The 2026 New York City Power 100

1. Zohran Mamdani

New York City Mayor

Despite being a little-known, backbench Assembly member, Zohran Mamdani mounted a savvy marketing campaign for New York City mayor and vanquished the once-formidable former Gov. Andrew Cuomo twice final yr – and he’s rapidly implementing his imaginative and prescient at City Hall. Mamdani teamed up with Gov. Kathy Hochul to considerably broaden youngster care, according to a key marketing campaign pledge, though his proposed tax hikes on firms and millionaires haven’t superior. He has taken his allure offensive to the White House and capitalized on his newfound celeb to assist socialist allies. Yet he faces headwinds from New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin on the price range, complaints from Jewish leaders who accuse him of antisemitism and questions on how he’ll run the police division.

2. Kathy Hochul

Governor

Gov. Kathy Hochul is rapidly reminding Mayor Zohran Mamdani that whereas mayors might run New York City, it’s solely as a result of governors allow them to. Hochul was fast to collaborate with Mamdani on increasing youngster care, a key marketing campaign promise of the mayor’s that matches with lots of Hochul’s priorities. She hasn’t granted Mamdani’s want for tax hikes on firms and millionaires, even in mild of Mamdani’s risk of a 9.5% property tax hike, however she did suggest a New York City pied-à-terre tax that the mayor helps. With Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado out of the Democratic gubernatorial race, Hochul now has turned her consideration to November and retains the higher hand within the race.

3. Julie Menin

New York City Council Speaker

A talented political operator with a wealth of New York City authorities expertise, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin is displaying that she will likely be a severe counterweight to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda. The reasonable Democrat was fast to oppose Mamdani’s risk of elevating property taxes by 9.5%, and she or he launched a price range response dramatically totally different from the mayor’s, setting the stage for a bitter price range battle. Menin, who made historical past as the town’s first Jewish council speaker, rapidly handed a watered-down model of laws to determine limits on protests outdoors faculties and homes of worship. She has additionally elevated allies to prime management posts within the City Council and overhauled the legislative physique’s senior workers.

4. Carl Heastie & Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Assembly Speaker; State Senate Majority Leader

With a lot of New York City’s agenda depending on Albany, the leaders of the state Legislature maintain important sway. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a powerhouse within the Bronx, recognized affordability as a prime challenge when he endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor in September. At the identical time he was fast to endorse two of Mamdani’s signature marketing campaign proposals: common youngster care and free buses. The state’s strongest suburbanite, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins urged Gov. Kathy Hochul would possibly entertain tax hikes in response to federal coverage modifications, however the governor has solely gotten behind a comparatively restricted pied-à-terre tax for New York City and resisted some other tax will increase. Stewart-Cousins has additionally been targeted on addressing rising utility charges whereas nonetheless tackling greenhouse fuel emissions.

5. Donald Trump

U.S. President

You can take a New Yorker out of the town, however you may’t take the town out of the New Yorker. President Donald Trump was raised in Queens and made his mark in Manhattan, however though he’s now dwelling in Washington, D.C., he simply can’t flip away from his outdated hometown. A court docket blocked his try to defund the Gateway tunnel venture except his title is placed on Penn Station, his plan to halt an offshore wind venture has faltered in court docket and his makes an attempt to halt congestion pricing are languishing. But even after making an attempt to change the end result of final yr’s election, Trump had a bromance with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling him “a nice guy” in his State of the Union deal with and internet hosting him on the White House twice earlier than posting just lately on social media that Mamdani is “destroying” the town with a proposed pied-à-terre tax.

6. Jessica Tisch

Commissioner, New York City Police Department

One of the few areas of settlement among the many candidates in final yr’s mayoral race was the significance of retaining New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Despite some coverage variations, Tisch was stored on by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, serving to him win over voters fearful about his previous criticisms of the NYPD. Tisch kicked off the yr by unveiling a brand new Bronx command construction, new in-service coaching for officers, a know-how overhaul and pending federal authority for drone mitigation. She has additionally presided over a decline in shootings and gun violence, together with a few of the metropolis’s lowest crime charges. Meanwhile, Mamdani is coming round to her view that the NYPD’s gang database is a great tool, opining that it must be reformed, not abolished.

7. Dean Fuleihan

New York City First Deputy Mayor

Dean Fuleihan is a technocrat’s technocrat, and his intensive background in authorities ought to serve him effectively in his second stint as New York City’s first deputy mayor. The de Blasio administration alum is now Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s prime deputy, working the day-to-day operations of metropolis authorities for the youthful mayor. The appointment of Fuleihan, who was a prime aide to then-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and can be a former metropolis price range director, was welcomed by many, together with Gov. Kathy Hochul. He just lately expressed an openness to increasing metered parking to extend metropolis revenues.

8. Letitia James

State Attorney General

State Attorney General Letitia James retains having run-ins with President Donald Trump, and New York’s chief lawyer and legislation enforcement officer isn’t backing down. James efficiently sued the Trump administration to revive funding that the president withheld for the Gateway tunnel venture. In early March, she ordered NYU Langone Health to reopen its Transgender Youth Health Program, arguing that the choice to shutter this system violated state legislation though it was made to adjust to a White House directive. Multiple makes an attempt to deliver a federal mortgage fraud case in opposition to her have failed, although Trump’s Department of Justice might take a yet one more swing at indicting James, this time by way of federal prosecutors in Florida or Illinois.

9. Mark Levine

New York City Comptroller

Mark Levine left behind the Manhattan borough presidency to grow to be New York City comptroller, a submit that’s typically a stepping stone to a mayoral bid. In January, Levine issued a fiscal evaluation displaying the town confronted a $12 billion price range deficit, and he proposed limiting City Hall’s means to dip into financial savings to stability the price range. He can be embarking on a plan to make use of the town pension fund to fund a $4 billion inexpensive housing development program, addressing a problem that has lengthy been a key precedence for him. And he’s scrutinizing outdated authorities processes and audit operations on the metropolis’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

10. Chuck Schumer & Hakeem Jeffries

U.S. Senate Minority Leader; House Minority Leader

Capitol Hill’s strongest Democrats are a pair of Brooklynites, and so they’re beneath immense strain to retake Congress. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is navigating the land mines of New York politics as he seeks to say the speaker’s gavel. Several New York City incumbents are going through major challenges from the left, and the open seat of retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez is a face-off between an institution favourite and a socialist ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Jeffries has made headway with redistricting efforts nationally, however the U.S. Supreme Court blocked his plan to gerrymander Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ largely Staten Island seat. Yet some Democratic congressional candidates, together with Queens Assembly Member Claire Valdez, have questioned Jeffries’ continued management. Indeed, Jeffries and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are each beneath assault by progressives who really feel they’ve been ineffective in countering President Donald Trump. Schumer has tried to ratchet up his strain on the president, together with in shutdown fights over the previous yr, albeit with blended outcomes. This yr’s Senate map is increasing for Democrats, however Republicans are nonetheless barely favored. He’s additionally bracing for a possible major problem from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2028.

11. Janno Lieber

Chair and CEO, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Janno Lieber is fast to defend the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in opposition to anybody who needs to hinder efforts to enhance the area’s sprawling mass transit system. Lieber sued the Trump administration for withholding funding for the growth of the Second Avenue subway. He has been lukewarm on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan without spending a dime buses, saying that he needs to concentrate on the MTA’s Fair Fares program and general system affordability. Lieber can be tackling fare evasion and touting the success of congestion pricing.

12. Elle Bisgaard-Church

Chief of Staff, Office of the New York City Mayor

Five years after having a job interview over pancakes with a little-known newly elected Assembly member named Zohran Mamdani, Elle Bisgaard-Church steered a marketing campaign that surprised America and made her boss New York City’s 112th mayor. Now Bisgaard-Church, largely unknown outdoors of Democratic Socialists of America circles a yr in the past, is Mamdani’s highly effective chief of workers in City Hall, serving as his gatekeeper whereas serving to him run the nation’s largest metropolis. After managing Mamdani’s Democratic major marketing campaign, Bisgaard-Church spent the final election planning out Mamdani’s eventual administration.

13. Helen Arteaga, Leila Bozorg, Renita Francois, Julia Kerson & Julie Su

New York City Deputy Mayors

As New York City’s deputy mayor for operations, Julia Kerson has an extended to-do checklist: filling potholes, taking out the trash, clearing snow, planning for emergencies, reimaging the town’s streets and determining methods to maintain the triple cantilever on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from collapsing. Kerson was beforehand a prime infrastructure adviser to Gov. Kathy Hochul and was a senior adviser to the deputy mayor for operations within the de Blasio administration. 

Veteran New York City housing coverage official Leila Bozorg is now deputy mayor for housing and planning. As government director for housing within the Adams administration, she was instrumental within the crafting of the City of Yes zoning initiatives and new housing provisions within the metropolis constitution. Bozorg has stated the Mamdani administration is dedicated to a four-year lease freeze and provisions to spice up development.

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga beforehand led NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, a 545-bed Queens public hospital. She now has your entire NYC Health + Hospitals system in her portfolio, in addition to the departments of Health and Mental Hygiene, Social Services, Aging and Veterans’ Services and the Administration for Children’s Services.

Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su involves her position overseeing the town’s financial and labor companies after an nearly two-year stint as performing secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor within the Biden administration. She has served as deputy U.S. labor secretary and secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The California transplant, who formally began in March, helps to reshape the town’s Economic Development Corp. to prioritize financial justice – however the administration has but to rent a frontrunner for the EDC.

Renita Francois is beginning a brand new period in New York City public security as the town’s deputy mayor for group security, a newly created submit overseeing the newly created Mayor’s Office of Community Safety. The workplace is a scaled-back model of the Department of Community Safety that Mayor Zohran Mamdani proposed throughout his marketing campaign. Francois was government director of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety within the de Blasio administration.

14. Henry Garrido

Executive Director, District Council 37

District Council 37’s Henry Garrido obtained off to a robust begin with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, rating him second behind then-City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams within the Democratic major, though former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was polling far forward of the pack. Garrido’s working relationship with the mayor will likely be examined when collective bargaining begins for DC 37, New York City’s largest public sector union. In Albany, Garrido is asking for modifications to Tier 6 within the state pension fund. Last yr, Garrido welcomed a state Court of Appeals ruling that allowed the Adams administration proposal to change retirees on to Medicare Advantage and stated City Hall’s choice to not transfer ahead fulfilled union obligations to generate financial savings.

15. Sherif Soliman

Director, New York Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget

An skilled steeped within the intricacies of New York City finance, Sherif Soliman is now in command of protecting the town’s $120 billion-plus price range balanced whereas producing the funding for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s sweeping agenda amid a structural deficit and political resistance to broad tax hikes in an election yr. Soliman stepped into the price range director position in January following a two-year stint as senior vice chancellor and chief monetary officer of the City University of New York. He beforehand served as the town’s Finance Department commissioner and as its chief coverage and supply officer.

16. Kamar Samuels

Chancellor, New York City Department of Education

A onetime elementary college trainer within the Bronx, Kamar Samuels now leads the nation’s largest public college system. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Samuels to the highest spot at Tweed Courthouse after Samuels led districts in Brooklyn and Manhattan as superintendent. He took the reins because the company is making ready to broaden common pre-Ok to 2-year-olds, a part of Mamdani’s centerpiece youngster care agenda. Samuels has cautioned that it is going to be tough to adjust to a brand new state legislation limiting class sizes as he pushes for a four-year extension of mayoral management of faculties in Albany.

17. Jumaane Williams

New York City Public Advocate

A yr after he nearly turned New York City’s performing mayor and months after a straightforward reelection marketing campaign, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams continues to be difficult the highly effective and defending the weak. He says New Yorkers must be offended at Gov. Kathy Hochul, who defeated him in previous gubernatorial and lieutenant governor primaries, for not contemplating a tax on millionaires to shut New York City’s price range deficit. The former New York City Council member, whose laws supporting road distributors handed final yr, says he needs to work with Mayor Zohran Mamdani on shared priorities.

18. Kathryn Garcia

Executive Director, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Kathryn Garcia, the previous state operations director, is a extensively revered public administrator. She succeeded Rick Cotton on the helm of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, simply because the bistate company launched into an formidable new capital plan. Garcia’s to-do checklist contains finishing John F. Kennedy International Airport upgrades and constructing a brand new Midtown bus terminal. Since taking up in February, she has launched enhanced PATH service, led the company by means of two main winter storms and established the JFK Redevelopment Opportunity Scholarship Program whereas additionally making preparations for the World Cup.

19. Yvette Clarke, Adriano Espaillat, Dan Goldman, Nicole Malliotakis, Greg Meeks, Grace Meng, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Ritchie Torres

Members of Congress

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s profile is simply rising, with nationwide excursions and hypothesis about working for president or the U.S. Senate in 2028. At a high-profile journey to the annual Munich Security Conference, the progressive chief outlined her views on international coverage. 

Rep. Greg Meeks is a powerhouse in New York City – the place he was pivotal in elevating Council Member Julie Menin to the speakership – and in Washington, D.C. The highly effective Queens Democratic Party chief can be the rating minority member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the place he’s hoping to reclaim the gavel.

A northern Manhattan political energy dealer, mentor to fellow Latino politicians and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat additionally serves on the highly effective Appropriations Committee, the place he’s in line to chair a subcommittee – a part of Congress’ “College of Cardinals” – if Democrats achieve management.

Rep. Yvette Clarke is at present chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, giving her nationwide publicity as she leads its coverage and political priorities. She just lately teamed up with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler on laws that may exempt well being care staff from exorbitant new immigration charges.

Rep. Grace Meng chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus this time period. She has targeted on supporting small companies, increasing entry to well being care and growing transit connections.

Rep. Ritchie Torres has grow to be one of many main advocates for Israel in Congress. During a current go to to Israel, he reiterated his assist for the nation regardless of criticisms in opposition to him from progressives. Torres is constant his long-standing battle for inexpensive housing within the metropolis.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis is getting by with slightly assist from her pals on the U.S. Supreme Court. New York City’s solely Republican member of Congress noticed the nation’s highest court docket block a Democratic try to redraw her district, which might have made her extra weak.

Rep. Dan Goldman is within the battle of his political life this major season, going through off in opposition to former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander in his Brooklyn-Manhattan district, after a gerrymandering gambit failed. The former Trump impeachment investigator has been crucial of the White House’s aggressive immigration insurance policies.

20. Sam Levine

Commissioner, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

A nationally recognized shopper safety advocate, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Sam Levine has sprinted out of the gate because the Mamdani’s administration’s most proactive commissioner. In lower than 100 days, Levine has cracked down on junk charges, protected supply staff’ rights, launched an audit instrument to make sure staff get their day without work, elevated debt assortment protections and focused predatory lending apps. Levine, the director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection beneath former Chair Lina Khan, a Mamdani transition co-chair, is redefining the position of a metropolis shopper safety chief.

21. Rich Maroko

President, Hotel and Gaming Trades Council

With one upgraded and two new casinos coming quickly to New York City, it’s a superb time to be main the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council. Rich Maroko has lengthy pushed for on line casino growth within the metropolis, seeing full licenses issued final yr. The union chief, who rallied round Zohran Mamdani after his Democratic mayoral major win, is looking for a contract for 30,000 New York City lodge staff previous to the World Cup this summer season, however can be making ready for a doable strike in the course of the soccer match. Maroko can be a board member of New Jersey Transit.

22. Manny Pastreich

President, 32BJ SEIU

32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich notched a victory in January when the New York City Council overrode a veto of the Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act, a measure setting wage, profit and paid day without work requirements for personal safety officers and named after safety guard Aland Etienne, who was killed within the NFL workplace constructing capturing final yr. Pastreich led 32BJ SEIU in pushing for a 2024 Albany housing bundle and in backing the City of Yes rezoning overhaul. He additionally secured expanded advantages and day without work for airport staff and joined the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council in endorsing Zohran Mamdani for mayor quickly after he gained the Democratic major.

23. Al Sharpton

Founder and President, National Action Network

The Rev. Al Sharpton is a preeminent chief of the Black group in New York City and nationally. Sharpton supplied assist for Zohran Mamdani on the marketing campaign path, applauding the mayoral candidate for attending National Action Network occasions whereas calling on former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to drop his unbiased mayoral marketing campaign and describing Cuomo’s assaults on Mamdani “Islamophobia.” Mamdani spent his first Martin Luther King Jr. Day as mayor with Sharpton on the National Action Network’s Harlem headquarters. Sharpton just lately hosted a gaggle of potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates.

24. Michael Mulgrew

President, United Federation of Teachers

Recently reelected to his sixth time period main New York City’s lecturers union, Michael Mulgrew exhibits no indicators of slowing down. Mulgrew praised Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s management throughout a January snowstorm and City Hall’s choice to carry a distant college day. Among Mulgrew’s prime priorities is addressing well being look after his members and reforming Tier 6 of the state pension system, a objective of many labor unions this session. He just lately co-hosted a 15,000-person Albany rally with different public worker unions on the pension challenge.

25. Michael Gianaris, Liz Krueger, Jamaal Bailey & Julia Salazar

State Senators

New York City’s strongest state senator, Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, isn’t looking for reelection after a outstanding Albany profession. The western Queens Democrat performed a key position in establishing the Democratic majority within the state Senate, ending a long time of Republican dominance within the chamber, and he has served as a conduit between the celebration’s institution and a rising democratic socialist motion.

The most senior member of the Socialists in Office, state Sen. Julia Salazar is entrance and middle in serving to information Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s formidable agenda by means of the chamber. The Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee chair has made prison justice reform a prime precedence, releasing a current report on the state jail system and advancing a bundle of reforms by means of her chamber. The Brooklynite just lately teamed up with state Sen. Zellnor Myrie on a push for a state $30 per hour minimal wage.

State Sen. Jamaal Bailey led the Bronx Democrats in backing Mamdani after initially endorsing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo within the Democratic mayoral major. Bailey, who helped defeat the Bronx’s solely GOP elected official final yr, is a possible contender to succeed state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins every time she retires. As chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, he has additionally been scrutinizing the governor’s auto insurance coverage reform proposal.

State Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger combines her years of expertise and a reformer’s mindset in negotiating the state’s annual price range. Her chamber’s one-house price range proposal would authorize Mayor Zohran Mamdani to boost taxes regardless of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s opposition. The Manhattan lawmaker can be pushing for a knowledge middle moratorium within the state, citing the necessity for elevated power for the facilities. Krueger was just lately hospitalized after a gentle stroke.

26. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez

Chancellor, City University of New York

It is an annual price range ritual in Albany for increased schooling leaders to ask lawmakers for more cash than the governor allotted, and for CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, this yr was no totally different. The CUNY chief has requested lawmakers for added funding to cowl wage will increase, pupil psychological well being, synthetic intelligence analysis and the capital price range. Matos Rodríguez has indicated that his 26-college system is constant to tailor trainer schooling in methods to enhance studying outcomes in Ok-12 public faculties and is driving initiatives to encourage the hiring of CUNY graduates.

27. Jerry Nadler & Nydia Velázquez

Retiring Members of Congress

Rep. Jerry Nadler has secured his place in historical past by managing solely the fourth presidential impeachment trial ever in 2021 in opposition to President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Nadler, a godfather of Manhattan politics for many years, is retiring this yr following a profession that led him from the Assembly to Congress to the House Judiciary Committee chair. Nadler, who gained a 2022 conflict in opposition to fellow incumbent Carolyn Maloney after redistricting prolonged his district to the Upper East Side, is looking for to keep up his Upper West Side neighborhood’s clout by electing Assembly Member Micah Lasher as his successor.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez isn’t going quietly into the night time as she steps apart after over three a long time in Congress. She has endorsed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso as her successor over Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who’s backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America in a district that covers a number of DSA bastions. The Brooklyn-Queens lawmaker additionally backed Brian Romero for a Queens Assembly seat in opposition to then-candidate Aber Kawas, who has since switched to working for an open state Senate seat.

28. Gary LaBarbera

President, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York

Gary LaBarbera is fearful about New York City’s shrinking center class and the highly effective labor chief is prodding metropolis and state officers to take motion to reverse that pattern. LaBarbera is opposing a proposed federal legislation pushed by the enterprise and development industries to exempt federal initiatives from the state’s Scaffold Law, saying it’s an assault on states’ rights and the tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. His union just lately launched a brand new psychological well being program to handle a rise in suicides amongst development staff.

29. Yvonne Armstrong

President, 1199SEIU

Last yr, Yvonne Armstrong surprised New York’s labor group by defeating veteran union chief George Gresham to take the helm of 1199SEIU, the highly effective well being care staff union. Armstrong, who had beforehand been a senior government vice chairman at 1199SEIU, carried out a listening tour throughout the union’s area throughout her first 100 days and has hit the bottom working in Albany. She kicked off the legislative session this yr with a rally within the state Capitol, highlighting federal well being care cuts and expressing her disappointment in Gov. Kathy Hochul for not focusing extra on well being in her State of the State deal with.

30. Alvin Bragg, Darcel Clark, Eric Gonzalez, Melinda Katz & Michael McMahon

New York City District Attorneys

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is taking up a few of the most attention-grabbing prison instances within the nation. The solely prosecutor to ever convict a president, Bragg is now targeted on quite a lot of high-profile instances, together with the state homicide case in opposition to Luigi Mangione, who’s accused of murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Bragg has launched an investigation into allegations that former Rep. Eric Swalwell of California sexually assaulted a former aide at a Manhattan lodge. Swalwell, who ended his California gubernatorial bid and resigned from Congress, has denied this and different related allegations in opposition to him. 

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark has been on the forefront of efforts to regulate the state’s discovery reforms, which prosecutors obtained into final yr’s state price range. She says the tweaks will assist her sort out crime within the Bronx and enhance workers recruitment and retention. She is also looking for extra metropolis funding to implement community-based crime options mirroring packages in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

A former member of Congress, Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon has been placing his legislative abilities to work. During his tenure as president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, McMahon additionally led advocacy in Albany for reforming the state’s discovery reforms. McMahon final yr led Staten Island to one in all its most secure years on file and helped scale back opioid overdose deaths by 49% in 2024.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez additionally led his borough to its most secure yr on file final yr, with file lows in homicides and shootings. The state’s first Latino district legal professional continues to innovate with a first-in-the-nation Virtual Currency Unit, which is cracking down on cryptocurrency fraud. He is asking for the state to overtake grand jury practices, together with a requirement for firm executives to testify in individual to confirm digital proof.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is focusing on ghost weapons and 3D-printed firearms whereas additionally fixing chilly instances and combating home violence. She is requesting $12.5 million greater than Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s price range proposed for her workplace, citing the necessity to rent extra interpreters and workers to handle human trafficking and crime sufferer advocacy. The former City Council Land Use Committee chair has additionally made deed theft and squatters a precedence.

31. Morris Katz

Partner, Fight Agency

Fresh off serving to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stun the political institution, Morris Katz is seeking to reshape the Democratic Party nationally. Katz is focusing a lot of his consideration on bolstering progressive candidates on this yr’s midterm elections, together with Mamdani-backed congressional candidate Claire Valdez. He has additionally garnered consideration for advising Graham Platner, a populist Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine. And Katz is in demand even throughout the pond, venturing to the United Kingdom to supply casual recommendation to younger Green Party politicians.

32. Steve Cohen, Robert DeSalvio, Michelle Stoddart & Soo Kim

Casino Executives, Metropolitan Park; Resorts World New York City; Bally’s Corp.

New York City has lengthy supplied nearly each sort of leisure, and shortly it would add full-fledged casinos to the combination. The state just lately awarded the three full downstate on line casino licenses: one to the present Resorts World New York City on line casino in Queens, and the opposite two to Metropolitan Park in Queens and Bally’s Corp. within the Bronx. Casino leaders Steve Cohen, Robert DeSalvio and Soo Kim steered their respective bids by means of quite a lot of steps and in opposition to a big preliminary area of rivals looking for to determine a downstate on line casino. DeSalvio’s Resorts World bid was seen as an early front-runner as a consequence of its present on line casino, and the corporate had pledged a big group advantages settlement as a part of its plan. Michelle Stoddart, the senior vice chairman of group improvement and public affairs for Resorts World, established deep roots in Queens, serving to to pave the best way for upgrading to a full on line casino. Bally’s, initially seen as a darkish horse contender, additionally pledged a complete group plan beneath Kim. Cohen’s Metropolitan Park plan, in the meantime, needed to overcome political hurdles, together with opposition from native state Sen. Jessica Ramos that just about killed the state land use laws wanted for the on line casino bid to advance. Cohen, who employed 14 lobbying companies, began his group advantages work early, together with a $116 million donation by means of his basis to LaGuardia Community College.

33. Timothy Cawley

CEO, Con Edison

Helming New York City’s major power firm, Timothy Cawley wields energy whereas often serving as a lightning rod for critics. Following prolonged discussions with state regulators, Con Edison secured approval for a charge hike earlier this yr amid an ongoing power affordability debate. Cawley had his defenders, although, with state Republican lawmakers making the case that Con Edison wanted the speed hike as a consequence of inexperienced power insurance policies – together with a transition to electrical buildings – that state Democrats had imposed. The firm serves greater than 10 million folks in New York City and Westchester County.

34. Lillian Bonsignore, Christina Farrell, Mike Flynn, Dina Levy, Alister Martin, Stanley Richards, Sideya Sherman & Ahmed Tigani

New York City Department Heads

New York City Transportation Department Commissioner Mike Flynn hit the bottom working after his inauguration day appointment. He pledged to finish the McGuinness Boulevard redesign, and his division has restarted stalled initiatives, together with the addition of Madison Avenue bus lanes, activated extra crimson mild cameras and stuffed over 100,000 potholes.

A public well being chief and emergency room doctor, Dr. Alister Martin is now commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Martin was CEO of A Healthier Democracy, a Vermont gubernatorial well being adviser and a White House fellow in then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ workplace.

Most just lately the town’s chief fairness officer and commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice, Sideya Sherman is the brand new director of the Department of City Planning and chair of the influential City Planning Commission.

An skilled in New York housing coverage, Dina Levy left her position as a senior vice chairman with the state’s housing company to grow to be commissioner of the town Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The former tenant organizer is tasked with making certain high quality, inexpensive housing and strengthening the variety and resilience of native neighborhoods.

A metropolis authorities veteran with expertise throughout a number of companies and the City Council, Ahmed Tigani’s resume reads like a listing of the New York City improvement ecosystem. The new metropolis buildings commissioner, Tigani was beforehand performing commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The first previously incarcerated particular person to guide the New York City Department of Correction, Stanley Richards has introduced a “People First” agenda targeted on enhancing situations for incarcerated folks and correction officers. Richards will likely be interacting with a brand new federal remediation supervisor for Rikers Island, which the commissioner needs to shutter.

The first former emergency medical technician to grow to be New York City’s fireplace commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore is combating for EMT wage will increase, arguing that low pay is hurting recruitment and retention.

Call it baptism by blizzard. Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell confronted a historic snowfall weeks after taking workplace. But it was extra like one other day on the workplace for Farrell, who has spent a long time on the metropolis’s Emergency Management workplace.

35. Ali Najmi

Attorney, Najmi Law

Queens legal professional Ali Najmi is the brand new chair of the New York City Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, which vets judicial candidates, a task by which might be able to advance Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s imaginative and prescient of a extra numerous judiciary. Najmi can be the co-founder of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York, the place his longtime ally Mamdani obtained his political begin. Najmi’s election legislation consumer checklist contains Assembly Member Claire Valdez’s congressional marketing campaign, Assembly Member Grace Lee’s state Senate marketing campaign and Raj Goyle’s bid for state comptroller.

36. Steven Banks & Ramzi Kassem

Corporation Counsel; Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall, New York City Law Department; Office of the New York City Mayor

A former attorney-in-chief for The Legal Aid Society and New York City social providers commissioner, Steven Banks is now the town’s 83rd company counsel. Banks, a longtime advocate for homeless folks, assured City Council members throughout his affirmation listening to that he would serve your entire metropolis and interact with the legislative department on pending payments. Banks has cited Law Department staffing points as a prime concern. 

While Banks is the town’s legal professional, Ramzi Kassem is Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s chief legal professional. The chief counsel is a veteran of the Biden White House, the place he was a senior coverage adviser engaged on points just like the immigration court docket backlog and cybersecurity. As a CUNY legislation professor, Kassem based CLEAR, a authorized clinic that focuses on legislation enforcement accountability and points throughout the Muslim group. Kassem has represented Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist the Trump administration has tried to deport.

37. Murad Awawdeh

President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition

With federal immigration enforcement at an unprecedented depth, Murad Awawdeh has his fingers full placing out one fireplace after one other. The chief of the New York Immigration Coalition – a community of over 200 immigrant and refugee rights teams – is contending with aggressive actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He has pushed for elevated funding for immigration authorized providers and is a backer of the New York for All Act, which might set up clear limits for state and native cooperation with federal immigration brokers. He’s additionally an ally of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Editor’s notice: Murad Awawdeh is a member of City & State’s advisory board.

38. James Whelan & Jed Walentas

President; Chair, Real Estate Board of New York

(*100*)

James Whelan and Jed Walentas are defending New York City’s actual property trade because the Mamdani administration advocates for company and property tax hikes and freezing rents – and as Gov. Kathy Hochul pushes a pied-à-terre tax. Whelan has touted current successes on behalf of the 14,000-member Real Estate Board of New York that he leads, together with the passage of the City of Yes zoning overhaul and the state Affordable Housing Retention Act, however he argues that New York’s tax construction doesn’t favor industrial actual property. Whelan and Mamdani have discovered some widespread floor on zoning and staffing points. While Mamdani didn’t attend the annual REBNY gala, Gov. Kathy Hochul attended and laid out a pro-construction agenda. Walentas, the CEO of the true property developer Two Trees, additionally speaks for the true property sector as REBNY’s chair. During final yr’s mayoral marketing campaign, Walentas held conferences with Mamdani, who favors tenants over landlords and builders. Walentas’ agency has seen regular leasing at its Domino Sugar Refinery improvement, significantly to synthetic intelligence and fintech companies, and was chargeable for half of all workplace leases in Brooklyn final yr.

39. Suri Kasirer

Founder and CEO, Kasirer

The founder and chief of her eponymous lobbying store, Suri Kasirer has constructed it into New York City’s No. 1 lobbying agency by income from shoppers. Her agency’s portfolio contains dozens of nonprofit organizations overlaying the humanities, housing, social providers, workforce improvement and schooling, for which the Kasirer crew secured almost $100 million in expense and capital funding from the town and state within the earlier fiscal yr. The agency additionally delivered victories in quite a lot of current land use choices, together with guiding The Public Theater by means of the approval course of for the Delacorte Theater renovation in Central Park and navigating the 5 Times Square office-to-residential conversion.

40. Faiza Ali, Ana María Archila, Afua Atta-Mensah, Jahmila Edwards, Emmy Liss, Cea Weaver & Tascha Van Auken

New York City Mayoral Office Heads

Jahmila Edwards was one in all Zohran Mamdani’s first huge administration hires. The former affiliate director of District Council 37 is now Mamdani’s director of intergovernmental relations, tasked with advancing the brand new mayor’s formidable Albany agenda.

As the New York Working Families Party co-director, Ana María Archila backed Mamdani through the mayoral major. The Israel critic is now participating with international dignitaries and coping with diplomatic issues because the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs commissioner.

The state’s most influential tenant advocate, Cea Weaver is now the director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. The mayor has stood by Weaver, a detailed ally and longtime housing coverage adviser, after stories about her controversial previous social media posts.

As government director of the Office for Child Care and Early Childhood Education, Emmy Liss is tasked with enacting Mamdani’s formidable marketing campaign objective of providing common youngster care. The longtime youngster care coverage skilled obtained a lift when Gov. Kathy Hochul dedicated state funding to beginning this system.

Mamdani’s people-powered marketing campaign used a volunteer military to knock on over 3 million doorways and make over 4.5 million calls to New Yorkers, and Tascha Van Auken was the commanding basic. Van Auken is now channeling that power into producing enter from constituents because the commissioner of the newly created Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement. 

Faiza Ali is the commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigration Affairs. She joined the Mamdani administration after over a decade as a City Council group engagement staffer, the place she additionally served as first deputy chief of workers. She additionally co-founded the Muslim Democratic Club of New York.

A longtime advocate, Afua Atta-Mensah is the town’s new chief fairness officer and commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice. The former adviser to Mamdani’s mayoral marketing campaign was charged with creating the Mamdani administration’s Preliminary Racial Equity Plan within the administration’s first 100 days. The information that City Hall eliminated references to range, fairness and inclusion within the report back to keep away from federal authorized challenges sparked a backlash.

41. Harry Giannoulis

Founding Partner and CEO, The Parkside Group

Harry Giannoulis has led the expansion of powerhouse political consulting and lobbying agency The Parkside Group and engineered its influence on the stability of energy in Albany. As the lead strategist for the New York State Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, Giannoulis was pivotal within the Democrats’ reversing the Republican stranglehold on the state Senate after which additional increasing the Democratic majority. Giannoulis is a former commissioner of the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission and served as state ombudsman beneath then-Gov. Mario Cuomo.

42. Renee Campion, Michael Garner & Mitchell Katz

Adams Administration Holdovers

An skilled chief of public well being companies, Mitchell Katz was amongst a number of high-level appointees held over from the Adams administration to the Mamdani administration. Katz led NYC Health + Hospitals by means of the COVID-19 pandemic, crafted the system’s response to the asylum-seeker disaster, launched a program to get sufferers into everlasting housing and began NYC Care to supply well being care to uninsured New Yorkers.

A veteran within the New York City Office of Labor Relations, Renee Campion returns as commissioner of the company within the Mamdani administration. Prior to taking the highest spot, Campion served as its first deputy commissioner, affiliate commissioner and assistant commissioner. Campion has an influential position main labor contraction negotiations, whereas additionally overseeing the town’s medical insurance plan and worker help program.

As New York City’s chief enterprise range officer within the Adams administration, Michael Garner presided over an increase in metropolis contracting going to minority- and women-owned enterprise enterprises, or MWBEs. That file earned him the prospect to remain in his job within the Mamdani administration. In December, the town introduced it had awarded $6.9 billion in MWBE contracts in fiscal yr 2025. Garner additionally stored the town on tempo to surpass the Adams administration’s objective of $25 billion in MWBE contracts by the top of fiscal yr 2026.

43. Jasmine Gripper

State Director, New York Working Families Party

Jasmine Gripper has guided the New York Working Families Party to a brand new pinnacle of success. The progressive third celebration’s rank-the-slate technique final yr paved the best way for Zohran Mamdani’s major victory and eventual basic election win, whereas seemingly ending the possibilities that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and former Mayor Eric Adams are elected once more. The WFP additionally noticed the elections of party-backed candidates Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs, Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens and Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan. Gripper’s earlier WFP co-director, Ana María Archila, resigned to affix the Mamdani administration.

44. Jon Silvan

Founding Partner and CEO, Global Strategy Group

Jon Silvan has constructed the Democratic communications, marketing campaign and polling powerhouse Global Strategy Group right into a mainstay in New York and past. The agency helped Vanderbilt University generate assist to broaden into New York City and performed a communications position in supporting the Gateway rail tunnel venture. The agency’s consumer checklist contains Google, Netflix, MGM Resorts, National Grid and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Last yr, it supported the campaigns of New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, elevating hopes of a “blue wave” on this yr’s midterm elections.

45. Shaun Abreu, Eric Dinowitz, Linda Lee, Kevin Riley & Nantasha Williams

New York City City Council Members

As the brand new chair of the influential New York City Council Finance Committee, Council Member Linda Lee is working carefully with Speaker Julie Menin on crafting and negotiating the town price range and shutting a multibillion-dollar price range deficit. The first Asian American particular person to guide the Finance Committee, Lee additionally co-chairs the Queens delegation. Previously, as chair of the City Council Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction Committee, Lee produced a psychological well being roadmap for the town.

Recently elevated to chair of the Land Use Committee, Bronx Council Member Kevin Riley is not any stranger to improvement points. Riley beforehand chaired the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee, the place he led the panel in approving quite a lot of key rezoning choices, together with in Long Island City, Jamaica, midtown Manhattan, Harlem and Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue.

Council Member Nantasha Williams is the brand new deputy speaker of the City Council and chair of the Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Relations Committee. The Queens politician beforehand chaired the Civil and Human Rights Committee and spearheaded the passage of the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan, which is able to ship nearly 12,000 new properties and thousands and thousands of {dollars} in neighborhood funding. As cultural affairs committee chair, Williams additionally will get a ticket to the swanky Met Gala.

