Zohran Mamdani, the incoming mayor of New York City, has requested the resignations of 179 staff members in Eric Adams’s administration, Mr. Mamdani’s spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday.
The requests target political offices in City Hall, including people who work for the city’s deputy mayors. They are expected to tender their resignations by Mr. Mamdani’s inauguration on Jan. 1.
The move comes as Mr. Mamdani’s transition team cranks into higher gear, with less than six weeks to go before he is sworn in as mayor. The mayor has already named Dean Fuleihan, a longtime government hand, as his first deputy mayor and has retained the police commissioner, Jessica Tisch. On Monday, he unveiled a 400-person transition advisory group, divided into 17 committees.
“As is standard practice for a mayoral transition, the mayor-elect and his transition team are working to build their City Hall plan, which includes new staff in key roles to ensure they can deliver effectively on their agenda,” Dora Pekec, Mr. Mamdani’s spokeswoman, said in a statement.
It is typical for new administrations to clear out political appointees who served the prior mayor, though it is not always done with as much lead time or so extensively. Some City Hall staff members have seen the writing on the wall, and have been preparing résumés and seeking new job opportunities.
Others, including some of the less political policy employees, have been living in limbo, unsure if they will be able to stay on in a Mamdani administration or have to find new employment.
That Mr. Mamdani’s housecleaning should be so widespread might be a testament to the unusual extent to which Mr. Adams, the outgoing mayor, filled City Hall with loyalists whose relevant job experience was sometimes limited.
He overruled allies and made his longtime aide, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, his chief adviser, only to ultimately see her brought up on corruption charges. He tried to appoint his brother, a Virginia parking administrator and retired police sergeant, to a top position within the Police Department. He named another longtime ally, Timothy Pearson, as a senior adviser, even as he continued to work at an electronic gambling emporium in Queens that was eyeing city support for expansion.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Adams had no immediate comment.
Dana Rubinstein covers New York City politics and government for The Times.
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