New York City Comptroller-Elect Brad Lander.
Lander names executive leadership
team at incoming Comptroller Office
Caribbean Life, D 24 ecember 10-16, 2021
By Michelle L. Price and Michael
R. Sisak
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — New York
City’s troubled jail system is facing
more turmoil: the suspension of hundreds
of corrections officers for failing
to meet a Tuesday night deadline
to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The city’s Department of Correction
reported 77 percent of its uniformed
staff had gotten at least one
vaccine dose as of 5 pm Monday.
Corrections Department Commissioner
Vincent Schiraldi said
Wednesday morning that about 700
jail workers who’ve applied for religious
or medical exemptions can
continue to work while their cases
are reviewed.
City Hall officials said Wednesday
afternoon that 570 workers could be
put on leave without pay for failing to
comply with the mandate, but they
would not know the precise number
until those corrections officers show
up for scheduled shifts and do not
show proof of vaccination.
The deadline for jail workers to
be vaccinated was delayed a month
because of existing staffing shortages.
Workers who haven’t applied for
an exemption and who failed to show
proof of vaccination by 5 pm Tuesday
were to be placed on unpaid leave and
surrender any city-issued firearms
and protective gear, officials said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who already
imposed similar mandates for other
city workers, said he expects the vaccination
rate to rise as workers begin
missing paychecks or their requests
for an exemption are denied.
“I expect those numbers to up in
a very substantial way in the days
ahead,” de Blasio told reporters at a
virtual news conference Wednesday.
In anticipation of the impending
mandate, de Blasio on Monday
issued an emergency executive order
designed to beef up jail staffing by
authorizing a switch to 12-hour shifts
from the normal eight-hour tours.
The president of the union for jail
guards balked at that move saying it
was “reckless and misguided.” The
union said it would sue to block the
mandate — the same tactic a police
union tried in late October as the
vaccine requirement for its officers
neared. The police union lost and the
mandate went into effect as scheduled.
By Stephen Witt
New York City Comptroller-Elect
Brad Lander announced on Dec. 6 the
appointment of his executive leadership
team including two deputy comptrollers,
his general counsel and his chief
of staff.
The four appointees, who will assume
their duties on January 1, 2022, will help
lead the work of the comptroller’s office
to fulfil its charter-mandated responsibilities
as the City’s budget watchdog,
long-term fiduciary, and chief accountability
officer.
“This is a first-rate team of talented
progressive leaders who know New York
City’s budget and operations inside-andout.
They are committed to building
a city that uplifts and serves all its
residents, and a city government that
delivers on its promises. This team will
be a strong asset to NYC as we work
towards a just recovery that secures our
city’s financial well-being, better shares
economic opportunity in all our neighborhoods,
and keeps a sharp eye on our
collective future,” said Lander.
The executive leadership team includes
Sandra Abeles and Francesco Brindisi as
executive deputy comptrollers; Justina
K. Rivera as general counsel; and Rachel
Goodman as chief of staff.
Abeles’ role is to lead the comptroller’s
office work to improve the operations
of city government through oversight,
transparency, and accountability. She
will oversee the Bureaus of Audits and
Investigations, Contracts and Procurement,
and Administration, and serve
as the First Deputy to the Comptroller.
Abeles currently serves as First Deputy
Commissioner of the New York City
Department of Consumer and Worker
Protection.
Prior to her work at DCWP, Abeles
served as the Assistant Deputy Commissioner
for Worker Protection at the New
York State Department of Labor, and
prior to that as an Assistant Attorney
General in the New York State Attorney
General’s office where she enforced labor
standards and combatted immigration
services fraud. Abeles is a graduate of
New York University School of Law, and
holds a Masters in Social Work from
Columbia University.
Brindisi will advise the comptroller’s
work as budget watchdog, economic
forecaster, and public financier. He will
oversee the Bureaus of Accountancy,
Budget, and Public Finance. Dr. Brindisi
currently serves as Senior Deputy Director
for Revenues, Economics, and Policy
at the Mayor’s Office of Management
and Budget, where he oversees City revenues,
economic analysis, and policy
design and evaluation.
Previously, Dr. Brindisi was the Chief
Economist at the NYC Economic Development
Corporation. Dr. Brindisi is an
Adjunct Associate Professor of International
and Public Affairs at Columbia
University, where he teaches classes
in urban and public economics, political
economy, and macroeconomics. Dr.
Brindisi holds a Ph.D. in economics
from Columbia University and a laurea
summa cum laude from the University
of Rome “Tor Vergata.”
Rivera will oversee all legal issues
that come before the office and affect its
operations to safeguard the fiscal health
of the City, and the assets of the City’s
five public pension systems. Rivera currently
serves as Acting General Counsel
and Deputy Comptroller for Legal
Affairs at the Office of the New York
City Comptroller, where she oversees the
Comptroller’s Bureau of Law & Adjustment,
the Bureau of Engineering, and
the Bureau of Labor Law.
Rivera previously held the position of
senior associate at Harris Beach LLC,
and prior to that as Assistant Borough
Chief, Senior Counsel, and trial attorney
at the NYC Law Department. Justina
is a graduate of Fordham University
School of Law, where she is also a former
Adjunct Professor, and holds a Bachelor’s
degree, summa cum laude, from St.
Francis College. Justina currently serves
as the Vice President of Membership of
the Metropolitan Black Bar Association
and is a member of the Dominican Bar
Association, the Hispanic National Bar
Association, the NYC City Bar Association,
and the Association of Black
Women Attorneys.
Goodman will manage the day-today
functions and responsibilities of
the Comptroller’s Office, overseeing the
Bureaus of Public Affairs, Policy, and
Communications. Goodman has served
as Chief of Staff to Brad Lander throughout
his three terms in the City Council
and served as Senior Adviser to his campaign
for Comptroller. A graduate of New
York University, Goodman will provide
senior policy and administrative support
to the Comptroller.
While Lander is staffing up, Mayorelect
Eric Adams has named a transition
team but has yet to announce any
administration appointments. At a press
conference on Nov. 29, he told PoliticsNY
he was taking a trip to Africa and
is expected to make back-to-back-toback
announcements of administration
appointments upon his return.
Hundreds of
NYC jailers face
suspension
over vaccine
mandate