By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
BATTERY PARK CITY — The Battery Park City Authority named a new president this week: Gayle Horwitz, a relative newcomer to the neighborhood with experience managing budgets and investments.
Horwitz, 46, an Upper East Side resident, joined the authority in June as chief operating officer and rose to acting president earlier this fall when former president Jim Cavanaugh stepped down.
She has the strong backing of BPCA Chairman Bill Thompson, who has known her for years. Horwitz served as first deputy comptroller when Thompson was city comptroller, and she managed the city pension portfolio, worth more than $100 billion.
Horwitz takes the helm at a time when Battery Park City is going through big changes. The 92-acre neighborhood is nearly complete, and the Authority’s role will soon switch from developer to property manager.
"This is a unique moment in Battery Park City history and I am proud to be a part of it," Horwitz said in a statement.
The two big projects Horwitz inherited are the redevelopment of Pier A and the construction of a community center next to the Battery Park City ballfields. Once those are complete, the authority will likely slim its staff, Horwitz said.
"As we close one chapter and open a new one, there will be change in the air," Horwitz said in a phone interview Thursday.
She also hopes to develop a strong relationship with the community and to keep the neighborhood affordable by reaching an agreement with residents about the ground rents they pay.
Horwitz said her favorite place in Battery Park City is the new community garden in West Thames Park, which just opened earlier this year. Horwitz, who has two sons, said she loves watching children explore the garden, inhaling the scent of fresh flowers and vetetables.
Horwitz previously worked for the city Board of Education and the city’s Department of General Services. She received her master’s from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
