Mamdani Selects Sideya Sherman to Succeed Dan Garodnick as Head of City Planning

The outgoing head of city planning, Dan Garodnick, can finally take a step back after resigning in early January.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that Sideya Sherman will take over as chair of the New York City Planning Commission and director of the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), according to reports.

Garodnick, who led a historic series of citywide rezonings under former Mayor Eric Adams, handed in his resignation in January but planned to continue leading the agencies until a replacement was found.

Sherman was also an Adams appointee who led the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice, and she is expected to continue the work of rapidly expanding the city’s available housing stock through the approval of new developments.

Her tenure in City Hall goes back to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, however.

“Sideya Sherman understands that planning is not an abstract exercise — it is about whether working people can afford to live in the city they call home. Her record in community engagement and equitable development makes her exactly the leader we need at City Planning,” Mamdani said in a statement. 

Along with announcing Sherman’s new title, Mamdani reappointed Edith Hsu-Chen as executive director of DCP

“I’m confident that she and Edith Hsu-Chen will move with urgency to deliver affordability, advance fair housing and build a city that works for everyday New Yorkers — not just the wealthy and well-connected,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani also reappointed Eric Enderlin as president of the Housing Development Corporation.   

“New York City’s housing shortage is inextricably linked with its history of exclusionary zoning, and solving one means confronting the other,” Annemarie Gray, executive director of Open New York, said in a statement. “Under Chair Sherman, DCP and the Commission can use these tools to allow more housing in every neighborhood, ensuring that no New Yorker is forced from their community — or their city — by the high cost of housing.”

Mitch Korbey, who leads law firm Herrick‘s land use and zoning group, said the mayor’s appointment have the resume to hold down these positions and will be effective in continuing the city’s momentum of creating more affordable housing.

“[Sherman]will be among the smartest at ‘New York’s Smartest,'” Korbey told Commercial Observer. “As a planner’s planner with strength in the sustainability and economic empowerment space, I believe that Chair Sherman will lead the Planning Commission with a firm grasp of the Mayor’s policy objectives and will ensure that affordable and fair housing and appropriate neighborhood growth is achieved throughout the five boroughs.”

Mamdani has been building out his administration with a priority on housing. He announced Leila Bozorg would serve as deputy mayor for housing and planning in December, prior to him officially taking office.

“The Department of City Planning shapes the lived reality of our city — from whether families can find stable housing to how neighborhoods grow and thrive,” Bozorg said in a statement.

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