Melanie La Rocca, appointed commissioner of the Department of Buildings/ Photo credit: LinkedIn
NEW YORK CITY—Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed Melanie La Rocca as the new commissioner of the Department of Buildings. Currently, the vice president of development and external affairs at New York City's School Construction Authority, La Rocca will begin her new position on June 3. Commercial Observer was the first to report the news.
La Rocca has been with the SCA for more than five years beginning in January 2014 as chief of staff. She also served as executive director, and vice president of operations. Before joining the SCA, for more than seven years she worked at the New York City Council as council speaker Christine Quinn's chief of staff and as a legislative aide.
The previous commissioner of the Department of Buildings, Rick Chandler resigned in January 2019. The first deputy commissioner Thomas Fariello has been fulfilling the role of acting buildings commissioner. At the announcement of Chandler's stepping down, Mayor de Blasio credited him with modernizing the department. The mayor noted this resulted in faster permit reviews and inspections of construction sites and 311 phone call complaints.
However, Commercial Observer notes that La Rocca is taking “the reins of an agency that's been buffeted by bribery scandals and a rising number of construction deaths.”
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
