By: Carl Schwartzbaum

In a dramatic coda to one of the more turbulent transitions in modern New York City politics, Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro—a veteran of two mayoral administrations and a man long regarded as one of the city’s most formidable political tacticians—submitted his resignation on Friday. But as The New York Post reported on Sunday, Mastro’s departure came packaged not only with gratitude for the current administration but with a pointed rebuke aimed squarely at the incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, whose impending tenure has unsettled many of the officials who have anchored Mayor Eric Adams’s government.

Mastro’s resignation letter, addressed directly to Adams, was at once reflective, biting, and unmistakably political. “While I told the press months ago that, ‘I will never work for a socialist,’ the mayor-elect’s transition team needlessly included me (and you) last week on a list of 179 City Hall staffers it intends to replace on January 1, 2026,” Mastro wrote, according to The New York Post report. “No need to have done so. We will be leaving city government together.”

It was a rare moment of candor from one of the city’s most seasoned public servants—a man who has navigated both the Giuliani and Adams administrations, waged high-profile legal battles, and built a reputation as a fierce defender of institutional integrity. But it was also emblematic of the raw ideological tensions defining the city’s political future, especially as Mamdani, a 34-year-old left-wing firebrand whose views place him at the vanguard of Democratic Socialism, prepares to assume office.

Mastro, 69, is no stranger to political conflict. As The New York Post report noted, he served as Deputy Mayor under Rudy Giuliani in the 1990s, helping shepherd controversial but consequential reforms that reshaped public safety, housing enforcement, and municipal litigation. His return to City Hall earlier this year—at Adams’s personal request—came at a moment of significant instability for the mayor, whose administration was beleaguered by a string of resignations prompted by the since-terminated federal corruption investigation.

In that sense, Mastro’s appointment in March was an unmistakable signal that Adams sought an experienced Stabilizer-in-Chief—someone who could land what the mayor repeatedly calls “the plane” during a period of political turbulence. And by most accounts, Mastro delivered. Within months, crime statistics reported by the NYPD showed improvements across major categories, job growth in the city hit historic highs, and the administration announced record gains in affordable housing development—achievements that Mastro highlighted in his letter.

“The time since [the appointment] has been a period of remarkable productivity, with crime down to record lows, jobs up to record highs, and affordable housing created at an unprecedented rate,” he wrote, calling the accomplishments “a true team effort, of which we can all be proud.”

But Mastro made equally clear that his exit was not simply a matter of timing—it was a matter of principle. His deep discomfort with Mamdani’s governing philosophy has been no secret. As The New York Post has repeatedly documented, Mastro bristled at the mayor-elect’s self-identification as a socialist and was particularly outspoken in condemning Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric, which flared during the Gaza war debates and sparked outrage among Jewish community leaders and centrists across New York.

While Adams and his allies saw in Mastro a stabilizing counterweight to the city’s leftward push, Mamdani and his transition team appeared eager to send a different message: the ideological center that has governed the city for decades is giving way to a new political order.

In his letter, Mastro struck a note of personal pride, reminding Adams—and, by extension, the public—of his historic role in the evolution of New York City governance.

“It is my understanding that I am the only person in modern city history to have served as top deputy and acting mayor in two different administrations — a distinction I will soon share with my successor in the incoming administration — proving there is still a place in city government for an elder statesman.”

It was a dignified but unmistakably pointed observation. The idea of an “elder statesman” standing alongside a mayor-elect who built his political identity on opposing traditional power structures encapsulates a tension that now pervades City Hall: the question of institutional memory, and whether it will be preserved or discarded under a new ideological regime.

Mastro’s successor under the Mamdani administration is slated to be Dean Fuleihan, the 74-year-old longtime budget expert and former first deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio. Mamdani’s selection of another veteran bureaucrat—albeit one far closer to the progressive wing—was widely seen as an attempt to quell concerns that his administration would be defined solely by ideological zeal rather than administrative competence.

Still, Mastro’s exit calls attention to the magnitude of the shift underway.

Mayor Adams responded warmly to the resignation, offering a full-throated tribute to the man he credited with steering his administration through some of its most difficult moments.

“I’m so glad Randy answered my call to return to City Hall after such a distinguished career in and out of government,” Adams said in a statement to The New York Post. “His experience, wisdom, common sense, and many contributions have been invaluable.”

The mayor, whose penchant for aviation metaphors has long been a trademark, added: “As mayor, I often talk about landing the plane. Over the past few months, Randy has landed enough planes to fill an airport.”

It was the kind of praise Adams typically reserves for only his closest advisers—a signal that despite the internal controversies of the past year, Mastro remained one of the few aides the mayor trusted implicitly.

While personnel changes are routine during transitions, the backdrop of Mastro’s departure is anything but ordinary. Mamdani’s rise to power—fueled by grassroots activism, endorsements from democratic socialist organizations, and an intense critique of traditional law-and-order politics—has alarmed many in the municipal bureaucracy, especially moderates who view his platform as impractical or destabilizing.

Mastro’s pointed farewell therefore reflects a larger anxiety sweeping through City Hall: whether the incoming administration will govern from the ideological fringes or temper its platform in the face of New York’s complex political and economic realities.

His letter also brought renewed attention to Mamdani’s earlier controversies, which The New York Post covered extensively. The mayor-elect’s refusal to condemn slogans like “Globalize the intifada,” and his criticism of pro-Israel events held at Park East Synagogue, prompted backlash from Jewish leaders and moderate Democrats who warned that such rhetoric contributes to a climate of hostility and insecurity.

For Mastro—an outspoken supporter of Israel—such positions were incompatible with continued service.

As January approaches, the transition is rapidly becoming a test not only of ideological shifts but of governance itself. Mamdani must reassure a wary public, stabilize a bureaucracy bracing for upheaval, and deliver on promises that range from expansive housing reforms to policing overhauls—a task requiring both political finesse and administrative skill.

Mastro’s departure, while expected, marks the end of a particular chapter in the city’s political life: one defined by technocratic experience, crisis management, and centrist pragmatism.

What follows will be written under a new ideological banner—and whether that brings renewal or disruption remains to be seen.

Yet as The New York Post has noted throughout this transition, one thing is clear: the stakes for New York could not be higher.