Mayor Bill de Blasio tapped veteran real estate executive Carl Weisbrod to take the reins of the City Planning Commission, appointing him chairman today.
Weisbrod, long rumored to be the frontrunner for de Blasio’s CPC spot, will fill the shoes Amanda Burden vacates as head of the agency. He previously led the mayor’s transition team, along with the CEO of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Jennifer Jones Austin.
Weisbrod began his career as an anti-poverty lawyer, suing the city on behalf of squatters and families in welfare hotels. He was later recruited to the John Lindsay administration, then headed up Mayor Ed Koch’s Midtown Enforcement Project and the New York City Economic Development Corporation under Mayor David Dinkins. He also worked with Mayor Rudy Giuliani to refresh a Financial District then in decline. Most recently, he headed up Trinity Church’s real estate division for five years, departing in 2010.
“Carl is a quintessential New Yorker,” Mayor de Blasio said in a press release announcing the appointment. “He brings a real passion for our neighborhoods and our diversity across the five boroughs. And he also understands exactly how the city can shape development to stoke the most growth, the strongest affordability, and the best jobs for New Yorkers.” [Politicker] — Julie Strickland