Mamdani Nominates Five Leaders in Business and Government to City Planning Commission

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has nominated five people to serve on the commission that approves major real estate projects in New York City.

Kenneth Knuckles, Anthony Crowell, Margaret Anadu, Meenakshi Srinivasan and Julie Stein have been put forward for appointment as members of the New York City Planning Commission, which is chaired by Dan Garodnick’s successor, Sideya Sherman.

Srinivasan and Stein may be the more high-profile appointees of the bunch, with the former working as commissioner of the Landmarks Preservation Commission under former mayors Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams, and the latter currently executive director of the Union Square Partnership.

Stein also worked for mayoral administrations going back to Michael Bloomberg’s time in office.

“We need a City Planning Commission that understands the urgency of our housing crisis and the responsibility that comes with shaping our neighborhoods,” Mamdani said in a statement. “These five nominees bring decades of experience in public service, housing and planning. I look forward to working with them to build a city where every New Yorker can live with dignity — with the housing choice, strong neighborhoods, excellent infrastructure and open space that New Yorkers deserve.”

Knuckles is a business and civic leader from the Bronx who is president and CEO of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, while Crowell is dean and president of New York Law School, as well as an adviser to Bloomberg for about a decade.  Anadu is CEO and founder of One Weaver, an investment platform that helps finance affordable and workforce housing.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commerccialobserver.com.