Adams names fi ve women as deputy mayors
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Mayor-elect Eric Adams
on Monday named fi ve new
deputy mayors that he will
appoint to his administration,
all of whom are women
with extensive experience in
government, including three
alumnae of the de Blasio administration.
Adams, currently in his fi -
nal week-and-a-half as Brooklyn
Borough President, presented
his choices at Brooklyn
Borough Hall while surrounded
by several women
who were the fi rst to serve in
key positions in government.
“Representation matters.
Perspective matters. My administration
will understand
the people of the city it serves
— and each of the people I am
appointing today has the experience
and skills to help us
turn this city around the right
way,” Adams said in a statement.
“I am so proud of the history
these new deputy mayors
are making today, and I hope it
sends a message that the most
qualifi ed people should not sit
on the bench when the game
is on the line just because of
their gender, their ethnicity,
or any piece of their identity.”
Deputy mayors are among
the highest-ranking members
of the administration at
City Hall, and often advice the
city’s chief executive on key issues,
oversee the operations of
certain agencies, and fi ll in if
the mayor is ever unavailable.
The position is ill-defi ned
in the City Charter, with the
mayor being provided significant
COURIER LIFE, D 14 ECEMBER 24-30, 2021
leeway in crafting the
scope of the deputy mayor’s
mission.
The top post of First Deputy
Mayor, arguably the mayor’s
most prominent appointment,
will go to Lorraine Grillo,
who has served as head of the
School Construction Authority
since 2010, and was Commissioner
of the Department
of Design and Construction
from 2018 until earlier this
year, when she was appointed
as de Blasio’s COVID recovery
czar.
“I am honored that Mayorelect
Adams has chosen me to
serve in this important role
in his administration,” Grillo
said in a statement. “I look
forward to working alongside
this exceptional team to implement
the Mayor-elect’s vision
to move forward and deliver
a safer, more prosperous
city for New Yorkers.”
Two of the fi ve women will
also become the fi rst deputy
mayors of Asian descent, Adams’
team said.
Meera Joshi, who currently
serves in the federal Department
of Transportation
of President Joe Biden’ administration,
and previously
worked a stint as the city’s
Taxi and Limousine Commissioner,
will become Deputy
Mayor of Operations.
Maria Torres-Springer,
currently at the Ford Foundation
after a long stint in
city government, including
as Commissioner of Housing
Preservation and Development
and Small Business Services,
and as President of the
Economic Development Corporation,
will become Deputy
Mayor for Economic and
Workforce Development.
Anne Williams-Isom will
become Deputy Mayor for
Health and Human Services,
which comes after serving for
13 years at the city’s Administration
for Children’s Services,
and a stint as a tenured
professor of child welfare at
Fordham University.
Sheena Wright, who has a
background as the President
of the nonprofi t United Way
of New York City, which helps
low-income New Yorkers afford
basic necessities, will be
Deputy Mayor for Strategic
Initiatives.
Also on Monday, the New
York Post reported that Adams
intends to nominate
Ydanis Rodriguez, outgoing
City Council Transportation
Chair, and a staunch Adams
ally, to be the new Commissioner
of the Department of
Transportation.
Left to right: Lorraine Grillo, Meera Joshi, Eric Adams, Maria Torres-Springer, Sheena Wright, and Anne Williams-
Isom. Evan Burr/Brooklyn Borough President’s Offi ce
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