NYCIDA is governed by a Board of Directors. Its membership is prescribed by statute and includes a public official and mayoral appointees. Five of the mayoral appointees are appointed by the Mayor after nominations by the City’s five Borough Presidents.
Ellen Baer
Ellen Baer has spent the last four decades imagining, financing and executing public-private-real estate partnerships in New York City and around the country. Currently, she serves as Senior Strategic Advisor to MAG Partners LP, overseeing Master Planning and infrastructure development for Baltimore Peninsula, a 240 acre former industrial site which is being redeveloped as a 14 million square foot mixed use neighborhood. Previously, she served for twelve years as the founding CEO of the Hudson Square Business Improvement District. There she oversaw the conversion of the City’s mid-twentieth century printing district, near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, into a thriving 21st century hub for the technology and creative sectors, including almost 3 million square feet of major new development for Disney and Google. To this end, working with commercial property owners, tenants the City of New York and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, Ellen developed and implemented the BID’s $27 million project to transform the public realm from a place for cars and trucks into a place for people, including: the installation of almost 500 street trees; the development and redevelopment of 3 neighborhood parks; the reimagining and reconstruction of a 10 block section of Hudson Street; the creation of an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable neighborhood. The plan has received numerous awards and serves as a model for the design, financing, construction and implementation of partnerships to improve the public realm citywide.
Prior to joining the BID, Ellen spent two years as Senior Vice President for Development Strategies at the Tarragon Development Corporation, 10 years as a Partner at the economic development and real estate consulting firm of HR&A Advisors, Inc., and had a career in New York City government spanning 14 years during which she served as Chief of Staff to the First Deputy Mayor, Vice President for Waterfront Development at the Public (now Economic) Development Corporation and Director of the Concessions Division for the Department of Parks and Recreation. Ellen has held several Board positions, including co-chair for the Board of Directors of the NYC BID Association; former Board member of Women Executives in Real Estate (WX) and the International Economic Development Council. She is currently a Board member of the Design Trust for Public Space and Citizens Union and the Board of of Trustees of God’s Love We Deliver. Ellen holds a BA from Hamilton College and an MBA from the City University of New York.
HeeWon Brindle-Khym
Ms. Brindle-Khym is Director of Research and Global Strategies for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU-UFCW). She oversees all corporate research and international affairs functions for the union. Formerly with the Fair Labor Association, UNITE HERE!, and the Worker Rights Consortium, Ms. Brindle-Khym has a broad-set of international and domestic experience in advocating and campaigning for workers’ rights and corporate accountability. Brindle-Khym holds a Bachelor of Science from Boston College and a Master’s in Public Affairs from Columbia University School of International Policy and Affairs. Brindle-Khym also sits on various committees and boards for the global union federations, UNI Global Union and the IUF, and the New York City pan-Asian community-based organization, CAAAV.
Felix A. Ciampa
Felix A. Ciampa is the Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) New York, the largest chapter of the Urban Land Institute. Established in 1936, ULI is a global nonprofit research and education institute supported by more than 46,000 multidisciplinary real estate and urban development professionals in the public and private sectors who are dedicated to advancing the Institute’s mission of shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Since joining ULI in 2013, Mr. Ciampa has led several initiatives to increase the organization’s impact in New York. In 2018, Mr. Ciampa launched ULI New York’s initiative to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within its membership. He initiated the organization’s efforts to recognize best-in-class development by launching an annual Awards for Excellence in Development competition and gala. During his tenure, Mr. Ciampa also expanded the influence of the organization’s community impact initiatives which help communities solve complex land use challenges and enable students and public officials to gain a greater understanding of the fundamental forces that affect development in our communities. Prior to joining ULI New York, Mr. Ciampa served as Deputy Commissioner for Policy and External Affairs for the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the largest municipal developer of affordable housing in the nation. During his tenure at HPD, he also served as the initial Planning Director during the creation of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s Hurricane Sandy Housing Recovery Office.
