New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to make more changes at City Hall.

His incoming administration has requested the resignations of 179 staff members from Mayor Eric Adams' administration, including in offices that fall under the purview of the city's current deputy mayors.

Those staff members are expected to resign by the inauguration on Jan. 1.

"As is standard practice for a mayoral transition, the mayor-elect and his transition team are working to build their City Hall plan, which includes new staff in key roles to ensure they can deliver effectively on their agenda," a spokesperson for the mayor-elect said Wednesday.

Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy criticizes Mamdani's decision

Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy called the mayor-elect's move "the first big governmental mistake of the Mamdani administration."

Levy said Mamdani is getting rid of a lot of talented people -- 60% of whom are Black and 58% of whom are women.

"These folks have dedicated their lives to the people of New York, to 8.5 million of their neighbors, and they have a lot of experience. They they know what they're doing," Levy said.

Long-time public servant Carl Weisbrod told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer it's business as usual for a new mayor to ask for the resignation of people who work at City Hall in the offices of deputy mayors and others, even if some have been there since the time of former Mayors Mike Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio.

"You know, Marcia, I've been in and out of city government since the second Lindsay administration. I've been in an incoming administration. I've been in an outgoing administration. And the one thing that's very clear is that a new mayor certainly does and should have the ability to pick his own team at City Hall," Weisbrod said.

Political expert J.C. Polanco explained Mamdani's rationale for the decision.

"He has a lot of folks, especially people in the Democratic Socialists of America, who he owes not only jobs but a tip of the cap, an olive branch, support to, and often that includes the patronage that the mayor has to give. And that comes in the form of jobs," Polanco said.

The mayor-elect will have a lot of people to choose from as his team says more than 70,000 have submitted resumes.

Mamdani's transition team and other appointees

Earlier this month, political strategist Elana Leopold was tapped to lead Mamdani's transition team, and was joined by former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, former FTC Commissioner Lena Khan, United Way CEO Grace Bonilla, and former Deputy Mayor Melanie Hartzog.

Torres-Springer, who was the city's top housing, economic, and workforce initiatives official, was among four deputy mayors who resigned after the Trump administration ordered federal prosecutors to drop corruption and bribery charges against Adams.

Later, Mamdani named Dean Fuleihan as his first deputy mayor and Elle Bisgaard-Church as his chief of staff.

Fuleihan is a seasoned government veteran who previously served as de Blasio's budget director and later as his first deputy mayor. Bisgaard-Church is Mamdani's chief of staff in the state Assembly, and his team has called her a "chief architect" behind the Department of Community Safety and other signature proposals.

On Monday, Mamdani announced the creation of 17 transition advisory committees made up of more than 400 people to help advise his incoming administration on policy and appointments, and to help him chart a new course for city government. 

NYPD commissioner stays, FDNY commissioner goes

Mamdani's administration will have stability at the top of the NYPD, after it was announced on Nov. 19 that current Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch will return in the same role when he takes office.

While Tisch and Mamdani may have different views on how to best secure the city, the commissioner pledged in a letter to members of the department that she will always have their backs and she believes "deeply in the nobility" of their work.

Tisch served as the city's Department of Sanitation Commissioner before Adams named her the second female police commissioner in the department's history and the fourth police commissioner of his tenure.

As for the FDNY, Commissioner Robert S. Tucker announced his resignation just one day after Mamdani won the mayoral race. In an interview with "CBS Mornings" on Wednesday, Tucker said it was a "complicated, emotional decision to leave" and added, "But ideologically, there's no doubt that the mayor and I disagree on some very fundamental things to me."

Tucker, who was appointed FDNY commissioner in August 2024 by Adams, will officially step aside on Dec. 19.

Mamdani transition fundraising making strides

Mamdani has set a goal of $4 million to fund his transition, including expenses that are not eligible for public matching fees. He took to social media last week to ask supporters for donations and so far has raised more than $2 million.

A week after putting out his appeal, the number of individual donors has doubled to more than 25,620 contributing an average of $75, his team said.

"These contributions will help us recruit top talent that is ready to get to work on January 1st and begin delivering on the affordability agenda that over 1 million New Yorkers voted for," Leopold said in a statement, in part.