Mayor Adams Appoints Fabien Levy as Deputy Mayor for Communications

August 14, 2023

Watch the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K30Z4mgraAk

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the appointment of Fabien Levy as deputy mayor for communications. As the city’s first ever deputy mayor for communications, Levy will coordinate communications across the whole of city government, instead of just City Hall and ensure city agencies are speaking with a unified message to New Yorkers. In this role, Levy will break down siloes and ensure every city agency is supporting each other and, in turn, highlighting the Adams administration’s vision to support working families across New York City.

“For too long, the good work of this city has been crushed by the boulder of bureaucracy. Our new deputy mayor for communications will make sure that every agency is supporting each other, and delivering for working class New Yorkers,” said Mayor Adams. “There is no one I trust more to amplify and get our message out there than Fabien Levy. A spokesman and champion for working people, Fabien is a passionate communicator. A native New Yorker raised by working-class Jewish-Middle Eastern parents, Fabien will be New York City’s first ever deputy mayor of Persian or Iraqi descent. Deputy Mayor Levy and I will work together to meet the challenges ahead and continue to deliver for New Yorkers every day.”

“I want to thank the mayor for trusting me to lead the communications team across this city. As someone originally from New York City, I know there is no higher form of public service than serving New Yorkers and I am thrilled to take on this role overseeing communications across city government,” said Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy. “This announcement is only possible because of the people who helped get me where I am today, including all my family, friends, and colleagues. Since I was a kid, I knew it was my responsibility to give back, help others, and — like the Jewish tenet ‘tikkun olam’ translates — repair the world. It is that sense of responsibility, that sense of community to leave the world in a better place than when we got here that drives me every day. I know that this new role will help further break down the siloes between our city agencies and City Hall and help provide New Yorkers with a better line of sight into how their city government operates as one as we work to help repair the world. I am ready to hit the ground running, and help build a city that is safer, more equitable, and prosperous for all.”

“In January 2022, Fabien Levy stepped up to serve our city as a member of Team Adams to partner and help build a better New York. More than a year and a half later, that’s exactly what he has done,” said Chief Advisor Ingrid P. Lewis-Martin. “I’ve had the pleasure to strategize and work directly with Fabien and have seen firsthand his tireless effort to move our city forward crisis after crisis — during all of which he has kept an even composure and positive mindset to do what is absolutely best for our city. With his new role as deputy mayor for communications, Fabien will be able to expand those efforts and ensure that city government speaks with a clear, effective voice.”

“With two decades of experience across federal, state, and city government, there is no better person to enter into this role than Fabien Levy,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “From day one, Fabien showed a talent for delivering this administration’s vision for the city, a tenacity for engaging with the press, and endless sense of collaboration with this team. Under Fabien’s leadership, we will continue to break down siloes across government communications and tell New Yorkers how we are ‘Getting Stuff Done’ every day.'”

“Fabien Levy’s fierce intelligence, tireless work ethic, and unwavering commitment to improving the lives of his fellow New Yorkers have made him an invaluable member of this administration and a central force behind our accomplishments,” said Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack. “More importantly, Fabien’s care and compassion for everyday New Yorkers make him the perfect fit for deputy mayor for communications. I look forward to working with Fabien in this new role to ensure that our city government both listens and speaks to every New Yorker.”

“For the first time in the city’s history, we will have a deputy mayor for communications,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne-Williams Isom. “This role will execute Mayor Adams’ goal to streamline the city’s public messaging and to unify agency communications strategies. Ultimately, the role gives the city new capabilities to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers. Fabien is an experienced communications professional who is deeply committed to serving New Yorkers and delivering results. He will advance the administration’s vision to make the city fairer, more just, and more equitable. I look forward to working with him on this new endeavor and to now calling him my brother deputy mayor.”

“From day one, Fabien has demonstrated an unmatched work ethic and a profound commitment to the mayor’s ‘Get Stuff Done’ agenda,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres Springer. “As deputy mayor for communications, he will no doubt build on that record and his deep experience working at every level of government to ensure that we bring our agenda directly to the people of New York City, and engage every community in tackling our most urgent challenges.”

“I am so happy and proud to see New York City’s own fiery, formidable flack Fabien move up to the larger and fitting role of running the entire Adams’ administration communications operation,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi “Fabien has a pulse on what New Yorkers need and want to hear. As deputy mayor of communications, he will keep our entire city up to date, and, most importantly, in ways that are both accessible and interesting to all.”   