Prior to joining HPD, Mr. Ciampa served with the Madison Square Garden Company as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. Before joining the Madison Square Garden Company, he worked in the office of Mayor Bloomberg serving as Chief of Staff for then Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Robert C. Lieber, where he devised, fostered, and implemented economic development policies and initiatives for the Bloomberg administration. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Ciampa worked for the New York City Economic Development Corporation as the Senior Vice President of Government and Community Relations and later as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He began his career as a legislative attorney in the office of the General Counsel for the New York City Council and later served as Chief Counsel on Ethics and Counsel to the Committee on Standards and Ethics. Mr. Ciampa holds a Juris Doctor degree from St. John’s University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University.
Richard W. Eaddy
Mr. Eaddy serves as an Executive Managing Director at Savills in its brokerage/advisory practice, a firm he has been affiliated with since 2008. He has over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate, ten of those years he spent holding full-time state and city-appointed government offices, including serving as project manager for the Grand Central Terminal redevelopment from 1992 to 1996, Executive Director and CEO of Harlem CDC from 1996 to 1998, and Deputy Borough President of the Bronx from 1998 to 2001. In addition, he has held numerous positions in the private and nonprofit sectors, managing commercial real estate projects and initiatives throughout New York City and the country. He is a senior executive experienced in managing diverse organizations & complex initiatives, with an astute understanding of managing people, processes, and projects successfully.
Mr. Eaddy is involved with many civic and philanthropic organizations, and currently serves on the board of the Skyscraper Museum, the Community Service Society of New York, the Bowery Residents’ Committee and Madison Square Boys and Girls Club. In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg appointed Mr. Eaddy as a member of the New York City Planning Commission where he served until 2022. In 2023 he was appointed by Mayor Adams to the boards of the New York Industrial Development Agency and the Build NYC Resource Corporation. Additionally, Mr. Eaddy is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (“REBNY”) and was a co-recipient of REBNY’s 2021 Edward S. Gordon Memorial Award for Most Ingenious Deal of the Year. In 2021 he joined the board of the newly created Brookfield REIT. Mr. Eaddy holds a M.S. from Columbia University in Real Estate Development and a B.A. from Wesleyan University from its College of Social Studies and in Theater.
Adam Friedman
Adam Friedman is Chief Strategy Officer for the Provost’s Office for Research and Strategic Partnerships at Pratt Institute, one of the premier schools of art, architecture, planning and design in the United States. As CSO, he advises senior management on a range of issues, builds relationships with strategic partners and develops and directs implementation of major initiatives bridging faculty, Pratt’s research centers and Pratt’s external partners. Prior to his appointment as CSO, Mr. Friedman was Director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, which provides research and technical assistance to support New York’s low-income communities and communities of color in their work to build a more just, equitable and sustainable city.
Mr. Friedman is also co-founder of the Urban Manufacturing Alliance, a national network of economic development professionals in more than 200 cities. Mr. Friedman is a graduate of Benjamin Cardozo School of Law and his career includes working in city government for David Dinkins and Ruth Messinger and in the non-profit sector as Executive Director of the Garment Industry Development Corporation and the New York Industrial Retention Network. Mr. Friedman also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Urban Manufacturing Alliance.
