The Mamdani administration is undergoing a staffing shake-up involving the chiefs of staff for three deputy mayors and the unexplained firing of the person in charge of the mayor’s advance team.
Staffing changes are typical at the end of a new mayor’s first year in office, when people begin to evaluate the toll of public service on their private lives or consider roles in national campaigns.
But the recent upheaval under Mayor Zohran Mamdani seems driven more by personal conflicts or the conduct of those involved, affecting the mayoral portfolios overseeing economic justice, community safety and health and human services, according to interviews with eight people who work in City Hall or who deal closely with the administration.
The most unusual departure came earlier this month.
Valentine Sanders, who led the advance team, which stages the mayor’s curated public events, walked into a routine check-in with his director. By the time the Oct. 5 meeting ended, he had been abruptly fired without any explanation and the director was spotted leaving the talk visibly upset, according to three of the people.
Mr. Sanders boasts a résumé that includes stints with Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidential campaign in 2020, the Department of Defense and the New York State attorney general’s office. He became Mr. Mamdani’s director of advance in January, filling a role that was central to the stagecraft and public presentation of a mayor who places a particular premium on those things.
The sudden firing of Mr. Sanders stunned colleagues in City Hall, some of whom were already concerned about the earlier high-level staffing shuffle, according to five of the people.
Several people who have worked with Mr. Sanders described him as professional and talented, and said he and the mayor appeared close. In fact, the two had friendly conversations right up until his departure, three people who knew about the chats confirmed.
Mr. Sanders worked under the mayor’s trusted chief of staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, and it was her deputy who delivered the news to him. The mayor’s spokesman, Joe Calvello, would not answer questions about why Mr. Sanders was let go or who would replace him.
Mr. Sanders declined to comment on his departure.
His exit comes amid a staffing shake-up that saw the chiefs of staff of three deputy mayors leave their jobs recently.
Edie Sharp, the chief of staff to Julie Su, deputy mayor for economic justice, recently left that position and became a senior adviser in the sprawling Department of Education, where she had worked under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Ms. Sharp and Ms. Su, who served in Mr. Biden’s cabinet, did not particularly get along, according to four people familiar with their relationship.
Ms. Sharp, who was replaced by Taylor Barnes Lord, declined to comment.
Hassan Naveed recently left his role as chief of staff to Renita Francois, deputy mayor for community safety. He now holds a job in the same office, focusing on policy, and was replaced as chief of staff by Daniela Gilbert, who worked on mental health programs under Mr. de Blasio and was a community coordinator with the Police Department.
Mr. Naveed did not respond to a request for comment.
Jorge Fanjul, who worked as chief of staff to Helen Arteaga, the deputy mayor for health and human services, was let go in September, after he shared what three people called inappropriate anecdotes about his social life in college during a staff outing. He had also disparaged Ms. Arteaga earlier in the year, the people said.
In a statement, Mr. Fanjul expressed regret about offending Ms. Arteaga, whom he described having a warm and productive relationship with, and shared an email from June in which he apologized to the deputy mayor.
“Some months later, at an after-hours gathering with co-workers where we ended up celebrating my 45th birthday, I discussed my college fraternity days from more than 20 years ago,” Mr. Fanjul said. “When Helen informed me of my departure, she described the reason as misalignment and did not cite either matter. I respect her decision and wish her and the team well.”
Mr. Calvello did not answer questions about Mr. Fanjul’s departure, other than to confirm that Mr. Fanjul had been replaced by Erin Drinkwater.
“As with any administration, we’re continually evaluating how best to structure our teams and ensure we have the right people in place to deliver on our priorities for New Yorkers,” Mr. Calvello said.
For the most part, Mr. Mamdani’s administration has been free from the sort of major staffing drama that plagued Mr. Adams, his scandal-scarred predecessor, as well as the griping among dueling factions, which afflicted the de Blasio administration. Both problems led to fairly early departures for high-level City Hall aides.
“There are more than 1,000 jobs in the mayor’s office and no new mayor bats a thousand,” said Stu Loeser, a consultant who worked under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “A few folks will inevitably end up in the wrong roles or on the wrong teams, so changes toward the end of Year 1 are pretty common.”
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