Categories: New York City
01.13.2014
An overview of key figures in the de Blasio administration
(lefto to right) NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Lilliam Barrios-Paoli and First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris.
New York City’s 109th mayor has taken office. Following a campaign in which he regularly cited affordable housing as a key issue facing NYC, Mayor Bill de Blasio has begun the day-to-day work of running America’s largest city. The de Blasio administration continues to take shape as the mayor appoints deputy mayors, commissioners and other key officials. Many of these new appointees will have a direct impact on supportive housing and homelessness.
Key figures in the new administration so far include:
Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. In a symbolic break from her predecessors, Ms. Glen will explicitly include “housing” in her job title. She arrives at city government by way of Goldman Sachs, where she served for 12 years as the Managing Director of the Urban Investment Group, an entity that offers investments and loans in underserved neighborhoods. Prior to that, she served as Assistant Commissioner for Housing Finance at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). She is deeply familiar with supportive housing, having served on the board of CSH.
In her new position, Ms. Glen will oversee all economic development and housing-related city agencies, including HPD, the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC), and the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA). Ms. Glen said in a statement: “We can’t remain the greatest city in the world when half of New Yorkers are living in or near poverty. We can do so much more to lift people up by investing in our neighborhoods, especially in the outer boroughs. Mayor de Blasio and I share the same vision. We believe in tough bargains that get the most out of every dollar we invest. And we believe that, with the right policies, we can raise the floor on workers’ wages, develop and preserve more affordable housing and give families a shot to make it here.”
Ms. Glen also served until recently on the Boards of Directors for Network members BRC and Enterprise Community Partners. Her appointment has been praised by members of the nonprofit and private sectors alike.
“Alicia Glen brings an unparalleled commitment, tenacity and a hefty dose of experience from the public and private sectors to helping the most underserved neighborhoods across New York,” said Terri Ludwig, President and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners.
The Network congratulates Ms. Glen on her appointment and looks forward to working with a Deputy Mayor with such extensive affordable housing expertise.
Dr. Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. Dr. Barrios-Paoli is a city government veteran, having served under Mayors Bloomberg, Giuliani and Koch as Commissioner of the Department of Personnel, HPD, the Human Resources Administration, and most recently as Commissioner of the Department of Aging. She will oversee a number of NYC agencies in her new role, including the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and the Human Resources Administration (HRA).
Dr. Barrios-Paoli’s experience as a social services provider will also help make her a great addition to City Hall. Before her arrival at the Department of Aging, she acted as President and CEO of Safe Space, a Queens-based nonprofit that serves homeless and at-risk children and families. We’re confident that her blend of government and front-line provider experience will make her a compassionate and supremely capable Deputy Mayor.
“The supportive housing community is universally pleased with Mayor de Blasio’s choice of Lilliam Barrios-Paoli for Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services,” said Network Executive Director Ted Houghton. “Ms. Barrios-Paoli has exactly the breadth of knowledge and understanding of the many City agencies so important to reducing poverty and increasing opportunity for poor New Yorkers. We are especially encouraged that in her statement accepting the appointment, Ms. Barrios-Paoli emphasized her commitment to helping homeless New Yorkers with a housing-based solution to homelessness. The Network and its members look forward to working with her in the years to come.”
“They could not have made a better, smarter, stronger choice,” said Michelle Yanche, Assistant Executive Director for Government and External Relations at Good Shepherd Services, regarding Dr. Barrios-Paoli.
Among his Deputy Mayor picks, Mayor de Blasio also selected Anthony Shorris as his First Deputy Mayor. Mr. Shorris is another veteran public servant, serving as Finance Commissioner and Deputy Budget Director for Mayor Koch, Deputy Schools Chancellor for Mayor Bloomberg and Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. We’re confident that Mr. Shorris’ decades of experience will make him an ideal right-hand man to Mayor de Blasio.
Mayor de Blasio has also appointed new commissioners at a number of city agencies. He has tapped Gilbert Taylor to serve as Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services. Mr. Taylor most recently served as Executive Deputy Commissioner at the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). He has served in various positions at ACS since 1996, including Deputy Commissioner of Family Court Legal Services (FCLS). During Mr. Taylor’s tenure, the number of NYC children placed into foster care has declined substantially. Given the startling number of children currently in the homeless shelter system, we’re happy to see an experienced leader in family and youth services take the reins at DHS. The Network looks forward to working with Commissioner Taylor to develop effective housing-based solutions to homelessness.
ACS itself also has a new Commissioner in Gladys Carrión. Ms. Carrión has served in New York State government as Commissioner of the Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS) since 2007, where she has done much to reduce youth incarceration and improve community-based supports for youth. She’d also previously acted under Mayor Dinkins as Commissioner of the NYC Community Development Agency, one of two agencies that merged to form the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD). Bill Chong will now serve as the Commissioner of DYCD, an agency with which he has eight years of experience. Mr. Chong will leave his post as Deputy Commissioner for Program Operation at the NYC Department of Aging to begin his tenure as DYCD Commissioner. Mr. Chong partnered with NYCHA and other City agencies during his years at DYCD to fund more than 500 programs that help disadvantaged youth.
Lastly, Mayor de Blasio has named several high-level members of his cabinet. His picks include Dean Fuleihan as Budget Director, Laura Santucci as his Chief of Staff, Dominic Williams as Chief of Staff to the First Deputy Mayor and Emma Wolfe as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Mr. Fuleihan has more than 30 years of budget and policy experience, having served under the Speaker of the NYS Assembly, Assembly leadership and the Majority Conference in New York State government. He has been an essential partner to New York’s nonprofits in preserving the social safety net. Ms. Santucci, the Executive Director of de Blasio’s transition team, has also held positions with the Obama administration and the Democratic National Committee. Both Dom Williams and Emma Wolfe were major forces in Mayor de Blasio’s progressive campaign, and are expected to play outsized roles in the new administration.
We congratulate these new members of the de Blasio administration. We’re very excited to work with them all in the years ahead in our efforts to preserve and expand supportive housing in New York City.