that Mamdani tapped him as first deputy mayor, Hochul was quick to laud the choice. 

“Dean Fuleihan is a steady, principled public servant who has dedicated his career to making government work for New Yorkers,” Hochul wrote on X. “His experience and integrity will be invaluable in this role. A great choice and a win for New Yorkers.”

Another de Blasio alum, Democratic strategist Amit Singh Bagga, said there are few people who check as many boxes as Fuleihan does. “Key constituencies – the governor, Legislature, Council, and the public servants that already make New York function every day, not to mention New Yorkers – are going to rightly perceive Dean as a very strong pick with serious heft and experience who also shares key values,” Bagga said.

His family are Lebanese immigrants

Fuleihan said Monday that Mamdani’s campaign message was one of hope for immigrant families like his. “I look forward to being part of city government that looks like New York City,” Fuleihan said. Both his father and his mother’s parents immigrated from Lebanon. “They struggled and succeeded, and instilled in my brothers and me a deep sense of public service and a commitment to providing others that same opportunity.”

Per voter registration records, Fuleihan lives in Murray Hill, Manhattan.