Incoming New York City mayor appoints five women as deputy mayors

New York City’s incoming mayor will appoint five women to top positions in his administration.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams will select the five women — four of whom are women of color — for deputy mayor positions, creating an all-female leadership team in his administration, Adams announced at a news conference on Monday.

Mayor-elect @ericadamsfornyc with 5 of his incoming Deputy Mayors. All women. Details at 4 & 5 on @PIX11News pic.twitter.com/ilGuiPefrp

— Ayana Harry PIX11 (@AyanaHarry) December 20, 2021

“Anyone that knows me, you know I’m a mama’s boy and I was raised by women,” Adams said at the conference, according to the New York Times.

The women he intends to appoint are Lorraine Grillo, Meera Joshi, Maria Torres-Springer, Sheena Wright and Anne Williams-Isom.

Grillo, currently working under Mayor Bill de Blasio as the city’s COVID recovery czar, will serve as the top deputy mayor.

Joshi, who formerly led the Taxi and Limousine Commission and is currently a deputy administrator at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, will be the deputy mayor of operations.

“We must never lose sight of the fact that we are New York City. That means we’re a city of constant improvement in the face of adversity and we’re a model for urban centers around the world,” Joshi said, according to Fox 5 New York. “So I’m committed to working tirelessly to achieve these goals together.”

Williams-Isom, formerly the deputy commissioner of the city’s Administration for Children’s Services, will serve as deputy mayor for health and human services.

Torres-Springer will become the deputy mayor for economic and workforce development. She previously ran the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in the city.

And Wright, the president of the nonprofit organization United Way of New York City, will serve as deputy mayor for strategic initiatives.

Adams also announced the news via Twitter on Monday, writing a quick brief on his mayoral deputies.

“For us to ensure that NYC recovers quickly while addressing the inequalities that plagued us well before COVID-19 struck, we must have top leadership that can both deliver for and is representative of New Yorkers,” he tweeted.

For us to ensure that NYC recovers quickly while addressing the inequalities that plagued us well before COVID-19 struck, we must have top leadership that can both deliver for and is representative of New Yorkers.

I’m proud to introduce 5 history-making Deputy Mayors today.

— Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) December 20, 2021

Adams also announced that he would appoint New York City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez (D) to head the city’s transportation department, per the Times.

This news comes a week after the mayor-elect said he would select Keechant Sewell to be the first-ever female police commissioner of the New York Police Department.