Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani made another key appointment to his administration on Monday – Samuel Levine was announced as the commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Levine is a former director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Prior to that he worked for the Illinois attorney general, where he prosecuted predatory for-profit colleges.
The role will include fighting wage theft, combatting employee misclassification, rooting out labor abuse and cracking down on deceptive and predatory corporate practices, according to the administration.
“From the deliveristas and yellow cab drivers who crisscross our streets to the small business owners who bring life to our city, working-class New Yorkers deserve a leader like Sam Levine at the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection — one who will enforce the law, fight for common-sense protections, and take on corporate greed at the highest level,” said Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani says Levine will work in tandem with Julie Su, who was announced as the deputy mayor for economic justice last week.
“It is a great privilege to join Mayor-elect Mamdani’s administration. My life's work has been about ensuring that money and power cannot trample the rights and dignity of working people. I look forward to continuing that fight on behalf of New Yorkers,” said Levine.
Throughout his campaign, Mamdani said he would double the funding that DCWP has. He said he and Levine will be having conversations on specific allocations in the future.