SHAKEUP WAKEUP

Blaz staff moves are dizzying

MAYOR DE BLASIO is dancing the second-term shuffle.

Hizzoner announced a dizzying array of personnel changes Thursday morning — headlined by the departure of two of his top officials, First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris and Richard Buery, the deputy mayor for strategic policy initiatives.

“They’ve surpassed my expectations for them, achieved in many ways more than I could have imagined,” de Blasio said.

Shorris, a longtime bureaucrat who held the top post in de Blasio’s cabinet in the first term, will be replaced by Budget Director Dean Fuleihan; he, in turn, will be replaced by Melanie Hartzog, a deputy director who will become the first African-American person to lead the city Office of Management and Budget.

A replacement for Buery, who was tasked with implementing the mayor’s plan for universal prekindergarten, has not yet been named. But the city will add a fifth deputy mayor position — elevating one of Shorris’ top deputies, Chief Administrative Officer Laura Anglin, to the new job of deputy mayor for operations.

De Blasio (photo) did not outline what Anglin’s portfolio will include, but she will likely have some of the responsibilities that have been under Shorris’ umbrella. Some observers — including City Council members who held oversight hearings about his role in the controversial lifting of a deed restriction on a nursing home that paved the way for it to be flipped into condos — questioned whether Shorris had too much on his plate.

“I think, with all due respect to City Council hearings, that’s not where we get our insights in how to manage,” de Blasio said.

A new deputy mayor will add another person to de Blasio’s roster of those who can serve as acting mayor when he’s out of town — though that will fall primarily to Fuleihan, as it did with Shorris in the past. The mayor is planning a jaunt to Iowa this month and intends to travel more in his next term, aides have said.

De Blasio will also elevate Emma Wolfe — one of his closest and longest-serving aides — to the position of chief of staff. She previously worked in intergovernmental affairs — where she was involved in de Blasio’s ill-fated attempt to flip the state Senate, an effort that garnered attention from investigators.

The moves come with hefty raises. Fuleihan’s salary will jump from $226,366 to $271,136. Anglin, who currently makes $218,000, will be paid $234,569. Wolfe will get a hike from $220,652 to $227,000 and Hartzog, from $207,518 to $226,366 as budget director.