Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Environmental Protection Boss to Take Over Department of Sanitation

 Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Kathryn Garcia, the COO of the city's Department of Environmental Protection, to take over for out-going sanitation department commissioner John Doherty on March 15, 2014.
Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Kathryn Garcia, the COO of the city's Department of Environmental Protection, to take over for out-going sanitation department commissioner John Doherty on March 15, 2014.
View Full Caption
Courtesy of the Mayor's Office

CIVIC CENTER — Mayor Bill de Blasio has tapped the head of the city's Department of Environmental Protection to take over from long-serving sanitation commissioner John Doherty, who tendered his resignation last Friday.

Kathryn Garcia, the Chief Operating Officer of the city’s DEP, was tapped by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Saturday to take over when Doherty steps down at the end of the month.

“New York’s Strongest deserve the best. This is some of the toughest, most demanding work in our city — and Kathryn has what it takes to do this department and our city proud,” de Blasio said in a statement announcing the appointment.

“From plowing streets to daily collections, our sanitation department will continue to deliver the services New Yorkers expect and deserve — even as we cut down on waste and make ours a greener, more efficient city.”

Garcia, who worked as an intern for the sanitation department when she was 22, said in a statement that she was “committed to strengthening and expanding DSNY’s programs to deliver these critical services to every resident and business, in every neighborhood.”

“We’ll do it consistently, effectively and equitably and we will seek out every opportunity to do it better and more sustainably,” she said.

Doherty leaves the department after a winter of record snowfall, during which the new administration faced some of its biggest initial challenges — and criticism — for its handling of snow removal.

Doherty is set to depart the agency on March 28. Garcia will begin on April 1.