Mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani named Kamar Samuels, an uptown Manhattan superintendent, to lead New York City’s public schools while backing off a campaign pledge to immediately end mayoral control. Mamdani’s turnaround came as he navigates a precarious governance moment—Samules will take over a $40‑plus billion system serving about 900,000 students amid federal scrutiny and an incoming state mandate to reduce class sizes. Samuels, known for districtwide middle‑school integration work and contentious Harlem reconfigurations, steps in as the third chancellor in two years. The appointment aims to stabilize central management as Mamdani assembles deputies for child care, operations and climate policy, and as Albany and Washington continue to press districts on funding, program eligibility and governance. The move highlights immediate operational challenges—hiring, bargaining and program continuity—facing New York’s public higher‑education partners and training pipelines.