NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani announces picks for top lawyers and health deputy

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani fills key legal and health positions as he prepares for his swearing-in, naming Dr. Helen Arteaga as Deputy Mayor and selecting top legal advisors.

Reuters

December 31, 2025

FILE PHOTO: New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani listens to a reporter's question during a press conference in New York City, U.S. December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo

Kylie Cooper/Reuters

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced more top posts for his incoming administration on Tuesday (December 30), less than 48 hours before his swearing-in ceremony.

He announced Dr. Helen Arteaga, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, as his Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services.

For the position of Corporations Council, he selected Steve Banks, former head of the Legal Aid Society and former NYC Social Services Commissioner, and for Chief Counsel, he chose Ramzi Kassen, a professor of law at the City University of New York (CUNY) and founding director of CUNY CLEAR (Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility).

Mamdani made the announcements at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens.

Production: Aleksandra Michalska, Soren Larson, Christine Kiernan/Reuters

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced more top posts for his incoming administration on Tuesday (December 30), less than 48 hours before his swearing-in ceremony.

He announced Dr. Helen Arteaga, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, as his Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services.

Mamdani made the announcements at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens.

Production: Aleksandra Michalska, Soren Larson, Christine Kiernan/Reuters