Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is turning to a member of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration to steer city housing policy.
Mamdani is set to announce Friday that Leila Bozorg will serve as his deputy mayor for housing and planning, a transition team spokesperson told Gothamist. Bozorg is currently the city’s executive director for housing.
Bozorg has served as the city’s housing chief since January 2024. She played a key role on a committee that proposed several ballot measures meant to speed up housing construction earlier this year. Voters adopted those measures, handing Mamdani and future mayors considerably more power over development.
The move marks a potential continuation of current city housing policies under Mamdani.
He and Adams have found common ground on measures intended to spur development, including sweeping land use reforms known as “City of Yes.”
But Mamdani has also vowed to beef up tenant protections, take buildings from bad landlords and acquire distressed properties and potentially keep them under city control.
Mamdani praised Bozorg in a written statement, saying she “will carry out our commitment to build more housing, protect tenants, and tackle this crisis head-on.”
Bozorg previously held high-ranking roles on the City Planning Commission and at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, cultivating ties among nonprofit groups and private developers. And she worked for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama.
In a written statement, she said the incoming administration “will usher in a new era for our city.”
