Kathryn Garcia

Kathryn Garcia (born March 3, 1970) is an American government official who served as the 43rd Commissioner of the New York City Sanitation Department from 2014 to 2020.[1] She was previously the chief operating officer of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. She was also the interim chair and chief executive officer of the New York City Housing Authority. Garcia is a candidate in the 2021 New York City mayoral election.

Kathryn Garcia
Garcia at a 2017 press conference on the Upper East Side
43rd Commissioner of the New York City Sanitation Department
In office
2014–2020
MayorBill de Blasio
Personal details
Born (1970-03-03) March 3, 1970
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison (BA)

Early life and education

Garcia was born Kathryn Ann McIver in Brooklyn, New York, the adopted daughter of Bruce and Ann McIver.[1][2] She attended P.S. 321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, middle school M.S. 88 in Brooklyn, and Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan.[1][3][4] Garcia earned a bachelor of science degree in economics and history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1992.[1]

Career

Garcia joined the New York City Department of Environmental Protection in 2006, and was its chief operating officer from 2012 to 2014 (after four years as its assistant commissioner and deputy commissioner); she handled the city’s water supply, sewage system, and wastewater treatment plants.[2][5] She was given credit for increasing the speed of its response to complaints and street repair requests.[6]

She was the 43rd commissioner of the New York City Sanitation Department, which is the largest sanitation department in the world, from 2014 to 2020.[2][7][8][9] As of 2015, the department had more than 9,700 employees, handled more than 3.2 million tons of refuse every year, and recycled more than 600,000 tons of waste material annually.[2] Garcia was also the interim chair and chief executive officer of the New York City Housing Authority for part of 2019, as part of an emergency effort to fix lead paint problems.[10][11] She resigned in September 2020 to consider running for mayor of New York City, and criticized what she termed the "unconscionable" $100 million budget cuts of Mayor Bill de Blasio in her resignation letter.[12][13][14][15][16] Those budget cuts, among other things, forced a 60% reduction in pickups from public trash baskets.[17][18]

Garcia launched a campaign for mayor of New York City in the 2021 New York City mayoral election in December 2020, after filing in September 2020 to run in the 2021 Democratic primary.[9][19] Among her proposals are a city residency requirement for new New York Police Department officers to improve community relations, raising the age of officer recruitment from 21 to 25 to attract more mature police, expanding the bus and bike lanes, and turning Rikers Island into a composting and renewable energy zone.[4][20][21]

Personal life

Garcia lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where she was raised, two blocks from her mother.[5][19][22] She has two children.[4]

Footnotes
  1. John, Caroline (September 9, 2020). "NYC Sanitation Chief, Kathryn Garcia Steps Down, Considers Running for Mayor".
  2. "Kathryn Garcia, Commissioner, New York City Sanitation; The world's largest cleaning department demands military precision". The Financial Times. September 9, 2015.
  3. Robbins, Liz (January 9, 2015). "A Day of Calm for Kathryn Garcia". The New York Times.
  4. "Kathryn Garcia knows NYC...and how to fix it". Amsterdam News.
  5. "NYC's New Food Czar on Trying to Keep People Fed in a Pandemic Hot Spot". Food & Wine.
  6. Hicks, Nolan; Marsh, Julia (September 8, 2020). "NYC sanitation commissioner blasts de Blasio in resignation letter, eyes mayoral run". The New York Post.
  7. Lestch, Corinne (March 15, 2014). "New Sanitation Department boss Kathryn Garcia: I 'love' garbage". The New York Daily News.
  8. Garcia, Kristine (September 8, 2020). "NYC Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia resigns". WPIX.
  9. Marsh, Julia; Hicks, Nolan (August 19, 2020). "Sanitation boss Kathryn Garcia considers NYC mayoral run as trash piles up". The New York Post.
  10. Honan, Katie (October 17, 2018). "NYC Sanitation Commissioner to Tackle Lead Exposure". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. Spivack, Caroline (January 4, 2021). "Here's Everyone Running for New York City Mayor (So Far)". Curbed.
  12. Durkin, Erin; Gronewold, Anna; Bocanegra, Michelle (August 19, 2020). "Kathryn Garcia's trash trouble". Politico.
  13. Troutman, Matt (September 8, 2020). "NYC Sanitation Commissioner Resigns Ahead Of Likely Mayoral Run". www.msn.com.
  14. Rubinstein, Dana (September 8, 2020). "Kathryn Garcia, N.Y.C.'s sanitation commissioner, resigns to mull a run for mayor". The New York Times.
  15. Gartland, Michael (September 8, 2020). "NYC sanitation chief steps down as she mulls mayoral bid". The New York Daily News.
  16. "NYC Sanitation Commissioner Resigns Ahead Of Likely Mayoral Run". New York City, NY Patch. September 8, 2020.
  17. "Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia resigns as she mulls mayoral run". Fox 5 NY. September 8, 2020.
  18. "Sanitation chief resigns as she mulls mayoral run". Crain's New York Business. September 8, 2020.
  19. Coltin, Jeff (December 31, 2020). "The major 2021 mayoral contenders". City & State NY.
  20. Durkin, Erin; Gronewold, Anna; Custodio, Jonathan (December 10, 2020). "Kathryn Garcia launches mayoral run". Politico.
  21. Campanile, Carl; Hicks, Nolan (December 11, 2020). "Former de Blasio aide Kathryn Garcia makes her case for NYC mayor". The New York Post.
  22. "The Major Contenders". City & State New York. November 2, 2020.
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