Scott Stringer, Manhattan’s new borough president, is ready to rumble with a full roster of senior staff. Rosemonde Pierre-Louis has been named deputy borough president, the first Haitian-American to serve in this capacity. The former director of general litigation at Harlem Legal Services, Pierre-Louis has advocated on behalf of victims of domestic violence for 15 years. Stringer’s general counsel, Jimmy Yan, was previously general counsel to the Mayor’s Office on Immigrant Affairs. Joshua Bocian, most recently the deputy chief of staff for Councilmember Gale Brewer, is now Stringer’s director of community affairs. Director of External Affairs Marc Lapidus was previously the executive director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, which campaigns to balance the budget while also protecting social services for the state’s vulnerable populations. A couple of staffers from Stringer’s past life in the New York State Assembly have also joined the team. Alaina Colon, now chief of staff, was Stringer’s policy and communications director for 3 years. Budget Director Susannah Vickers was chief of staff in the Assembly. Eric Pugatch is the new director of communications, after a stint at Dan Klores Communications, a public relations firm.
The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) welcomes David Pechefsky as assistant commissioner for the Division of Anti-Abandonment. In addition to his work with the City Council, where he was assistant director of the finance division, Pechefsky previously worked as a funding coordinator at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He replaces Michael Bosnick, now deputy commissioner of the Division of Policy and Planning at the Administration for Children’s Services.
Curtis Archer has left his position as head of Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation. He’s now serving as the president of the Harlem Community Development Corporation, a New York State agency devoted to boosting Harlem’s economic and cultural assets. Rockaway Development Corporation’s deputy executive director, Victoria Gordon, is stepping up to bat while the group searches for a new director.
Greg Brooks, a New York City deputy comptroller since 2002, is also heading uptown. He’s been hired as the 92nd Street Y’s associate executive director for finance and administration. February 16 will be his last day on the public payroll after almost twenty-five years. Brooks’ tenure in government began in 1981, when he was hired as assistant director of the Comptroller’s Bureau of Management and Accounting Systems. Since then, he’s held a variety of positions, including a seven-year stint in the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, from 1994-2001, where his final role was chief of staff. Brooks is also an adjunct professor at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Administration at New York University.
The New York Women’s Foundation, a nonprofit that funds projects for women and girls in underserved communities, has named a new president and CEO. Ana Oliveira, formerly executive director of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, will assume her new responsibilities on February 20. Ms. Oliveira, who was profiled in Newsweek last year, has dedicated more than 20 years to addressing economic and social inequality.
