Mayor-Elect Eric Adams Taps Ydanis Rodriguez As Next Commissioner Of Department Of Transportation
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor-elect Eric Adams' new administration is continuing to take shape.
Adams has said he wants diversity on his team. With that in mind, he announced Tuesday that former Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez will be the next Department of Transportation commissioner.
"First Latino to become the commissioner of DOT," Adams said.
Watch: Mayor-Elect Eric Adams Holds Press Conference To Announce New Administration Positions
Fittingly, Rodriguez thanked Adams in Spanish and said he will continue to expand programs that help underserved neighborhoods and communities, CBS2's Kevin Rincon reported.
"Yes, I have my strong accent. Open your ear to hear my word, but also everyone know that I have always advocated for the safety of pedestrian and cyclists," Rodriguez said.
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The mayor-elect also announced he'll keep Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk as his Taxi and Limousine Commission commissioner. She has served in that post since last year.
"We're laying the groundwork for recovery, including comprehensive solutions to address medallion-related debt, and shifting the agency to a client-service model that better serves its licensees so that they can focus on earning a living as professional drivers," she said.
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Heading into the new year, the administration will have two new positions. One of them will be chief technology officer. Matt Fraser will take on that role and said the key to his success will be democratizing access to city services.
"When you interact with the city from a technology perspective, or a from business perspective, there's no reason why you can't come to one place to get access to all the things that you're entitled to," Fraser said.
He talked about tackling the digital divide and making sure the city's services are secured.
The other new role -- an efficiency czar -- is a position that'll be held by Melanie LaRocca.
She'll focus on cutting waste at city agencies.
"What are we doing here and how is this serving New Yorkers," LaRocca said.
More announcements from the mayor-elect are expected, including health and sanitation commissioners.
CBS2's Kevin Rincon contributed to this report.
