New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the appointment of Jessica Tisch as commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY).
The appointment follows the retirement earlier this month of Commissioner Ed Grayson, who worked for the Sanitation Dept. for 23 years.
Tisch brings more than a decade of experience transforming government agencies to work more efficiently and effectively, and upon her appointment, she and Mayor Eric Adams announced an $11 million investment in cleaner streets and improved mobility for the department.
This morning @NYCMayor announced the appointment of Jessica Tisch as commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation. Welcome to #NewYorksStrongest! pic.twitter.com/y3JhaEv0Ty
— NYC Sanitation (@NYCSanitation) April 18, 2022
“Environmental justice begins at the street level, and clean streets are vital to vibrant neighborhoods and our city’s economic recovery,” Tisch said.
“The nearly 10,000 DSNY employees – and I’m proud to count myself as one of them – are excited to be getting more of the tools we need to do our job of keeping the city healthy, safe, and clean.”
As DSNY commissioner, Tisch will manage the city’s waste collection, recycling, and disposal, as well as cleaning and snow removal for approximately 6,500 miles of city streets.
Prior to her appointment, Tisch served as commissioner for the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT), where she modernized the city’s IT infrastructure and managed the COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, including the city’s vaccination system.
She also helped in building out 5G service across the city, quadrupled DoITT’s spending with minority and women owned businesses, rolled out text-to-911, helped get Wi-Fi in all homeless shelters that serve families with children and more.
She previously served as the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of Information Technology and before that, in 2008, worked in the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit as a director of planning.
“Jessica’s knowledge, experience, and unwavering commitment to New York City cannot be overstated,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
The daughter of Loews Corp. CEO James Tisch, and member of a large, philanthropic Jewish family, Tisch holds a law degree and an MBA from Harvard University. Among her family’s supported projects are several at New York University and the Tisch Center for Jewish Dialogue at the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv.
The young heiress was known on campus for carrying wrenches in her bag, even then. Now she carries a beeper-sized personal radiation detector and a Bluetooth device to transmit its data, high-tech tools being used by NYPD officers.
“Put plainly, Jessica is a ‘Get Stuff Done’ leader, who has delivered continuous results on behalf of all New Yorkers throughout her career,” Adams said.
“From revolutionizing policing technology in the NYPD, to overseeing critical pandemic programs to support New Yorkers in need, Jessica’s work has touched millions,” he added.
“Clean, safe neighborhoods will power New York City’s recovery, and innovations in composting, recycling, and collection will secure our future,” Tisch said.