“I am excited to welcome Fabien Levy to the role of deputy mayor for communications, as he brings a wealth of experience into this leadership position,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Ana Almanzar. “He has been and will continue to be a vital part of our team to bring in new audiences and strengthen the existing connections with all our communities across the New York City.”

“More than a decade ago, Fabien Levy joined my long-shot congressional campaign and helped us win in a district where no one thought it was possible. He went on to serve in my congressional office as he continued his career in public service,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “Fabien is experienced, creative, and calm under pressure. I congratulate him on this new role as deputy mayor for communications and am confident he’ll continue to serve the mayor and the people of New York City with distinction.”

“Fabien Levy is an exceptional public servant who brings passion and integrity to every public office he works in,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “In his new role as deputy mayor for communications, Fabien will continue to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers and ensure that every community is seen and heard. Our city is in good hands with Deputy Mayor Levy carrying out Mayor Adams’ vision every day, and I congratulate him on this exciting and well-deserved appointment.”

Reporting to Deputy Mayor Levy will be City Hall’s communications director, press secretary, director of the office of community and ethnic media, research director, and senior advisor for creative communications. Levy will also work closely with communications and press staff across all of city government.

About Fabien Levy

For the last 19 months, Levy has served as press secretary to Mayor Adams, where he managed the Press Office and response to thousands of press inquiries, as well as helping put together hundreds of mayoral events.

Levy brings two decades of communications experience to the role. He previously worked on numerous presidential, U.S. senate, U.S. House, and mayoral races across the country, as well as in California state government.

In 2011, Levy worked as communications director on a special election in upstate New York, where he helped elect now Governor Kathy Hochul to Congress. After serving for more than a year in her congressional office as communication director, Levy joined the Obama administration as press secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he was part of the rapid response team during the Affordable Care Act’s first open enrollment period.

Immediately preceding his joining the Adams administration as press secretary, Levy served as press secretary and senior advisor to New York Attorney General Letitia James, where he was the office's chief spokesperson and worked with press on a day-to-day basis on a variety of issues, in addition to helping the team map out Attorney General James’ communications vision.

Levy is a native New Yorker, who graduated from Syracuse University with a dual B.A. in Political Science and Broadcast Journalism.

Levy will report directly to Mayor Adams.

“From his time working on my statewide campaign in 2018 and then in the State Treasurer's Office, I personally witnessed Fabien's unmatched belief in the public good and his service in pursuit of that ideal, and am filled with hope that my birthplace has in its leadership a first-rate public servant worthy to address the challenges of one of the world's finest and most dynamic cities,” said former California Treasurer John Chiang. “I could not be more thrilled to see that he will employ his fierce intelligence, indefatigable work ethic, and passionate drive to build a better future for all New Yorkers as deputy mayor for communications.”

“Having had the pleasure of supervising Fabien’s first political role and working with him multiple times over past two decades, I’ve seen firsthand his dedication to public service, strong sense of integrity, and truly extraordinary work ethic,” said former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Communications Julie Wong. “I’ve also seen Fabien grow into a skilled strategist and fierce advocate whose love for New York and its people has always run deep. I have no doubt he will continue to be a tremendous asset to Mayor Adams and the city as deputy mayor for communications.”

“We live in a world where optics, narrative, and communications have disproportionate impact. Creating the position of a deputy mayor for communications and putting Fabien in it is smart and innovative,” said Bradley Tusk, CEO, Tusk Ventures; and former senior advisor to former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

“For too long, Persian-Americans have had far too little representation in our city’s government, but Mayor Adams is showing that inclusivity and skill both matter by appointing Fabien Levy as deputy mayor for communications,” said Alireza Hedayati, president, Iranian American Society of New York, Inc. “Fabien’s appointment today is a reminder that no city embodies the American Dream quite like New York. It is a city where the doors of government are open to every person and where the son of Iranian and Iraqi immigrants can become a deputy mayor. We look forward to working with Fabien and the rest of the Adams administration to build a stronger, fairer city.”

“City government should look like the city it serves, and Fabien Levy’s appointment as the first-ever deputy mayor for communications, and the first-ever deputy mayor of Persian descent, demonstrates, once again, that Mayor Adams is committed to building an administration that is both deeply talented and exceptionally inclusive,” said Kambiz Mofrad, former president and member, Board of Directors, Persian Parade Foundation. “The Persian community is beyond excited to have this type of representation at the highest levels of city government.” 

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