Mayor Tightens Control Over LMDC

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg is tightening his control over the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein has more.

Two deputy Mayors and the city's planning commissioner will now serve on the LMDC board. Deputy Mayors Daniel Doctoroff and Mark Shaw, and City Planning commissioner Amanda Burdon are among six new appointees Bloomberg announced yesterday.

In the past, tussled with the LMDC over its vision for downtown, often pushing the state authority to think more about street life, retail space, and the greater Lower Manhattan streetscape. For the first time since the LMDC was created, half of the board's appointees now owe their posts to Mayor Bloomberg.

The Mayor said yesterday the new board members would be "very vocal" if they felt the board was acting against the city's interests. During his campaign for re-election, Bloomberg promised he would focus more attention on rebuilding Lower Manhattan. For WNYC, I'm Andrea Bernstein.