Mamdani Taps Leila Bozorg as Housing Czar

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has a housing czar.

Mamdani on Friday tapped Adams administration alum Leila Bozorg as his deputy mayor of housing and planning.

Bozorg is Adams’ executive director of housing, a new role he created in 2023 that reports to the deputy mayor of housing, economic development and workforce. She also served on the mayor’s Charter Revision Commission, which presented voters with four housing-related ballot measures, including three that created different avenues for project approvals.

Gothamist was first to report the appointment.

Mamdani seems to be peeling off the economic development and workforce portions of the deputy mayor’s portfolio. Mayor Eric Adams also tried to separate housing from economic development, but moved the former’s responsibilities to a new role, chief housing officer. That position was held by Jessica Katz, who left after 16 months on the job. After her departure, Adams added housing back into the deputy mayor’s purview, but also created Bozorg’s role.

Mamdani also announced the creation of a new position: deputy mayor of economic justice, which will be focused on worker and consumer protections. The mayor-elect named Julie Su, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Joe Biden, to this role.

Before joining the Adams administration, Bozorg sat on the City Planning Commission and was chief of strategy and policy at nonprofit NYC Kids RISE. Prior to that, she served as chief of staff to the HPD commissioners Vicki Been and Louise Carroll between 2014 and 2020. She was also a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In a press release announcing the appointments, Bozorg is described as “instrumental” in negotiating the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment. Mamdani said in a statement that Bozorg will carry out his administration’s “commitment to build more housing, protect tenants.”