Two Battery Park City Residents Appointed To Authority Board

FINANCIAL DISTRICT — After years of advocacy for more community representation on the state-run Battery Park City Authority, the state senate confirmed two residents appointed to the complex’s governing board in the last 48 hours of Albany's legislative session.

Legislation that requires at least two seats on the Battery Park City Authority Board be reserved for residents passed the state Assembly and the Senate earlier this year to ensure local voices have a prescence on the board. After two members left, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Martha Gallo, an insurance and banking executive who served on the authority from 2012 through 2017, and Anthony Kendall, head of the nation's largest minority controlled accounting and consulting firm. Both are residents of the souther portion of Battery Park City. It is a major win for locals, said one community leader.

“The people of Battery Park City have been struggling for years to gain a voice in decisions that affect all of our lives, and a meaningful role in how we are governed," said Justine Cuccia, a co-chair of Community Board 1's Battery Park City Committee and co-founder of the activist group Democracy for Batter Park City. "With BPC facing gravely serious challenges like resiliency, affordability, and the 2069 expiration of the Ground Lease, this is not the end of our struggle, but is a step forward.”

The authority oversees 92 acres of state-owned land in Lower Manhattan, which includes 36 acres of parks, 10 million square feet of commercial space and 7.2 million square feet of housing.

Chairman and CEO of Battery Park City's governing board, Dennis Mehiel, resigned last week after helming the state-run board for the last six years. Board member George J. Tsunis, who was appointed by Governor Cuomo last June, will fill Mehiel's shoes as chairman and B.J. Jones, who was selected as the board's COO and the Battery Park City president in January, will take over as the new CEO.