Council Member Shaun Abreu additionally serves in management as the brand new majority chief of the City Council and chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Abreu, who beforehand led the Sanitation Committee, helps a “people-first” transportation coverage and desires roads designed for all types of transportation and accountability for the implementation of the NYC Streets Plan.

Council Member Eric Dinowitz has been rewarded for his early assist of Council Speaker Julie Menin’s management bid. The former trainer now chairs the Education Committee, a step up from his former Higher Education Committee submit. A vocal foe of antisemitism, Dinowitz chairs the Jewish Caucus and noticed his instructional establishments buffer zone invoice cross this yr, solely to be vetoed.

46. Gustavo Gordillo & Grace Mausser

Co-Chairs, NYC-DSA

Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser pulled off the political upset of the century final yr once they led the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America in electing Zohran Mamdani, then a little-known Assembly member from western Queens, because the 112th mayor of New York City. The co-chairs of NYC-DSA – the most important DSA chapter with over 14,000 members – have seen outstanding development and rising political affect because the DSA has loved a slew of electoral victories throughout the town, primarily within the New York City Council and the state Legislature, and had an influence on the coverage entrance.

47. Steve Fulop

President and CEO, Partnership for New York City

Steve Fulop modified the face of the Jersey City mayoralty in his three phrases in that job, and now he’s filling the massive sneakers of Kathryn Wylde on the Partnership for New York City, a coalition of main companies within the metropolis. Fulop, a Marine veteran, has taken a extra aggressive public stance for the pro-business group, and rapidly got here out swinging in opposition to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s company and property tax hike proposals. Fulop has vowed to show the Partnership into the town’s “premier centrist advocacy group” inside 4 years, whereas honing in on a extra concentrated set of core points.

48. Bruce Beal & Jeff Blau

President; CEO, Related Companies

Bruce Beal and Jeff Blau have been driving Related Companies’ development throughout the town and state. Under Blau’s management, the agency has overseen the event of 70 Hudson Yards, the brand new U.S. headquarters for Deloitte; a plan to develop the western a part of the rail yard with as much as 4,000 new models of inexpensive housing; and the event of Willets Point in Queens, which is able to embody 2,500 models of inexpensive housing together with New York City’s first devoted soccer stadium. Last yr, Blau launched Related Digital, which is a vertically built-in knowledge middle improvement and investing platform with a $45 billion improvement pipeline of greater than 6 gigawatts of near-term energy nationally. Beal, the agency’s president, has been guiding quite a lot of initiatives, together with the historic redevelopment of the New York City Housing Authority’s Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses and increasing Related into Jersey City with the event of Harborside 4. He additionally led the vertical integration of Related into the manufacturing and provide chain sectors with New Hudson Facades, the first curtain wall suppliers for the JPMorgan Chase & Co. headquarters.

49. Neal Kwatra

Founder and CEO, Metropolitan Public Strategies

Neal Kwatra leads Metropolitan Public Strategies, a public affairs and strategic communications agency advising main advocacy coalitions, nonprofits, labor unions and trade teams navigating the state’s political panorama. He is understood in Albany and New York City for constructing large-scale campaigns that mix coverage technique, media, political organizing, coalition administration and grassroots mobilization. Kwatra beforehand served as the primary political director of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and as chief of workers within the state Attorney General’s Office, shaping main debates throughout housing, staff’ rights and local weather and power coverage.

50. Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn & Keith Wright

Chairs, Brooklyn Democratic Party; Manhattan Democratic Party

A former Assembly Housing Committee chair turned authorities relations guide, Keith Wright leads the Manhattan Democrats. He is the founding father of Wright Strategies and likewise is affiliated with Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. His Manhattan Democrats initially endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor, however pivoted to Mayor Zohran Mamdani shortly after Mamdani’s gorgeous major win. Keith Wright’s son, Jordan Wright, is now an Assembly member representing Harlem.

Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn was fast to endorse Mamdani after his major victory. She has been targeted on bolstering the Brooklyn Democratic Party and growing judicial range within the borough. As the Assembly majority whip, she has targeted on passing maternal well being laws and supporting minority- and women-owned companies. She made headlines for quickly pulling her endorsement of Gov. Kathy Hochul when former Council Speaker Adrienne Adams was named as Hochul’s working mate. She’s additionally contending with stories that shut political allies – together with her husband – are being probed in a bribery case involving a Brooklyn nonprofit.

51. Vito Fossella, Vanessa Gibson, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Antonio Reynoso & Donovan Richards

Borough Presidents

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has been busy in his borough. He launched an immigrant welcome middle at Borough Hall, created a small-business grant program and a local weather coverage group and is creating a Global Tech and Innovation Center. He additionally helped to maintain JetBlue in Queens and has been targeted on the redevelopment of John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Coming off a aggressive reelection marketing campaign with a convincing Democratic major victory, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson is embarking on an formidable second-term agenda. Gibson has superior a plan to remodel the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory right into a mixed-use redevelopment, a part of her objective to make the Bronx a vacationer vacation spot. In her first time period, she established the Bronx’ first birthing middle and allotted over $85 million for schooling.

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso needs to commerce Borough Hall for the U.S. Capitol. Reynoso is locked in a aggressive Democratic major to succeed Rep. Nydia Velázquez in a Brooklyn-Queens district. Reynoso has pursued a groundbreaking agenda as borough president, issuing the borough’s first complete plan, specializing in maternal well being and appointing Brooklyn’s first arts ambassador.

Long often known as the state senator representing all the pieces “from the gay bars to Zabar’s,” Brad Hoylman-Sigal wants a brand new catchphrase as Manhattan borough president. The out homosexual politician has re-raised the Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument after the Trump administration took it down, and he was behind a brand new “Hello, gorgeous” signal welcoming drivers into Manhattan. He stated he’ll use his whole discretionary capital price range on arts and cultural initiatives.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella gained’t let anybody neglect his borough. Fossella was fast to level out unplowed streets following a winter blizzard and established the primary outer borough metropolis emergency administration workplace in Staten Island. He secured funding to keep up the island’s Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk, led a bipartisan coalition of elected officers in a court docket case to finish noncitizen voting, and conceived of and funded Staten Island’s first full-scale play space for kids of all developmental talents.

52. Tiffany Cabán & Sandy Nurse

Co-Chairs, New York City Council Progressive Caucus

One of the early Democratic Socialists of America candidates to realize traction in New York City, Queens Council Member Tiffany Cabán is gaining affect within the City Council. She is the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus and, this yr, turned chair of the Mental Health and Substance Use Committee. She needs extra “cohesion” between the City Council progressives and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, significantly in mild of the town’s fiscal challenges. Brooklyn Council Member Sandy Nurse additionally co-chairs the Progressive Caucus, the place she’s persevering with her battle for progressive values in metropolis authorities. Nurse is behind the hassle to open extra public bogs, a problem Mamdani embraced early in his administration. This yr, Nurse turned chair of the Civil and Human Rights Committee, after beforehand chairing the Criminal Justice Committee and the Sanitation and Solid Waste Management Committee.

53. Eduardo Castell & Roberto Ramirez

Managing Partner; Founding Partner, MirRam Group

A former government deputy comptroller of New York City, Eduardo Castell is now the managing accomplice of the MirRam Group. An achieved political strategist, Castell was the lead political guide for state Attorney General Letitia James’ 2018 marketing campaign, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s 2017 marketing campaign and former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson’s 2001 marketing campaign. He labored on the profitable on line casino bid for Metropolitan Park in Queens. The first Puerto Rican chair of a county committee in New York City historical past, Robert Ramirez co-founded the MirRam Group, the primary Latino-owned lobbying and consulting agency in New York. Ramirez is a former member of the Assembly, the place he chaired the chamber’s Social Services Committee. He is a former president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association and former chair of the Bronx County Democratic Committee, the place targeted on efforts to diversify the judiciary. Firm co-founder Luis A. Miranda Jr. just lately left the agency to concentrate on producing documentaries and Broadway exhibits together with his son, the famed songwriter and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda.

54. Brian W. Simon & Julissa Ferreras-Copeland

Founder and Managing Partner; Senior Partner, Hollis Public Affairs

Brian W. Simon has established Hollis Public Affairs as a authorities relations powerhouse, vaulting it into the highest 5 of New York City companies by lobbying income. Earlier this yr, Simon introduced the creation of a brand new vertical, a strategic communications follow that may develop out the agency’s choices to its shoppers. Longtime journalist Zach Haberman is main the brand new group. Simon has additionally benefited from the expertise and experience of Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, a former chair of the New York City Council Finance Committee who joined the agency in 2021. Hollis shoppers embody JetBlue, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Meta, YWCA of Brooklyn, KPMG, Green-Wood Cemetery, AECOM, Louis Armstrong House Museum, JFK Millennium Partners and Microsoft.

