De Blasio Announces Five More Appointments To Administration
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- On the eve of his swearing-in, New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio announced five more high-level administration appointments.
Gilbert Taylor was named the commissioner of homeless services. He is currently a deputy commissioner at the Administration for Children's Services.
Polly Trottenberg was chosen to head the Department of Transportation. She is currently the undersecretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Longtime labor negotiator Bob Linn was named director of labor relations, and Stanley Brezenoff will be an unpaid special adviser to the first deputy mayor specializing in labor contracts.
De Blasio Announces Five More Appointments To Administration
Lastly, Kyle Kimball will continue to serve as the head of the Economic Development Corp.
Linn will inherit one of the toughest jobs in the administration. Every city contract has expired, covering 300,000 workers.
"This may be the hardest assignment that anyone in the history of labor relations in this city has taken on," de Blasio told reporters, including WCBS 880's Peter Haskell.
Linn insists he will not denegrate those employees.
"A respectful dialogue between labor and management is the best approach to solving difficult workforce issues," he said.
De Blasio will be sworn in as mayor twice Wednesday. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will officiate at an "intimate" ceremony at 12:01 a.m. at de Blasio's home in Park Slope. Former President Bill Clinton will then swear in de Blasio at noon in front of City Hall.
De Blasio said Tuesday will accommodate the media at his midnight swearing-in.
De Blasio's team had previously said there would be no media access to the ceremony, with only government-issued live streaming and photos.
After a request from The Associated Press, de Blasio said at a news conference that he was willing to work with the media to give them access. He said the original plan was meant to spare Park Slope neighbors from a media crush.
The AP has a policy against using handout images unless they are of significant news value and shot in areas that the press doesn't expect to have access to.
De Blasio Announces Five More Appointments To Administration
There is a chance for snow Wednesday, but de Blasio said Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty is still on the job, and the public swearing-in ceremony at City Hall won't distract from the city's response.
"If we see a situation that's worsening, we're going to take very agressive actions," de Blasio said. "So it's very much on our screens."
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