Dan Garodnick
Dan Garodnick, appointed by Mayor Eric L. Adams, began serving as Director of the New York City Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission in February 2022. Dan served in the New York City Council for 12 years, representing the East Side of Manhattan, and was known as one of New York's most independent voices and effective legislators. Dan chaired the City Council’s Planning and Economic Development Committees and served as a member of the Land Use Committee. Garodnick, a lawyer who has also served as a not-for-profit executive, is best known for his skill in negotiating complicated land use matters, such as the rezoning of 80 blocks of East Midtown and the Vanderbilt Corridor. This rezoning – approved unanimously by the City Council – not only has already spurred energy and new growth in a key commercial district, but is expected to deliver nearly a billion dollars in improvements to subways and public spaces in Midtown over the next 20 years. Garodnick also negotiated the largest affordable housing preservation deal in New York City’s history – 5,000 middle-class housing units in Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village. He wrote a book on that subject, Saving Stuyvesant Town, which Amazon called one of the best nonfiction books of 2021. During his time in the City Council, Garodnick authored and passed 60 bills, which included relief for small businesses from the Commercial Rent Tax, a right for tenants to sue a landlord for harassment, a biotech tax credit, transparency in the use of economic development incentives, the City’s first “green” energy code, and various good government reforms. Immediately before he took the helm at the City Planning Commission and the Department of City Planning, Garodnick was President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization advocating for a six mile park on Manhattan's West Side. Prior to his public service, Garodnick was a litigator at the New York law firm of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP. He has a B.A. from Dartmouth College, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He lives with his wife and two sons in Manhattan.
Sylvia Hinds-Radix
Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix was appointed as the 81st Corporation Counsel of the City of New York on February 25, 2022. In this role, she is the attorney for the City of New York, the Mayor, the City Council and all City agencies - both Mayoral and non-Mayoral. Prior to her appointment as Corporation Counsel, Justice Hinds-Radix served as an Associate Justice of the NYS Appellate Division, Second Department from 2012. In December of 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo designated Justice Hinds-Radix as a member of the NYS Constitutional Bench. Before joining the Appellate Division, she served as Administrative Judge for Civil Matters in the Second Judicial District for three and a half years. In her capacity as Administrative Judge, Justice Hinds-Radix oversaw both the New York State Supreme Court, Civil Term and the New York City Civil Court, which also encompasses the Housing Court of the City of New York. Justice Hinds-Radix was elected to the Supreme Court, Kings County in November of 2004 and served as a New York City Civil Court Judge from 2002 through 2004, spending her first year in the Criminal Court of Kings County. In 1985, soon after graduating from Howard University School of Law, Justice Hinds-Radix joined the legal staff of District Council 37 Municipal Employees Legal Services, where she remained until her Civil Court election in 2001. While at DC 37, she practiced in the areas of Civil Practice, Bankruptcy, Landlord/Tenant and was General Counsel of the immigration program, a program which she founded. Justice Hinds-Radix earned her Bachelors of Science Degree from the University of Massachusetts, her Master’s Degree in Political Science from Long Island University and her Jurist Doctorate Degree from Howard University School of Law. Justice Hinds-Radix also received an Honorary Doctorate from Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY). Justice Hinds-Radix is married to Dr. Joseph Radix and they are the proud parents of three wonderful daughters.
Andrew Kimball
Andrew Kimball is President & CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation, where he leads NYCEDC’s work growing an innovative and inclusive economy for all New Yorkers. Prior to his appointment in 2022, Andrew served as the CEO of Industry City, where he directed the transformation of the long-underutilized industrial facility in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Under his leadership, Industry City invested over $450 million in infrastructure and place-making initiatives, and grew thousands of jobs and hundreds of businesses, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Andrew previously served as President and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, overseeing the transformation of the 300-acre former Naval ship-building facility into a national model for the creation of innovation-economy jobs, sustainability, and community partnerships. Prior to his time at the Navy Yard, Andrew served as director of operations for NYC2012, the privately funded bid to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to New York City, and as vice president of the New York Public Library.
Up until his appointment to NYCEDC, Andrew sat on numerous boards, including the Coro New York Leadership Center, where he served as chair; Prospect Park Alliance; Gowanus Canal Conservancy; Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; Citizens Budget Commission; and the NYS Regional Economic Development Council. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College and is a graduate of the Coro Public Affairs Fellowship program. A life-long New Yorker, Andrew lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn with his wife, Sarah Williams, and two children.
Brad Lander
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was elected to serve as the city’s budget watchdog and chief accountability officer on November 2nd, 2021. Lander’s background in community organizing and urban planning informs his work to make government work better for all New Yorkers. First elected to the City Council in 2009, Lander co-founded the Council’s Progressive Caucus and has a strong track record of partnering with community advocates to win transformative change for a more just and equitable city. Prior to holding public office, Lander spent 15 years in the nonprofit sector as the director of the Fifth Avenue Committee and the Pratt Center for Community Development. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Meg Barnette, President and CEO of NonProfit New York, and their children, Marek and Rosa.
Venetia Lannon
Venetia Lannon is Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety at Consolidated Edison Company of New York where she oversees a staff of 225 dedicated to environmental remediation, compliance, and pollution prevention, along with programs to keep all workers safe and support sustainability efforts. Prior she was Vice President at Matrix New World Engineering, with market development responsibilities including climate adaptation services with a focus on nature-based systems for waterfront facilities, green infrastructure, and renewable energy. Before joining the private sector, Venetia spent 20 years in public service most recently as Governor Cuomo's Deputy Secretary for the Environment. In this capacity, she served as environmental policy advisor to the Governor and his cabinet and oversaw the operations of the state’s environmental agencies, including the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Office of Parks Recreation & Historic Preservation, the Environmental Facilities Corporation and the Adirondack Park Agency.
Previously, Venetia was appointed by Governor Cuomo as Regional Director for the Department of Environmental Conservation, overseeing 200 staff and all aspects of DEC’s work in New York City. Prior to that she held several positions working for the City of New York, as a Senior Vice President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and as Deputy Director of the Recycling Bureau at the New York City Department of Sanitation, where she ran the composting program. At EDC, she ran the Maritime division, where key projects included launching the East River Ferry service and developing a barge and rail-served municipal recycling facility in Brooklyn. She was an active contributor to Mayor Bloomberg’s Solid Waste Management Plan and an early advocate for sustainability and environmental justice. Venetia graduated from Vassar College with departmental honors and holds a master’s in public administration, focusing on environmental policy from Columbia University.
Janet Mejia-Peguero
Janet is an EOP Alumna of SUNY Binghamton, holding a BA in Latin American and Caribbean area of Studies (LACAS) and Sociology with honors, she is a proud product of NYC’s public-school education, and a 2019 fellow of the Council for Urban Professionals. Janet started her public career in the nonprofit sector with the Vance Center for International Justice, a division within the New York City Bar Association. There she organized a network of private law firms and encouraged the promotion and expansion of clearing houses aimed at bridging access to free legal services for civil society and non-profit organizations in Latin America and Africa. At the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Janet served the communities that raised her as the Senior Rezoning Manager on citywide land use projects with a focus on the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. Closely working with City Hall, local elected officials, community boards, and community partners. Janet’s tenure at SBS began in the Division of Business Services managing pro bono services and leading the first-of-its-kind Commercial Lease Assistance program, offering free legal representation to commercial tenants. During the height of the pandemic, Janet served as a community organizer working with Bronx-based mutual aid groups and local small businesses to increase access to food and PPE. Janet also serves as the Bronx Borough Director for Amplify Her, an organization that works to increase the number of women in elected office. Janet was an Associate at Constantinople & Vallone, a government relations firm, heavily focusing on and advocating for local nonprofits and affordable housing. Janet is currently serving as the Bronx Deputy Borough President for Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson.
