New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has put his wife at the helm of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. On Thursday, de Blasio announced that First Lady Chirlane McCray will serve in the voluntary, unpaid position as chair of the Fund from an office at 253 Broadway in Manhattan.
McCray plans to review current projects and then begin new work that’s in line with the de Blasio administration’s agenda. She will also liaise with the Fund’s community partners and financial backers.
“I can’t think of anyone with a better grasp of the core mission of this administration than my wife and partner, Chirlane,” said Mayor de Blasio in an announcement about her appointment.
The non-profit organization works as a go-between for public-private partnerships throughout the city. