Zohran Mamdani announced Kamar Samuels as the next chancellor of New York City’s public schools and simultaneously reversed a campaign promise to end mayoral control. Samuels, an uptown Manhattan superintendent with experience as a principal and district leader, will step into a $40 billion system serving about 900,000 students. The appointment comes as Mamdani seeks to calm concerns over his youth and left‑wing profile by installing an experienced education operative. Samuels’ record includes a contentious Harlem reconfiguration and a districtwide middle‑school integration plan; those decisions underscore the political risks he inherits. The reversal on mayoral control was timed with the chancellor pick and reflects immediate governance tradeoffs: Mamdani campaigned on structural change but moved to secure operational continuity while staffing his transition team. For higher‑education leaders and policy directors, the decision signals how urban education governance can shift abruptly during mayoral transitions, with direct implications for city‑college pipelines, certification partnerships, and workforce planning.