55. John Albert, Emily Giske, Teresa Gonzalez, Mike Keogh, Prisca Salazar-Rodriguez & Juanita Scarlett

Partners, Bolton-St. Johns

As a managing accomplice at Bolton-St. Johns – the No. 2 lobbying agency within the metropolis and the state – Emily Giske positions shoppers to realize their coverage, budgetary and regulatory targets. Giske was a lead lobbyist in passing same-sex marriage in New York and is a vice chair of the state Democratic Party and a Democratic National Committee member. Teresa Gonzalez is a seasoned authorities relations skilled who’s lively throughout the town. Her current wins embody securing group assist for the City of Yes zoning plan and aiding with the technique and outreach to approve the Brooklyn Marine Terminal overhaul. A former principal lobbyist and legislative counsel to District Council 37, Mike Keogh additionally served as director of finance for the New York City Council, making him a talented lobbyist who will help shoppers navigate the arcana of metropolis authorities. Juanita Scarlett has a depth of presidency expertise that features stints as an government vice chairman at Empire State Development, as a prime staffer on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and on the governor’s workplace that enables her to navigate the halls of energy with ease. Prisca Salazar-Rodriguez is a revered public affairs skilled who is aware of methods to get issues achieved for her shoppers. She beforehand spent 22 years within the Bronx Borough President’s Office, together with stops within the mayor’s workplace and Empire State Development. John Albert helped cross the state’s anti-stalking legislation and broaden New York City’s after-school packages. He additionally labored to acquire the funding wanted for the United States Tennis Association to broaden the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Editor’s notice: Juanita Scarlett is a member of City & State’s advisory board.

56. Anthony Constantinople & Perry Vallone

Partners, Constantinople & Vallone Consulting

At the highest 5 New York City lobbying agency Constantinople & Vallone Consulting, Anthony Constantinople has been targeted on points surrounding power and the surroundings, advancing a number of large-scale clear power initiatives throughout the state, together with battery storage developments. He was just lately elected as secretary of the board of the New York League of Conservation Voters. Perry Vallone has been engaged on initiatives to enhance the state of New York City’s housing and financial system. He has been working carefully with elected officers, companies and group stakeholders to information complicated and game-changing initiatives by means of the general public approval course of and obtain profitable outcomes for his shoppers and New Yorkers.

57. Michael Woloz

Founder and Managing Partner, CMW Strategies

Michael Woloz is aware of methods to get issues achieved in New York City and Albany. Woloz is understood for his portfolio of cultural affairs shoppers and his efforts to safe a $75 million enhance in metropolis funding for the Cultural Institutions Group and different arts pursuits and a $45 million baseline enhance for the Department of Cultural Affairs. As the lead lobbyist for Instacart, he obtained a mayoral veto by Eric Adams of the grocery supply invoice, which was overridden by the council, and he helped Friends of the High Line defeat a close-by on line casino proposal in Hudson Yards. He additionally pushed the town to approve permits for autonomous car testing for Waymo, which have since expired, and secured a contract for Verra Mobility to broaden red-light cameras.

58. Edward Wallace

Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig

A Francophile, aggressive swimmer and former member of the New York City Council, Edward Wallace is maybe finest often known as one of many metropolis’s go-to actual property attorneys and serves as co-chair of the agency’s New York workplace. Wallace has suggested a few of the prime actual property energy gamers in navigating metropolis land use laws and monetary dealings. These embody Silverstein Properties, Columbia University, New York University and Fetner Properties. He can be the chair of the French-American Foundation, vice chair and professional bono counsel for the Citizens Budget Commission, and chair emeritus of New Yorkers for Parks.

59. Vito Pitta

Co-Managing Member, Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno

A prime lobbyist, election legal professional and 9/11 victims compensation lawyer, Vito Pitta delivers outcomes for a variety of shoppers. The former Eric Adams marketing campaign legal professional helped Bally’s Corp. win a downstate on line casino license within the Bronx and advocated for the growth of prevailing wage protections within the trucking trade for Teamsters Joint Council 16. He assisted the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council in blocking modifications to short-term rental laws. His legislation agency, Pitta & Baione, just lately celebrated its tenth anniversary and its restoration of over $650 million in compensation for 9/11 victims.

60. Nancy Hagans & Pat Kane

President; Executive Director, New York State Nurses Association

Nurses are the toughest working folks in any hospital, and Nancy Hagans and Pat Kane need to ensure that they’re handled with respect and compensated appropriately. The highly effective New York State Nurses Association leaders led nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore and Mount Sinai by means of the longest nurses strike in New York City’s historical past. They finally reached offers with raises, safeguards on the usage of synthetic intelligence and protections in coping with federal immigration officers after a weekslong strike. Earlier, quite a lot of security web hospitals reached offers with NYSNA to keep away from strikes.

61. Rebecca Bailin

Executive Director, New Yorkers United for Child Care

Rebecca Bailin spent years constructing a motion, and this yr she broke by means of as state and metropolis leaders took important steps towards common youngster care. The New Yorkers United for Child Care government director laid the groundwork for one in all Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s prime marketing campaign guarantees. In January, Bailin noticed Gov. Kathy Hochul be a part of Mamdani to suggest funding for 2 years of a free youngster care program for 2-year-olds in New York City, a part of a whopping $4.5 billion the governor is proposing to spend on youngster care statewide.

62. John Samuelsen

International President, Transport Workers Union

Veteran labor chief John Samuelsen is a pugnacious advocate for his members. The head of the 160,000-member Transport Workers Union is staying out of this yr’s gubernatorial race, whereas denouncing Gov. Kathy Hochul as “a disaster for blue-collar New York” and assailing her veto of laws requiring two-person subway crews and her order to not renew industrial driver’s licenses for immigrants. Samuelsen represents airline, railroad and transit staff, together with Metropolitan Transportation Authority subway staff by means of TWU Local 100, which he as soon as led.

63. Twyla Carter

Attorney-in-Chief and CEO, The Legal Aid Society

Twyla Carter is main The Legal Aid Society because it celebrates its a hundred and fiftieth anniversary this yr. The first Black girl and Asian American to move up the group, Carter is a revered chief on authorized help and prison justice reform points. When keeping off a possible strike by authorized attorneys final yr, Carter laid the blame with metropolis and state officers, saying that power authorities underfunding has led to pay points with its attorneys. Carter has additionally advocated in opposition to modifications to the state’s discovery legislation reforms.

64. Mike Morey & Kerri Lyon

President; Partner, SKDK

SKDK President Mike Morey, who has dealt with communications for the likes of U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, has notched quite a lot of wins just lately. He guided Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center by means of the land use course of for the brand new Kenneth C. Griffin Pavilion on the Upper East Side final yr, suggested former Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken on changing into president of the Ford Foundation and supported Quinn’s nonprofit, Win, in securing $50 million in final yr’s state price range for the Housing Access Voucher Program. A former journalist, agency accomplice Kerri Lyon is now one in all New York City’s prime public affairs strategists. Lyon has superior reproductive rights, helped girls who’re harassed within the office and ensured lecturers are profitable schooling advocates. Lyon was an Emmy Award-winning reporter for NY1 and WCBS-TV and communications director for the New York City Department of Education.

65. Errol Louis

Host, “Inside City Hall”, NY1

Errol Louis’ NY1 present is appointment tv for anybody lively in New York City politics. The veteran tv journalist is omnipresent, moderating debates in metropolis elections, internet hosting the “You Decide” podcast, penning a weekly column in New York journal and coaching aspiring reporters as an adjunct professor at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Louis is the board chair of the Charles Revson Foundation, which just lately employed former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer as the inspiration’s new president.

66. Steven Rubenstein

President, Rubenstein Communications

Steven Rubenstein doesn’t simply run one in all New York City’s most influential and most venerable public relations companies. He additionally performs an vital position in civic life as chair of the Association for a Better New York, a coalition of greater than 250 companies and nonprofit organizations looking for to enhance the town. Last yr, Rubenstein hosted one in all Zohran Mamdani’s marketing campaign shows to enterprise leaders skeptical of the democratic socialist. This yr, ABNY unveiled an initiative with the New York/New Jersey FIFA World Cup Host Committee to disburse grants to neighborhoods citywide for World Cup-themed occasions.

67. Chris Coffey

CEO, Tusk Strategies

A veteran of New York City politics, Chris Coffey suggested New York Mets proprietor Steve Cohen on his profitable on line casino bid and helped PrizePicks win a state playing license. Coffey additionally pitched in making an attempt to elect former Gov. Andrew Cuomo as mayor, offering communications recommendation and conducting outreach to the Orthodox Jewish group, which Coffey described as “informal advice.” Tusk loved extra success on the primary unbiased expenditure on Texas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico’s major win earlier this yr.

68. Andrew Bard Epstein

Political Consultant, Honest Abe LLC

Zohran Mamdani’s social media movies helped him achieve traction in final yr’s mayoral race, and Andrew Bard Epstein was the behind-the-scenes expertise who helped make them go viral. The early Mamdani marketing campaign rent served as communications director and spokesperson through the major earlier than pivoting to inventive director within the basic election. Epstein later helped to arrange Mamdani’s City Hall communications operations and now runs his personal consulting follow, Honest Abe LLC. Having gotten Mamdani elected mayor and Emily Gallagher elected to the Assembly in 2020, Epstein is making an attempt for a hat trick with Assembly Member Claire Valdez’s congressional marketing campaign.

