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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline OCTOBER 18, 2024 | The Indian Eye 20

NYC Mayor Adams Appoints Maria

Torres-Springer as First Deputy Mayor

Mayor Thanks First Deputy Mayor Wright for Years of Service Delivering Public Safety, On-Time

Budgets, and Early Childhood Education Wins for New Yorkers

OUR BUREAU
NEW YORK, NY
ew York City Mayor Eric Adams has an-
nounced that Deputy Mayor for Housing,
NEconomic Development, and Workforce
Maria Torres-Springer will be elevated to the posi-
tion of first deputy mayor. Torres-Springer will as-
sume oversight of the first deputy mayor portfolio
and provide strategic direction and operational and
budgetary oversight for the City of New York. She
will continue to manage her housing and economic
development portfolio given its significance to the
administration’s agenda.
Torres-Springer will assume the role, effective
today, following the planned departure of First
Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who played a critical
role in launching and co-chairing the Adams admin-
istration’s successful Gun Violence Prevention Task
Force, helping to stabilize the city’s budget, and re-
imagining the city’s early childhood education system.
Through the first half of the administration’s
first term, Torres-Springer led ambitious and re- covery, efforts to support small businesses with the for Everyone” action plan, and moved transforma-
cord-breaking efforts to accelerate the city’s re- “Small Business Forward” executive order and the tional projects forward in Willets Point and on Gov-
covery from the COVID-19 pandemic and make “New” New York panel’s “Making New York Work ernors Island.
strides against the housing and affordability crisis.
Highlights of this work include regaining the near- Mayor Announces Closure Date of Randall’s Island
ly 1 million jobs the city lost during the course of
the pandemic more than a year ahead of schedule; Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center

launching a blueprint to create accessible career
pathways and a more inclusive economy; driving ew York City Mayor Eric Adams has an- agement strategies and successful advocacy, we
down Black and Latino unemployment by nearly nounced that the Humanitarian Emer- have turned the corner on this crisis,” said Mayor
30 percent; developing the “Get Stuff Built” plan to Ngency Response and Relief Center on Adams. “We’re not scrambling every day to open
accelerate the pace of housing production; driving Randall’s Island will close at the end of February. new shelters — we’re talking about closing them.
back-to-back record-breaking years for producing Thanks to the administration’s successful advoca- We’re not talking about how much we’re spend-
and connecting New Yorkers to new, affordable cy for executive orders at the border — which have ing — we’re talking about how much we’ve saved.
homes; advancing the Public Housing Preservation significantly reduced the rate at which asylum And thanks to today’s announcement, in a few
Trust to unlock billions of dollars for comprehensive seekers are arriving in New York City — and the months, we’ll be talking about how much we’re
renovations for thousands of New York City Hous- administration’s successful asylum seeker man- investing in restoring Randall’s Island’s incred-
ing Authority (NYCHA) residents; and advancing agement strategies — including reticketing, case ible fields and parks for community use. I want
the administration’s historic three “City of Yes” ini- management, and 30- and 60-day notices — the to thank the Randall’s Island Park Alliance and
tiatives to modernize the city’s zoning code to pro- number of asylum seekers in city shelters has de- every New Yorker who has partnered with us to
mote sustainability, support small businesses, and creased for 14 straight weeks and is now at its low- manage this unprecedented influx of asylum seek-
build more housing. est point in over a year. The city has already begun ers and make sure that our newest arrivals have
Maria Torres-Springer is currently the depu-
ty mayor for housing, economic development, and to decrease capacity at Randall’s Island, taking the same opportunity that we all have to pursue
down the largest residential tent structure (which the American Dream.”
workforce, charged with spearheading the admin- held more than 750 cots) and returning one of the Since the first buses of asylum seekers arrived
istration’s efforts to strengthen and diversify its athletic fields to eventual community use follow- in 2022, New York City has continued to focus on
economy, advancing Mayor Adams’ moonshot goal ing restoration. Over the coming months, the city building the structures needed to help migrants
of creating 500,000 new homes for New Yorkers by will continue to gradually reduce the population take their next steps towards self-sufficiency.
2032, preserving and improving NYCHA, bolster- on-site. Following the site’s closure in February, The city’s Asylum Application Help Cen-
ing small business, connecting New Yorkers to fam- the city will invest in restoring the remaining im- ter — a first-in-the-nation entity — has helped
ily-sustaining jobs, and expanding access to arts and pacted athletic fields and parkland. complete more than 72,000 applications for work
culture. As deputy mayor, she has overseen “Re- “We’re not out of the woods yet, but make no authorization, temporary protected status, and
build, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York mistake, thanks in large part to our smart man- asylum.
City’s Economic Recovery,” the city’s strong jobs re-

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