"Every administration can choose their own team. I think it's surprising that so many people were not given the opportunity to fight for their jobs. That's what's surprising," Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy said.
Levy says they never had a chance. Scores of City Hall staffers who were told that there's no room for them in the Mamdani Administration.
"I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people in this building voted for mayor-elect Mamdani. That's totally fine. And so they should have been given an opportunity to interview for a job," Levy said. "Instead, they were told yesterday and today that they're going to be laid off come January 1st," Levy said.
"Tonight you have delivered a mandate for change. A mandate for a new kind of politics," Mamdani said the night he was elected.
Mamdani's promise of a "new kind of politics," apparently includes a clean break from Eric Adams. But Levy says it goes beyond that.
"We have people on my team, specifically, that have been here since the Dinkins Administration. That's Dinkins, Giuliani, Bloomberg, de Blasio, Adams. Those people are all not the same. They don't all have the same politics," Levy said. "They were on the front lines of responding to COVID. They were on the front lines of responding to the asylum seeker crisis. They've done so much more for the city over the years and years of service they've given."
Mamdani's transition team is a diverse group of New Yorkers headed by five women, including Adams' own former deputy mayor Maria Torres-Springer. And his police commissioner will continue to run the NYPD.
This is "standard practice for a mayoral transition," said his spokesperson. "Which includes new staff in key roles to ensure they can deliver effectively on their agenda."
"Look, every mayor gets to choose who they bring into their administration," Levy said.
Tonight, Levy says experienced staff deserved to be considered.
"They've been in these positions for years. They should have been given that opportunity. They were not given that opportunity," Levy said.
179 terminations so far. Levy says 60% are women and minorities. The transition is a sharp political shift. The extent of the housecleaning here? Still not clear.
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