69. David Greenfield

CEO, Met Council

Met Council’s David Greenfield is a frontrunner in New York City’s nonprofit sector and a voice for native Orthodox Jewish communities. Greenfield can be distinguishing himself as a forward-looking chief on synthetic intelligence, main an formidable AI transformation at his social providers group. He has been integrating AI throughout all departments, paying Met Council workers for AI coaching and creating a $25 million AI-powered meals distribution warehouse. Greenfield can be advocating for state laws to make sure New Yorkers are protected as know-how reshapes the financial system.

70. Brendan Griffith

President, New York City Central Labor Council

Brendan Griffith was elected the president of the New York City Central Labor Council final yr, after greater than a decade as chief of workers for the labor group, which is made up of some 300 native unions. Under Griffith, the CLC endorsed Council Member Julie Menin’s profitable speaker bid final yr. Griffith, who’s additionally a member of Ironworkers Local 40 and the United University Professions, has overseen packages and dealt with day-to-day operations for the CLC. This spring, the union group rallied in assist of the pending Delivery Protection Act.

71. Patrick Hendry

President, New York City Police Benevolent Association

Last yr, Patrick Hendry was coping with a mayor who was a former police captain. This yr, he’s coping with a mayor who’s way more skeptical of legislation enforcement – though Hendry welcomed the reappointment of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Following a snowball battle in Washington Square Park that left a number of law enforcement officials injured, Hendry referred to as for arrests whereas Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated no one ought to face prices. The chief of the greater than 21,000-member Police Benevolent Association has prioritized recruitment and retention and final yr gained an Albany battle to revive the 20-year retirement profit for the New York City Police Department.

72. Rose Christ & Katie Schwab

Co-Chairs, New York Practice, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies

At Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, Rose Christ and Katie Schwab lead a talented crew that navigates the complexities of New York authorities to realize outcomes for his or her shoppers. Christ and Schwab have expanded the agency’s housing improvement follow, including builders and advocacy teams to their roster. Their crew has pushed laws to make it simpler to develop new housing throughout the state and guided initiatives like a brand new main mixed-use improvement on Manhattan’s West Side. The agency additionally obtained over $70 million in metropolis and state grants for nonprofit shoppers final yr.

73. Maury Litwack

Founder, Jewish Voters Action Network

Maury Litwack was one of many first to say that Zohran Mamdani’s marketing campaign for New York City mayor must be taken severely, though for Litwack it was a phrase of warning to Jewish voters. Litwack based the Jewish Voters Action Network to encourage the Jewish group to make use of its collective voice to be an electoral drive on the voting sales space to fight antisemitism and different points. Litwack, who helped Rep. George Latimer topple then-Rep. Jamaal Bowman within the 2024 Democratic major, was beforehand the chief of the Teach Coalition, a nonprofit instructional advocacy group related to the Orthodox Union.

74. Michele de Milly & Ethan (*2026*)

Principals, (*2026*) & de Milly

A former prime adviser to the president of what’s now Empire State Development, Michele de Milly is aware of how New York works and places that have to make use of for her shoppers at (*2026*) & de Milly. She and the agency have been targeted on inexpensive housing and innovation, together with the event of the housing elements of City of Yes, the approval of the town’s new life sciences hub and the approval of the brand new New York City Football Club stadium and accompanying inexpensive housing in Queens. A one-time assistant commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings, Ethan (*2026*) has been targeted on housing and the humanities. (*2026*) and his agency labored with William Macklowe Company and the Fifth Avenue Committee in Brooklyn on the event of a group advantages settlement that addresses each inexpensive housing and meals safety points. He has efficiently advocated for Playwrights Horizons and obtained funding for shoppers to handle youngster poverty and psychological well being.

75. Corey Johnson

Founder, Cojo Strategies

Former New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is not in elected workplace, however he’s nonetheless within the recreation together with his boutique lobbying agency, Cojo Strategies. The lobbyist and political strategist represents shoppers together with Vornado, Bally’s Corp., DoorDash and Deloitte. Johnson’s former chief of workers and his successor within the City Council, Erik Bottcher, just lately moved as much as the state Senate, and one other former aide, Carl Wilson, is working in a particular election for Bottcher’s vacant seat. Johnson serves on the board of the Community Service Society.

76. Carlo Scissura

President and CEO, New York Building Congress

A well-connected chief in New York City’s development trade, Carlo Scissura is targeted on increasing the housing provide, investing in infrastructure and spurring financial improvement. The New York Building Congress chief has referred to as for modifications to the town constitution designed to spice up housing development. He has additionally been a cheerleader for the Gateway Program and the redevelopment of Penn Station, and he has spearheaded efforts to handle the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. He additionally supported the Northeast Supply Enhancement pure fuel pipeline that’s now beneath development and desires to extend the usage of different supply strategies for infrastructure initiatives.

77. Camille Joseph-Goldman

Group Vice President, Government Affairs, Charter Communications

Once the youngest deputy comptroller in New York City’s historical past, Camille Joseph-Goldman has moved from budgets, audits and municipal bonds to strategic partnerships, C-suite briefings and telecommunications laws within the company sector. She has spent almost a decade at Charter Communications, the place she oversees authorities affairs for the telecommunications agency from New York City to Maine. She was beforehand a prime aide to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and has a depth of marketing campaign expertise, together with on Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.

78. Jason Laidley

Founder, London House

Jason Laidley is the founding father of London House, a public affairs and lobbying agency. Laidley is a senior political adviser to the Bronx Democratic Party, and he’s a detailed ally and former chief of workers to state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, the Bronx Democratic Party chief. Laidley can be shut with Rep. Greg Meeks, the chief of the Queens Democrats and Laidley’s father-in-law, and helped the Bronx and Queens council contingents elevate Council Member Julie Menin to the speakership. Laidley’s lobbying shoppers embody the Bronx Community Foundation, the New York Apartment Association, the Sports Betting Alliance and Airbnb.

79. Marc Lapidus & Matthew Rey

Founding Partner; Partner, Red Horse Strategies

Marc Lapidus is bringing his A recreation in propelling shoppers into elected workplace and delivering outcomes on advocacy campaigns. He makes use of his experience to information campaigns and advocacy campaigns to assist his shoppers obtain their targets. Matthew Rey has labored all throughout the Northeast on quite a lot of political campaigns – together with the likes of Erik Bottcher, Shirley Aldebol and Virginia Maloney in New York over the previous yr. The agency performed a crucial position in getting Eric Adams elected mayor of New York City in 2021 – Red Horse’s Katie Moore was his marketing campaign supervisor, and one other founding accomplice, Nathan Smith, was a part of Adams’ inside circle – however they distanced themselves from the scandal-plagued incumbent through the 2025 cycle, when Adams finally dropped out.

80. Jason Ortiz & Jenny Sedlis

Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Moonshot Strategies

Jason Ortiz and Jenny Sedlis have established Moonshot Strategies, which they launched in 2021, as a mainstay of New York’s public affairs world, reaching victories for shoppers starting from the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council to the Innocence Project. Ortiz is a former political and strategic affairs director for the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and an skilled adviser to candidates for elected workplace in addition to coverage and advocacy campaigns. Sedlis made her mark as the chief director of StudentsFirstNY, a constitution college advocacy group, and has expertise managing tremendous PACs and consulting with CEOs. Moonshot’s consumer checklist contains Uber, Genting New York, Bally’s Corp., Red Bull and the Vera Institute of Justice.

81. Jeffrey Citron & Louis Coletti

Co-Managing Partner; Senior Adviser, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron

Jeffrey Citron, the co-managing accomplice of authorized powerhouse Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, is an skilled in actual property, financial improvement and tax incentive legislation. He has served as counsel to quite a lot of industrial improvement companies, offering the experience wanted to assist information vital initiatives to fruition to spur financial development whereas additionally advising on the arcana of business income bond financing. Louis Coletti, the previous longtime head of the Building Trades Employers’ Association, is now a senior adviser at DHC. In his storied profession, Coletti has helped form the town’s capital course of reforms and protocols for development through the COVID-19 pandemic and coordinated the town response to the 9/11 terrorist assaults and Superstorm Sandy. He additionally drafted laws to create the New York City School Construction Authority.

82. Eric Goldstein

CEO, UJA-Federation of New York

Eric Goldstein, one in all New York’s most outstanding Jewish leaders, is making ready to step down as CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York this summer season. Goldstein, who took the position on the philanthropic group in 2014, has responded forcefully to rising antisemitism and supported Israel within the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault. In New York City, the group is monitoring Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration, significantly on points associated to the boycott, divestment, sanctions motion in opposition to Israel. It raised $316.1 million in fiscal yr 2025.

83. Donna Lieberman

Executive Director, New York Civil Liberties Union

Donna Lieberman and the New York Civil Liberties Union are as soon as once more battling President Donald Trump after weathering his first time period – and the amount of fights Trump has began this time round has solely elevated. Lieberman is main the civil liberties group in combating Trump’s immigration enforcement and deportations and has referred to as on state lawmakers to cross the New York for All Act to impose strict limits on native cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. She helped to cross the state’s Equal Rights Amendment and the brand new Medical Aid in Dying legislation.

84. Tyquana Henderson-Rivers

Founder, President and CEO, Connective Strategies

With an extended observe file in New York politics, Tyquana Henderson-Rivers has constructed Connective Strategies right into a go-to agency for high-level political campaigns. She advises companies, advocacy teams and candidates on constructing out their manufacturers. The Queens guide has contributed to electoral victories by Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Greg Meeks, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. Her present and former shoppers embody Altria Client Services, NYC Health + Hospitals and the Real Estate Board of New York.

