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Mamdani taps behavioral health leader to head new Office of Community Safety
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published May 5, 2026
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By
Ben Feuerherd
Published May 5, 2026
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday will announce the appointment of Dr. Ayesha Delany-Brumsey as commissioner of the new Mayor’s Office of Community Safety, officials said.
Delany-Brumsey has spent more than a decade working in mental health treatment in various roles across the country and previously served in a top behavioral health role at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice during former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.
“I’m confident Dr. Delany-Brumsey will lead the Office of Community Safety with both deep expertise in public health-based practices and deep commitment to community-led solutions,” Mamdani said in a statement shared with Gothamist.
Delany-Brumsey most recently served as a senior advisor at the Office of Behavioral Health for New York City Health + Hospitals, where she oversaw mobile crisis teams and B-HEARD, which allows mental health professionals to respond to some emergency calls.
She will report to Deputy Mayor for Community Safety, Renita Francois, who Mamdani tapped to lead the office in March.
“Dr. Delany-Brumsey will help us strengthen how the city responds — deploying the appropriate personnel and resources in every situation and delivering a more holistic, effective approach to safety across the five boroughs,” Francois said in a statement.
The appointment comes as Mamdani has faced some criticism for establishing the office — a less extensive entity than the Department of Community Safety, a standalone city agency with a $1 billion budget that he said he would create on the campaign trail.
When the office was created in March, City Hall officials said they were committed to scaling up the office and noted several city agencies, including the Department of Homeless Services, first began as the mayor’s offices.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch did not attend the mayor’s announcement at City Hall in March, when he officially rolled out plans for the office.
In a statement on Tuesday, Tisch said she was eager to work with Delany-Brumsey to ensure public safety for New Yorkers.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe requires a coordinated approach across city government,” Tisch said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Commissioner Delany-Brumsey to strengthen that coordination and deliver the right response in every situation.”
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public safety
Ben Feuerherd
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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