Banks, who served because the Division of Social Providers commissioner all through ex-Mayor Invoice de Blasio’s eight years in workplace, is predicted to be named company counsel by Mamdani. Arteaga, Elmhurst Hospital’s high govt since 2021, is being chosen as Mamdani’s deputy mayor for well being and human providers.
Each appointments are set to be formally introduced by Mamdani throughout a press convention at Elmhurst Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
“New Yorkers deserve a working-class champion like Helen in City Hall, someone who is willing to work around the clock to protect and strengthen our city’s commitment to essential social services,” Mamdani stated of Arteaga, specifically.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg chats with Helen Arteaga at Pop Diner on Queens Blvd. in Queens, New York, in 2009. (Debbie Egan-Chin / New York Day by day Information)
The most recent hires come simply hours earlier than Mamdani is ready to be sworn in as town’s subsequent mayor at midnight Wednesday. Mamdani has but to announce a number of different key metropolis authorities appointments, together with his decide for colleges chancellor.
Banks is amongst a lot of de Blasio alums who’re becoming a member of Mamdani’s administration, signaling the ideological widespread floor between them. Different de Blasio veterans on faucet for Mamdani’s Metropolis Corridor embody his incoming first deputy mayor, Dean Fuleihan, who served in the identical position underneath de Blasio.
Arteaga hasn’t served in metropolis authorities earlier than, however has an in depth background in public well being.
The company counsel leads the Legislation Division, which represents metropolis authorities staff, together with the mayor and Metropolis Council members, in varied authorized issues. The position is without doubt one of the solely high authorities posts picked by the mayor that requires approval from the Metropolis Council, making Banks’ choice particularly vital.
Present Company Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant was confirmed for the position in late 2024 after the Council rejected Mayor Adams’ first decide, Giuliani administration alum Randy Mastro. Adams later employed Mastro as his first deputy mayor.
Earlier than changing into de Blasio’s DSS head, a job that comes with oversight of town’s sprawling homeless shelter system, Banks was the attorney-in-charge of the Authorized Assist Society.
Mayor Invoice de Blasio appoints Steve Banks (at podium) as human sources administration commissioner on Friday, Feb. 28, 2014, at Metropolis Corridor. (Susan Watts / New York Day by day Information)
Since leaving metropolis authorities, Banks has entered non-public follow, and he performed a number one position in combating outgoing Mayor Eric Adams in courtroom over his try to roll again town’s longstanding right-to-shelter mandate amid an inflow of largely Latin American migrants in 2023 and 2024. The case was settled in a means that preserved the mandate, but in addition allowed the Adams administration in addition migrants from shelter after 30 days.
As de Blasio’s DSS head, Banks was credited with overseeing a drop within the metropolis’s homeless inhabitants. He additionally attracted criticism for sure shelter contract processes, and a few have questioned whether or not Banks would as corp counsel be biased towards the Authorized Assist Society, which frequently sues town.
As deputy mayor for well being and human providers, Arteaga doesn’t should be accepted by the Council. Her deputy mayor portfolio will embody businesses like DSS and the Division of Well being and Psychological Hygiene.
Arteaga is the primary Latina and lady to function CEO of Elmhurst, one of many metropolis’s largest public hospitals. Elmhurst was an early epicenter through the COVID-19 pandemic, and Arteaga has a very private historical past with the hospital.
Chief Govt Officer of Elmhurst Hospital Helen Arteaga helps hand out meals and different gadgets to Queens residents as a part of Meals Financial institution for New York Metropolis’s 5 Borough Pop Up Tour in partnership with NYC Well being + Hospitals and Grubhub at Elmhurst Hospital on Sept. 16, 2021, in Queens, New York. (Photograph by Michael Loccisano/Getty Photographs for Meals Financial institution For New York Metropolis)
However Arteaga pulled by means of and a 12 months later was employed as Elmhurst’s new CEO, a job by which she helped spearhead the hospital’s response to COVID. Earlier than touchdown at Elmhurst, she was a high govt at City Well being Plan, a community of group well being facilities within the metropolis.
“My life’s work has been dedicated to making this city a better place — ensuring that every New Yorker, no matter who they are or where they come from, has access to health care, safety and the services they need,” Arteaga stated in an announcement on her appointment. “That commitment finds a home in Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s administration and vision for our city.”
