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De Blasio names Torres-Springer as DDC commissioner

Was Brooklyn Bridge Park project director, served on Fifth Ave. Committee board

March 25, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff
New DDC Commissioner Jamie Torres-Springer. Photo courtesy of DDC
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Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday named Jamie Torres-Springer as commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction (DDC). Torres-Springer had previously been first deputy commissioner of the agency serving under Lorraine Grillo, who left the post earlier this month to become the city’s senior advisor for recovery.

In Brooklyn-related design and construction work, Torres-Springer served as project director for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation during its capital planning and approvals phase. He also is a past board chair of Fifth Avenue Committee, a community development corporation that builds and preserves affordable housing in Red Hook, Sunset Park, Gowanus, Prospect Heights, Carroll Gardens and nearby areas.

Furthermore, as lead consultant for the preparation of OneNYC: A Strong and Just New York, Mayor de Blasio’s long-term plan, he has helped the city to plan for and invest in infrastructure for Coney Island, Gowanus Red Hook, Sunset Park and Governors Island; as well as other areas around the city such as Lower Manhattan, Far Rockaway and Hunts Point.

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“The Department of Design and Construction has been an unsung hero throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – building safe facilities at a breakneck pace to help our city fight this disease in every community. Jamie Torres-Springer has been at the heart of that work, and he is the perfect leader to bring this agency into the next phase of our fight,” said Mayor de Blasio.

“I’m very honored by Mayor de Blasio’s decision and I intend to keep pushing changes at DDC and in the overall capital construction process so that we can build faster and more efficiently for the people of New York City,” said Commissioner Torres-Springer. “I am grateful to have served with Lorraine Grillo at DDC as she led the charge for reform.”

As DDC’s first deputy commissioner, Torres-Springer played a key role in developing the agency’s Strategic Blueprint for Construction Excellence, a comprehensive plan to streamline capital project delivery. Introduced in January 2019, by the time the pandemic began in early 2020 the Blueprint had already taken six months off typical capital project timelines. Once fully implemented, the plan’s reforms are projected to shave an additional three years off the time it takes to design and build major capital projects.

Torres-Springer has also had a leading role in several programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to oversee DDC’s construction of field hospitals, stationary and mobile testing sites, vaccination centers and other facilities. He helped to build and manage the city’s critical medical personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpile, which can supply local hospitals and community clinics for 90 days if needed. He also is directing the siting of vaccination centers throughout the five boroughs.

In the private sector, he served as a partner at HR&A Advisors, a real estate and economic development consulting firm headquartered in New York, from 2006-2018. His national practice included work on urban infrastructure, global resilience planning; open space projects; and citywide strategic plans for inclusive growth and sustainability.

Torres-Springer is an accredited member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and adjunct associate professor of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University.

“The New York Building Congress congratulates Jamie Torres-Springer on his appointment as Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction,” said Carlo Scissura, president and CEO, New York Building Congress. “Jamie has advanced successful planning and development efforts in the public, private and non-profit sectors and has proven to be a dedicated leader, contributing to the City’s COVID-19 response efforts.”

“Jamie Torres-Springer is an experienced and talented leader,” said Karen Sheehan, CFO and executive vice president for finance and administration at the Brooklyn Public Library. “We extend our congratulations to him on this new appointment and look forward to working together on an ambitious library capital program throughout the borough.”


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2 Comments

  1. Pat

    Congratulations on the appointment of a man who pushes 20th century Robert Moses-style solutions to 21st century climate change problems.

    Jamie Torres-Springer has led the East Side Coastal Resiliency project that will destroy East River Park on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Under his leadership the project doubled in cost–to $1.45 billion–and will result in a giant levee with a new park on top, a project that will be an environmental catastrophe and injustice for a low-and-middle income densely populated neighborhood.

    The bids are in for the demolition, and they exceed the budget by $73 million–and that doesn’t include the whole project. Who’s gonna pay? Developers who will swoop in and promise to finish the park if they can have chunk for luxury high rises?

    NYC tremble in your boots.

    March 25, 2021 at 11:13 pm
    Reply
  2. Lucy

    HR&A revolving door continues, be it Springer Torres or Torres Springer or Carl Weisbrod.
    And ex-Goldman Sachs executive, Alicia Glen again wreaks havoc on our parks now with Governors Island development using the same play book she used with Brooklyn Bridge Park.

    March 26, 2021 at 5:45 pm
    Reply