Randy Peers
Randy Peers joined the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce as President and CEO on September 9, 2019. He brings decades of workforce and economic development expertise, and several years of executive leadership experience growing not-for-profit organizations that serve the business community. During his tenure thus far at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, which has been heavily influenced by the COVID pandemic response, Randy has overseen the launch of five significant new initiatives focused on supporting Brooklyn small businesses while advancing the overall theme of equity -- the Small Business Resource Network, which was adopted city-wide; the Brooklyn EXCELerate social justice lending program; the neighborhood development concentrations in Canarsie, Homecrest and Bushwick; the Brooklyn Entrepreneur Academy; and the launch of the Brooklyn Made Store, which have all led to meaningful investments and support for small businesses throughout the borough. In addition, Randy significantly expanded the Brooklyn Chamber’s international work, hosting over forty foreign delegations visiting Brooklyn, developing partnerships with Seoul, Korea, Ghana, Pakistan, and Dubai, and launching an international affiliate membership program.
Randy previously served as the inaugural President & CEO of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (GRCA) in Berks County, PA. For over a decade he was CEO of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), a Brooklyn-headquartered workforce development organization that was the leading provider of disconnected youth job training services in NYC. From 2002-2006, Randy served as Vice President of Economic Development at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. Randy holds a Bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College and an MPA from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. Randy was born, raised, and spent most of his professional career in Brooklyn, having lived in five different neighborhoods across the borough.
James Prendamano
James Prendamano is the CEO for Casandra Properties, Staten Island’s premier real estate firm. For over 20 years, James has shepherded the completion of transformative projects, including major initiatives reshaping Staten Island’s commercial real estate landscape. Currently James serves as a consultant and Broker responsible for bringing NYC’s first and only outlet mall to the St. George district of Staten Island. This has resulted in bringing thousands of much needed construction and permanent jobs to the community. He also developed an exclusive Real Estate Portfolio Optimization program helping non-profits unlock capital through their real estate to help fund their mission. James also serves on the board of Staten Island Chamber of Commerce; as a cabinet member for the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and various Real Estate Associations. He also serves on the board of directors CFLC (Central Family Life Center).
Shanel Thomas
Shanel Thomas recently joined the LaGuardia Airport Team as the Community Outreach Manager for the LaGuardia Redevelopment Program. In this role, Ms. Thomas serves as the public information liaison on the redevelopment program by developing and maintaining working relationships with elected officials, businesses, and community leaders. Her responsibilities include keeping the public informed on the progress of the program, informing the public of available opportunities during and after redevelopment (e.g. employment and contract opportunities), and monitoring consumer activities to improve customer experiences, as well as support the communities surrounding the airport. Ms. Thomas brings over fifteen years of experience in community development, capacity building, sales, business development, event production, program execution, and media relations. A life-long resident of East Elmhurst Corona, Ms. Thomas has served on several local boards, including the Kiwanis Club of LaGuardia Airport, Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc., Neighborhood Housing Services of Queens CDC, Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, 115th Precinct Council, and Community Board 3. Ms. Thomas has a BA in International Business with a concentration in marketing and holds her Masters in Public Administration from Howard University. Ms. Thomas has also studied abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, and the Cultural Institute in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Maria Torres-Springer
Maria Torres-Springer is the NYC Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development, charged with spearheading the administration’s efforts to strengthen and diversify its economy, invest in emerging industries, bolster small business, connect New Yorkers to family-sustaining jobs, and expand access to arts and culture. She previously was Vice President of US Programs at the Ford Foundation where she oversaw the foundation’s domestic grant making and made historic investments to support racial equity, workers’ rights, voting rights, and arts and culture across the country. As commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Maria focused on the production of housing for the city’s most vulnerable communities, while also launching several new programs to protect tenants’ rights. She led the implementation of Housing New York, a five-borough, 12-year plan to create or preserve 300,000 affordable homes; and she steered the financing of approximately 60,000 affordable homes. Earlier, as president and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation, Maria led the implementation of the new citywide ferry service and made major investments in key sectors of the city’s economy. She also spearheaded several neighborhood revitalization plans. Prior to that, as commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services, Maria prioritized efforts to raise wages and support women and immigrant-owned businesses and worked to prepare New Yorkers for 21st-century jobs. Maria earned her bachelor's degree in ethics, politics, and economics from Yale University and a master’s in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.
