EDC president to succeed Doctoroff

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EDC president to succeed Doctoroff
Robert Lieber, who was seen as a long shot for the post, will become Deputy Mayor for Economic Development on Jan. 8; Daniel Doctoroff resigned earlier this month.
December 27. 2007 3:34PMBy: Anne Michaud

Robert Lieber, president of the city’s Economic Development Corp., has been promoted to Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, succeeding Daniel Doctoroff. Mr. Lieber, who was seen as a long shot for the post because he has been with the city for just a year, begins Jan. 8.

At the same time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that some of Mr. Doctoroff’s operational oversight duties will be taken over by Deputy Mayor for Administration Edward Skyler, who will take on the new title of deputy mayor for operations.

“As EDC president, Bob Lieber helped reshape our City with an unprecedented range of projects in all five boroughs,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. “His skills and experience in the private sector and in city government will serve him well as he fills some very big shoes here at City Hall.”

Mr. Doctoroff announced on Dec. 6 that he would leave City Hall after five years to become the president of Bloomberg LP, the financial news and information company founded by the mayor.

Mr. Lieber said he is “extremely thrilled about – and grateful for – the chance to come to City Hall at this exciting moment in the city’s history.”

Among other duties, he will lead the city’s economic development efforts and oversee and coordinate the operations of the Department of City Planning, EDC, the Department of Finance, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, the Business Integrity Commission, the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation, the Department of Small Business Services, and the Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting.

Mr. Lieber will also serve as a liaison with city, state and federal and other agencies, including: NYC & Company, the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp., the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the Moynihan Station Development Corp., the Hudson Yards Development Corp., and the Coney Island Development Corp.

As deputy mayor, he will continue his work on the development of Moynihan Station, the river-to-river rezoning of 125th Street in Harlem, the transformation of the Kingsbridge Armory, and the development of the site of the former US Naval Homeport in Staten Island.

The mayor appointed Mr. Lieber to head the EDC in January 2007, after he led a team from Lehman Brothers that advised the city, pro bono, in its successful effort to renegotiate the World Trade Center site lease.

At the EDC, Mr. Lieber helped shepherd the Jamaica, Queens, rezoning to completion, in one of the largest rezonings that New York City has ever fashioned. He helped develop the comprehensive rezoning plan for Coney Island and helped steer the city’s efforts to create a new mixed-use neighborhood in Willets Point.

Nat Leventhal, chairman of the Mayor’s Committee on Appointments, is leading the search with Mr. Lieber for a new EDC president.

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