{"id":498084,"date":"2026-01-07T04:27:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T04:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/498084\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T04:27:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T04:27:17","slug":"mamdani-swears-in-lillian-bonsignore-as-new-nyc-fdny-commissioner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/498084\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani swears in Lillian Bonsignore as new NYC FDNY commissioner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor Mamdani swore in his new Fire commissioner<\/a> Tuesday, and made it clear \u2014 despite critics\u2019 fearmongering \u2014 that she\u2019s more than qualified to head the nation\u2019s largest Fire Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have appointed Lillian Bonsignore to this role for her wealth of experience and vision for how to lead the FDNY, as well as for the respect she holds for this work and all those who do it,\u201d Mamdani said in a swearing-in ceremony, days after his critics pooh-poohed his pick.<\/p>\n

\"FDNYFDNY Commissioner Lilian Bonsignore, center, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, left, and Chief of Department John Esposito, right, during the swearing-in ceremony for FDNY Commissioner Lilian Bonsignore at FDNY Headquarters in Brooklyn, Tuesday, January 6, 2026. (Shawn Inglima\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will certainly be difficult moments to come \u2014 where the brave men and women of the FDNY put their lives on the line for New Yorkers \u2014 but they will be able to turn to their commissioner and know that they are led by someone who knows this work, cares about this work, and will stop at nothing to keep our city safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"FDNYFDNY Commissioner Lilian Bonsignore speaking during her swearing-in ceremony at FDNY Headquarters in Brooklyn, Tuesday, January 6, 2026. (Shawn Inglima\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Among those who turned up the heat on Mamdani for his Fire Department commissioner selection was billionaire Elon Musk, who fell out with President Trump during his controversial role overseeing government efficiency.<\/p>\n

Musk knocked Bonsignore for never strapping on a helmet as a firefighter, even though she spent more than three decades in the FDNY EMS, rising to chief of the EMS division, and holding the top post for three years before retiring in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will die because of this. Proven experience matters when lives are at stake,\u201d the Space X and Tesla owner said early Friday evening in a post on X,<\/a> which he also owns.<\/p>\n

Bonsignore will be the first LGBTQ head of the FDNY<\/a> in its 160-year history. Conservative critics, though, were not impressed, with some going as far as to scoff she only got the job<\/a> because she\u2019s lesbian.<\/p>\n

Bonsignore\u2019s two predecessors as commissioner didn\u2019t serve as firefighters, either.<\/p>\n

Shrugging off the tasteless and ill-informed barbs, the new head of the FDNY pledged she\u2019ll be a leader for everyone in the department and always have their backs.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018A commissioner\u2019s greatest duty isn\u2019t to command the fire, but to protect and empower the hands that fight it,\u2019 is a quote often used in the fire service, and it is one I wholeheartedly believe in,\u201d Bonsignore said.<\/p>\n

\"FDNYFDNY Commissioner Lilian Bonsignore speaking during her swearing-in ceremony at FDNY Headquarters in Brooklyn, Tuesday, January 6, 2026. (Shawn Inglima\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise to be a leader for every member of this department, committed to listening, supporting and advocating for the great men and women who selflessly give their time to protecting our city.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor Mamdani swore in his new Fire commissioner Tuesday, and made it clear \u2014 despite critics\u2019 fearmongering \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":498085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,2451,3059,5295,1370,728,405,403,5294,50,5226,5225,5228,5227,5293,5321,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-498084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-city","10":"tag-county","11":"tag-crime-and-public-safety","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-new-york-county","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-newyork","19":"tag-newyorkcity","20":"tag-ny","21":"tag-nyc","22":"tag-nyc-crime","23":"tag-sub-county-region","24":"tag-united-states","25":"tag-united-states-of-america","26":"tag-unitedstates","27":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","28":"tag-us","29":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115851928890899527","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}