Mamdani Selects Leila Bozorg as Deputy Mayor of Housing and Planning
By Mark Hallum December 19, 2025 2:06 pm
reprints
Jessica Tisch isn’t the only Adams administration official staying on to work with soon-to-be-mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Leila Bozorg will serve as deputy mayor for housing and planning after Mamdani takes the oath of office on Jan. 1, his transition team announced Friday, moving up from her current position of executive director for housing.
“In this role [as executive director for housing], Bozorg was instrumental in negotiating City of Yes for Housing Opportunity and other housing and land-use proposals that unlocked over 130,000 potential new homes while coordinating related workforce, small business, infrastructure, and neighborhood development investments across multiple agencies,” a statement from Mamdani’s transition team said.
Bozorg also served as secretary to the New York City Charter Revision Commission, which crafted new rules for how housing will be developed in New York City. The commission essentially eliminated the Uniform Land Use Review Process with the New York City Council, streamlining the process instead with approval from either the City Planning Commission or the Board of Standards and Appeals.
The new process was adopted by voters in the Nov. 4 general election, with one of its supporters being Mamdani himself.
Prior to joining the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, Bozorg served as commissioner for City Planning from mid-2022 to late 2023, and held multiple positions with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development for six years until October 2020, according to Bozorg’s LinkedIn profile.
Advocates at the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) expressed their support for Bozorg’s appointment, which will give her sway over housing policy under the new administration.
“ANHD has worked in partnership with Ms. Bozorg for over a decade, and we have experienced firsthand her commitment to advancing policies to help make New York City a more equitable and affordable place to live,” an ANHD spokesperson said in a statement. “She has always been willing to hear and act on input from voices on the ground, and has the knowledge and experience needed to ensure that city government and communities come together to develop and implement real solutions to the affordable housing crisis we face.”
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
