Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani appointed Lillian Bonsignore as commissioner of the New York City Fire Department.

Bonsignore is a veteran of the department with more than 30 years of experience and previously served as the chief of emergency medical services before retiring in 2022. Bonsignore is coming out of retirement to serve the city and will be the first uniformed woman to lead the department.

"I know what the firefighters need, and I can translate that to this administration," said Bonsignore.

Bonsignore was born and raised in The Bronx. She responded to the 9/11 terror attacks and quickly climbed ranks in the department, receiving the title of deputy chief by 2009.

In 2019, she made history when she was appointed as the chief of EMS operations for the FDNY, becoming the first woman and first openly LGBTQ+ individual to hold the title in the department.

Bonsignore says her top priorities include improving response time, public education, prevention and pay equity.

"This is literally a job that people cannot live without. We have to make sure we are taking care of our EMS system," said Bonsignore.

Mayor-elect Mamdani said he also will be retaining the Department of Sanitation Commissioner Javier Lojan and NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Zachary Iscol as interim commissioners to maintain stability in the departments during the snow season.