Editor’s notice: Tyquana Henderson-Rivers is a member of City & State’s advisory board.

85. Rob Speyer

CEO, Tishman Speyer

Rob Speyer is an influence participant in actual property and politics. As board co-chair of the Partnership for New York City, Speyer has reportedly been supportive of the aggressive method being taken by the influential enterprise group’s new chief, Steve Fulop, as a counterweight to the Mamdani administration. In his day job working the $65 billion actual property agency Tishman Speyer, he accomplished the redevelopment and refinancing of Rockefeller Center and is reportedly in talks to purchase again the Chrysler Building. Speyer has additionally expanded into residential, industrial and life sciences actual property.

86. George Fontas

Founder and CEO, Fontas Advisors

The founding father of one in all New York’s prime authorities affairs and strategic consulting companies serving the true property sector, George Fontas has managed over 40 complicated land use initiatives and has represented quite a lot of prime shoppers, together with Google, Dell and Intel. The veteran lobbyist can be the board chair of Plus Pool, which is near opening the world’s first water-filtering swimming pool within the East River. The pool is anticipated to be within the river for testing this summer season and can present free swimming for the group, together with swim classes and waterway entry.

87. Randy Peers

President and CEO, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce

As the chief of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Randy Peers is advocating for companies from Brooklyn Heights to Bensonhurst. Through the Five Borough Jobs Campaign, Peers is pushing an agenda to assist small-business development as central to any affordability agenda – together with full funding for the town’s Department of Small Business Services and a 90-day moratorium on fines and costs for companies. He has additionally led worldwide commerce missions, supplied synthetic intelligence coaching for small companies and launched a tourism platform, visitbrooklyn.nyc.

88. Annemarie Gray

Executive Director, Open New York

Annemarie Gray is a outstanding advocate for the development of extra properties in New York, and her coverage prescriptions are being adopted. She was a supporter of the City of Yes rezoning overhaul, which goals to make it simpler to construct extra housing, and she or he backed a number of profitable poll measures to streamline land use critiques and expedite the creation of inexpensive housing in New York City. Gray has deep experience in housing coverage, with prior expertise as a senior coverage adviser on housing and land use beneath two New York City deputy mayors.

89. Mark Treyger

CEO, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York

Mark Treyger is combating antisemitism in New York City. The former New York City Council Education Committee chair and schoolteacher supported just lately handed metropolis laws to determine buffer zones round homes of worship. He is asking for elevated schooling efforts to counter antisemitism and filed a civil rights grievance with state officers after the town’s solely Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant closed as a consequence of harassment. Treyger has carried out quite a lot of engagement occasions, together with a hamentashen crawl with Public Advocate Jumanne Williams and a Shavuot cheesecake crawl with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.

Editor’s notice: Mark Treyger is a member of the City & State’s advisory board.

90. Anthony Coscia

Partner, Windels Marx

As the board chair of Amtrak, Anthony Coscia is in the course of the nation’s largest infrastructure venture: digging a brand new commuter prepare tunnel beneath the Hudson River and enhancing interrelated rail points within the New York City metropolitan space and your entire Northeast area. Coscia additionally serves because the vice chair of the Gateway Development Commission, which is straight managing the venture. An legal professional at Windels Marx with experience in company, industrial and actual property finance, Coscia can be a former chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

91. Sanjiv Shah

Chief Medical Officer, MetroPlusHealth

An infectious illness skilled, Dr. Sanjiv Shah is the chief medical officer of MetroPlusHealth, a low-cost well being plan serving over 712,000 New Yorkers. He makes use of his background as a doctor, a trainer and a well being care government to drive efforts to supply high quality and inexpensive well being look after New Yorkers. Shah was named chief medical officer months earlier than the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, throughout which he redeployed MetroPlusHealth workers to NYC Health + Hospitals to assist deal with New Yorkers. He additionally partnered with the town Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to extend testing and vaccination charges for MetroPlusHealth members.

92. Kenny Burgos

CEO, New York Apartment Association

As younger Assembly members, Kenny Burgos and now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani loved a collegial relationship, with a shared Spotify playlist and exchanging style ideas. Now the owner group chief and the first-term mayor are traditional frenemies, with Mamdani’s pro-rent freeze positions getting in the best way. Burgos argues Mamdani’s lease insurance policies will hurt the town’s housing inventory, significantly within the outer boroughs, and trigger extra issues for renters and landlords – though their variations didn’t forestall them from assembly just lately to attempt to discover widespread floor on points like the town’s property tax system.

93. Gregory Morris

CEO, New York City Employment and Training Coalition

As New York City’s prime advocate for workforce improvement, Gregory Morris is ensuring coaching native staff is on the coronary heart of the financial agenda. Last yr, the New York City Employment and Training Coalition issued a report calling for altering workforce improvement coverage within the metropolis and state, together with elevated transparency, improved employer engagement and a concentrate on financial mobility. He just lately teamed with former Partnership for New York City chief Kathryn Wylde to name on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to create a metropolis Workforce Development Corp. to enrich the Economic Development Corp.

94. Lina Khan

Associate Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

One of essentially the most activist Federal Trade Commission chairs in historical past, Lina Khan’s subsequent act was to assist form Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration. As a transition co-chair, Khan oversaw appointments and coverage points associated to the mayor’s expansive affordability and financial agenda. She helped with the appointment of Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Sam Levine, a prime Khan aide on the FTC. Khan additionally scoured metropolis and state legal guidelines to maximise Mamdani’s means to enact his progressive agenda. She stays a mayoral financial adviser, a nationwide thought chief on financial inequality and co-leader of Columbia Law School’s new Center for Law and the Economy.

95. Patrick Gaspard

Distinguished Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

One of the nation’s main progressives and a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa, Patrick Gaspard is a New Yorker at coronary heart, and he emerged as a trusted adviser to Mayor Zohran Mamdani in his basic election marketing campaign. Gaspard asserted that Mamdani was in a position to get to City Hall by capturing a vibe working by means of Democratic major that different candidates weren’t, evaluating it at instances to the best way Barack Obama, who Gaspard as soon as suggested, captured the White House in 2008. Gaspard beforehand led each the Center for American Progress, a number one Washington, D.C., assume tank, and the Open Society Foundations.

96. Maria Torres-Springer

President, Charles H. Revson Foundation

Former New York City First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer joined the Charles H. Revson Foundation as its president in January, the most recent transfer in a profession that has made her an influential civic chief. The basis focuses on grantmaking in biomedical analysis, schooling, Jewish life and concrete affairs in New York City and Israel. Torres-Springer, who has headed the town’s Economic Development Corp. in addition to its Housing Preservation and Development and Small Business Services departments, was a co-chair of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s transition crew.

97. Sydney Altfield

CEO, Teach Coalition

After seven years on the helm of Teach NYS, advocating for Jewish schooling within the halls of Albany, Sydney Altfield is taking her advocacy nationwide. Altfield was promoted final yr to CEO of Teach Coalition, which advocates for funding for Jewish and different nonpublic faculties. Altfield has endorsed a federal $500 million funding into constitution faculties, saying the plan is “transformative” for Jewish schooling. She teamed up with Catholic and Muslim schooling leaders to name for elevated efforts to scale back hate crimes at non secular faculties.

98. Brian Cook & Roberto Perez

Senior Advisers, Brown & Weinraub

At the Albany lobbying powerhouse Brown & Weinraub, Brian Cook and Roberto Perez make the most of their authorities know-how to serve their shoppers. Cook is a former assistant New York City comptroller for financial improvement, a task by which he oversaw funding of $3.4 billion to finance the response of fifty,000 models of inexpensive housing. He can be a former land use director within the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. Cook just lately helped shepherd the approval for the 1720 Atlantic Ave. rezoning, facilitated approvals for the brand new lease modification for nonprofit improvement group Chung Pak and assisted Mural Real Estate Partners in securing $24 million from the town. Perez, host of the “The Perez Notes” podcast, labored within the New York City Mayor’s Office as director of intergovernmental affairs and as commissioner of the then-Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit. He has additionally served as vice chairman for legislative affairs on the New York Power Authority, as senior government director for intergovernmental affairs on the New York City Department of Education and deputy chief of workers within the New York City Public Advocate’s Office.

99. Stephen Liakas

Founding Partner, Liakas Law

Since founding Liakas Law in 2014, Stephen Liakas has grown his eponymous agency right into a political powerhouse. Liakas, a private damage trial legal professional who leads the agency’s federal and New Jersey follow teams, has introduced on Ali Najmi, a detailed ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the brand new chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, as a particular counsel coping with civil rights, catastrophic development accidents and police and corrections abuse instances. Former Rep. Ed Towns additionally joined the agency as a senior adviser specializing in group engagement and advocacy points.

100. Rama Duwaji

New York City First Lady

It has but to be seen how lively a task first woman Rama Duwaji may have within the administration of her husband, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. What’s clear is that she has grabbed the eye of the general public and the press, from sympathetic options like a photograph shoot and story in The Cut and a Vogue tackle her haircut to extra crucial protection, together with a sequence of scoops about her previous controversial social media posts. Duwaji has additionally despatched a message together with her style selections and displaying up at exhibits by the New York label Diotima.