Mayor-elect Adams appoints five women to top posts

Eric Adams builds his team

New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams is appointing five women to serve as deputy mayors in his administration.

NEW YORK - New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced new appointments to his administration on Monday as he prepares to take office in less than two weeks.

Adams appointed five new deputy mayors — all of them women. According to Adams' team, this is the first time in the city's history that two deputy mayors of Asian descent have filled these roles.

Lorraine Grillo will be first deputy mayor. She was recently appointed as the city's COVID recovery czar.

"I'm thrilled to be working alongside of these exceptional women who are sitting here today," Grillo said at an event on Monday. "Each and every one of them are incredibly gifted and smart and dynamic."

Adams also appointed Meera Joshi as deputy mayor for operations. Joshi is currently the deputy administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

"We must never lose sight of the fact that we are New York City," Joshi said. "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. So I'm committed to working tirelessly to achieve these goals together."

Maria Torres-Springer was appointed as deputy mayor for economic and workforce development. Torres-Springer is the vice president for U.S. programs at the Ford Foundation.

"We have the opportunity to truly accelerate this recovery," Torres-Springer said. "And we'll do that by jump starting small businesses, connecting New Yorkers to family sustaining jobs and by ensuring that our diverse neighborhoods are indeed flourishing."

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Anne Williams-Isom was appointed as deputy mayor for health and human services. Williams-Isom is the James R. Dumpson chair of child welfare studies at Fordham University's Graduate School of Social Services.

"I believe that every New Yorker should have the support that they need," Williams-Isom said. "They should be able to have access easily and those services should be high quality and excellent."

And Sheena Wright was appointed as deputy mayor for strategic initiatives. Wright is the first female president and CEO of United Way of New York City.

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together," Wright said. "And I have to tell you that I am so excited by how far we can go in the city."

The transition team also confirmed that Adams will be tapping City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez to be the next transportation commissioner.

While looking to the future, Adams also promised during his press conference to not rush into another city-wide shutdown even if COVID cases continue to increase.

"We have to really understand that COVID is part of our new norm and we can't close down the city every time a new variant comes up," Adams explained. "So we need to have the proper balance, vaccinations and booster shots."