Two more de Blasio appointments: Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, Chief of Staff

Glen is former Goldman Sachs exec

December 23, 2013 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio on Monday appointed Alicia Glen as his new Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. Glen is currently head of the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs, which provides capital to underserved urban communities.

In addition, de Blasio named Laura Santucci, currently the Executive Director of his Transition, to serve as his Chief of Staff.

De Blasio said in a release that Glen will lead his administration’s efforts to “invest in emerging industries across the five boroughs, re-target unsuccessful corporate subsidies, build a new generation of affordable housing, and help New Yorkers secure good-paying jobs that can support a family.”

In announcing Glen, de Blasio reiterated his commitment to pass stronger living wage requirements tied to city subsidies and said he would use “strategic investments to foster economic growth across the five boroughs.”

De Blasio strongly backed the plan to create a new Film, Post-Production and Animation School at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which includes a $6.7 million investment by the city. While the development of a Graduate School of Cinema in partnership with Brooklyn College at the Navy Yard is already in the works, de Blasio supports an expansion of the CUNY school to include a wider range of degrees at the associate and bachelor’s level. This school currently aims to enroll up to 400 students.

He also said he would launch economic development hubs in at least a dozen immigrant and low-income neighborhoods.

De Blasio also charged Glen with coordinating his administration’s efforts to build and maintain 200,000 units of affordable housing, and turn around the troubled Housing Authority.

“The days of spending taxpayer dollars to fuel poverty-wage jobs are over. We’re going to demand living-wage jobs in exchange for public investment. We need to invest in key emerging industries and affordable housing so New Yorkers have a better shot at working their way into the middle class. Alicia has the record, fresh ideas and bold outlook to make that vision a reality,” de Blasio said.

Glen said, “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-Elect 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.”

Glen said de Blasio’s plan to provide universal pre-kindergarten and expanded after-school programs through a small tax increase on New Yorkers earning more than $500,000 was a “solid investment” in strengthening the city’s workforce development.

“Paying a marginal increase in taxes pales by comparison with the economic benefits we’ll see in the long-term,” she said.

Christie Peale, Executive Director of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, said in a statement, “Glen has cultivated public-private partnerships to promote and protect affordable and sustainable home ownership in every borough, demonstrating the strength of her commitment to work on behalf of all New Yorkers.”

In appointing Laura Santucci as his new Chief of Staff, Mayor-Elect de Blasio said he was building an effective administration ready to deliver for New Yorkers on day one.

“It’s an honor to serve our new mayor and the city I love. Voters sent Mayor-Elect de Blasio to City Hall to do big, bold things, and that’s precisely what we’ll be prepared to do come January 1st. We are going to put city government to work for everyday New Yorkers,” said Santucci.