Good morning and welcome to today's New York City Council hearing on the Committee on Rules Privileges Election Standard and ECDIS.

At this time, no one may approach the dais.

Please silence all electronic devices.

Chair, you may begin.

Good morning and welcome to this meeting of the Committee on Rules, Privileges, Election Standard, and Ethics.

I'm Councilmember Sandra Own, Chair of the Committee.

Before we begin, I would like to recognize the other members of the committee who are present.

Councilmember Elsie Akarnacion and Minority Leader David Carr and Majority Leader Sean Abu.

I will also like to acknowledge the acting counsel to the committee, Maka Ajabi, and committee staff that worked on today's hearing.

The director and deputy director of the council's public integrity unit, Permore, Lisa Basel, Associate General Counsel, Amanda Delgrosso, as well as other attorneys and compliance professionals in the Office of General Counsel who helped to prepare this hearing.

Today the committee will consider the mayor's nomination of DEP Commissioner Lisa Garcia to be a member of the New York City Land Bank's Board of Directors, Dr.

Dave Chukshi to be a member of the Board of Health, and John Manchin to be both a member and the chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals.

We began the nomination of Commissioner Garcia.

Then we will hear from Dr.

Chuck Shi and then conclude with Mr.

Manjin.

By the letter dated August 7, 2026, and pursuant to local law 56 of 2026, Mayor Mandani requested the council's advice and consent regarding his nomination of DEP Commissioner Lisa Garcia to be a member of New York City Land Bank's Board of Directors.

Local Law 56 of 2026 provides that upon the approval of New York State Urban Development Corporation, the City of New York will establish a land bank.

There will be seven members of the Board of Directors of the Land Bank, unless adjusted in accordance with its bylaws.

A member of the Board of Directors must have appropriate experience, live real estate, and be a resident of New York City throughout their service on the board.

The land bank will seek to preserve the ownership and equity interests of homeowners, prevent the displacement of residents from their dwellings, and promote the productive use of tax for clothes, vacant and abandoned properties to meet the needs of the surrounding communities and city.

In conjunction with the enforcement of tax liens, individuals initially appointed to the board of directors shall serve as a working group to prepare a necessary application for New York State Urban Development Corporation's approval of the establishment of a land bank.

Members of the Board of Directors for a land bank serve a four-year term without pay.

We are joined today by Lisa Garcia, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protections.

Commissioner Garcia was appointed to lead the agency in February of 2026.

In this position, she helped protect the city's infrastructure and environment, ensure that the delivery of the high quality service such as drinking water and sewage treatment, and make sure that city is a global leader in the fight against the climate crisis.

Prior to DEP, Commissioner Garcia served the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency's regional administrator for Region 2, overseeing the Biden administration's environmental agenda in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.

Virgin Islands and the eight Indian nations.

She ran the Climate Solutions Lab at Griss Magazine, where she worked to elevate climate justice leaders and have served as a vice president for litigation at the Earth Justice as well as Associate Administrator at the EPA.

Commissioner Garcia holds a jurisdoctorate degree from Brooklyn Law School.

I now recognize the committee council to administer affirmation.

Please raise your right hand.

Do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in your statements before this committee and response to all questions posed by the council members?

Thank you.

Well, please have a seat.

Good morning, Commissioner Garcia.

I recognize you now make a opening statement.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Good morning, Chair Owen and members of the committee on rules, privileges, election standards, and ethics.

I'm Lisa Garcia, Commission, Commissioner for the Department of Environmental Protection.

I'm here today because I have the honor of being considered for the appointment to the New York City Land Bank Board of Directors.

Before coming to DEP, I served as Regional Administrator for the US EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, covering New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S.

Virgin Islands, and eight Indian nations, mainly upstate New York.

I've also worked in environmental journalism, environmental law, and advocacy.

Throughout my career, my focus has been on environmental justice, climate protection, and community outreach.

I have experience bringing stakeholders together in many different forms and venues to gather input and feedback on a variety of challenging issues, all with the goal of trying to collectively find solutions.

Should I be appointed to the land bank board of directors?

I would draw from my experience in government, academia, and nonfor-profit organizations representing community groups.

My robust background, I think, in environmental justice and community engagement would especially inform my work on the land bank.

I wanted to highlight my experience in community engagement because community and stakeholder engagement will be paramount for the land bank success.

Should I be part of the land bank board of directors?

I would prioritize making sure that there is a robust process for engagement so that all parties and interests could be heard.

I propose meeting with the council members, the committee members reaching out directly to some of the most vocal and interested stakeholders and hosting roundtables with different partners to get a well-rounded set of recommendations.

The stakeholders must include representatives from different areas of expertise and represent different constituencies.

While housing is one area of input to the board that we should seek, for example, there are many other stakeholders that need to be involved.

I expect that the land bank board of directors would work closely as a group and with the council to identify a variety of stakeholders who would bring an array of interests and backgrounds.

The legislation that created the land bank requires the city to transition away from the trust-based lien sale to this land bank model by 2029.

The land bank's primary mission is to provide a process that is equitable, accountable, and transparent in collecting outstanding property taxes and water and sewer bills.