Mamdani Appoints NYC’s First Openly Gay Fire Commissioner

December 25, 2025 Dan Tracer

Lillian Bonsignore is a veteran first responder with experience on 9/11 and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Featured image via the City of New York

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that Lillian Bonsignore will serve as New York City’s next fire commissioner, placing a longtime FDNY veteran in charge of the nation’s largest fire department. Bonsignore, who spent more than three decades in the department before retiring in 2022, will become the first openly gay person and the second woman to hold the post when Mamdani is sworn in on January 1.

Mamdani made the announcement at a press conference in Queens, describing the appointment as a return to experienced, uniformed leadership. “[The FDNY] deserves a leader who cares about their work, because she did it herself,” he said. “She is the kind of leader I’m so proud to have in my administration.”

Bonsignore joined the Fire Department in 1991 as an emergency medical technician and served for 31 years. In 2019, she was named chief of the FDNY’s Emergency Medical Services division, becoming the first woman to head EMS and the first uniformed woman in department history to reach a four star chief rank. That role also made her the first openly gay person to lead the division.

Her career includes some of the most consequential moments in the city’s recent history. She was a first responder during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and later led EMS operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, when emergency medical workers were stretched to their limits. Ahead of the formal announcement, Mamdani pointed to that period as emblematic of her leadership. “Bonsignore’s calm, decisive leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic — when EMS professionals were more vital than ever — is exactly the kind of leadership our city needs in moments of uncertainty,” he said in a statement.

At the press conference, Bonsignore emphasized operational priorities rather than symbolism. “My goal is to ensure that every member of [the FDNY] has the resources and environment they need to perform their role safely and effectively,” she said.

The historic nature of her appointment has followed her before. When she was promoted to chief of EMS in 2019, Bonsignore told the New York Daily News, “It’s kind of odd that the thing I get celebrated for the most — people are always like, ‘Wow, you’re a woman and you’re gay’ — are the two things I put the least work into.”

Bonsignore, 56, was born and raised in the Bronx and is a wife and mother. As commissioner, she will oversee approximately 11,000 firefighters, 4,500 EMTs, and more than 2,000 civilian employees. Her appointment also comes as Jessica Tisch is expected to remain in her role when Mamdani is sworn in, marking the first time women will simultaneously lead both the city’s fire and police departments.