Emergency Management Chief Ousted After Day Of Drama

NEW YORK CITY HALL — Mayor Bill de Blasio booted his emergency management commissioner Monday night following a day of confusion over the agency's leadership. But Commissioner Joseph Esposito will stick around during a nationwide search for his replacement amid what de Blasio called a "leadership change" in his department.

"It is impossible to overstate Commissioner Esposito’s significant contributions to our city’s safety while at OEM and the NYPD," de Blasio said in a statement. "We look forward to exploring additional opportunities for Commissioner Esposito to remain in the administration."

In an internal email to Emergency Management staff, Esposito said leading the agency has been a "great privilege" and called his department "a model for other cities in this country and beyond." But he did not give the reasons for his removal or detail his conversations with de Blasio.

"While there are questions about what this means for the future of the agency, I want to assure you that I remain committed to serving as Commissioner until a new person is appointed to the role to ensure a smooth transition and consistent leadership," Esposito wrote.

The mayor's final word came about three days after his deputy mayor for operations, Laura Anglin, reportedly fired Esposito over his agency's response to the Nov. 15 snowstorm that took the city by surprise.

But it was unclear whether de Blasio had signed off on Esposito's ouster. The commissioner showed up to work Monday before reportedly meeting with the mayor at Gracie Mansion that afternoon.

When Esposito left the meeting, de Blasio said he had not made a decision and would give the commissioner a call, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Esposito — who still has not been given a reason for his firing — was summoned back to Gracie Mansion hours later, around the time he learned the mayor had issued the statement on the commissioner’s fate, the source said.

De Blasio, a Democrat, had defended his administration's handling of the snowstorm that trapped New Yorkers in traffic and left fallen trees strewn across city streets. He instead pinned the mess on a late change in the forecast and the closure of the George Washington Bridge. "It’s not about one person or one agency," he said the day after the storm.

Esposito has worked for the city for about five decades. He served 45 years in the NYPD — including more than a decade as the chief of department — before taking over the Office of Emergency Management in 2014.

City Council members, who have not been shy in their criticism of the city's response to the storm, nonetheless protested Esposito's ouster, saying there was no indication Esposito or his agency were solely at fault.

More than half the 51 Council members signed a letter to the mayor on Monday calling for Esposito to remain on the job.

"This is a disaster, man made, on more levels than I can count," Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Queens) said on Twitter Tuesday morning. "Showing a #NYC hero the door in this way shows both a lack of sensitivity heretofore unimaginable & an appalling lack of judgement & empathy."

(Lead image: Mayor Bill de Blasio ousted Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito, right, on Monday. Photo by Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)