New Leadership at New York Department of City Planning

With a new mayoral administration comes new planning leadership in the Big Apple.

1 minute read

January 20, 2022, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


New York City Politicians wears a mask at a New York subway station during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Eric Adams at a campaign stop in May 2021. | lev radin / Shutterstock

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday announced two appointments to lead the Department of City Planning: Dan Garodnick as chair of the City Planning Commission (CPC) and director of the Department of City Planning (DCP) and Edith Hsu-Chen as the executive director of DCP.

Garodnick, a former city councilmember and, most recently, president and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, takes over a job previously filled by Marissa Lago, who moved on to the Biden administration in September 2021.

Hsu-Chen, who has served as the DCP's Manhattan director since 2008 and has worked for the department since 1997, will oversee DCP staff and day-to-day operations.

An article by Kathryn Brenzel for The Real Deal provides more details about the appointments.

As reported in an article by Sally Goldenberg and Joe Anuta for Politico, the vetting process for the Adams administration's early appointments have been far from smooth. While less controversial than some of the new mayor's other appointments, the announcement of Garodnick and Hsu-Chen's new roles was marred by a mistake in the initial press release that named Hsu-Chen as the new director of City Planning.

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