NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Former New York City mayoral candidate and onetime Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia will serve as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s director of state operations, the lawmaker announced Wednesday.
Neysa Alsina, meanwhile, who previously served as chief counsel to New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, will become Hochul’s special advisor on pandemic relief, the governor said.
"When I was officially sworn in last week, I outlined my top priorities to combat the delta variant, get aid out the door to New Yorkers as quickly as possible, and to change the culture in Albany," Hochul said in a statement. "Kathryn Garcia and Neysa Alsina are tremendously accomplished and dedicated public servants.”
“They know how to run effective and professional operations, and they will be instrumental in making our state government work better for New Yorkers and restoring trust in government,” she added.
Shortly after Hochul made her announcement, Garcia tweeted that she was "excited and honored to work for the people [of] New York as Director of State Operations."
"I've spent my career serving New Yorkers, and I want to thank Gov. Kathy Hochul for the opportunity to continue that service," she wrote.
Garcia who was head of New York City’s sanitation department from 2014 to 2020, lost the Democratic mayoral nomination to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams earlier this summer.
After former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in August, Garcia voiced her support for Hochul — who was lieutenant governor at the time — on Twitter.
"Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will break the glass ceiling by becoming New York's first female governor," Garcia tweeted. "A historic moment for our state and for all the women and girls who will see themselves represented at the highest level for the first time."
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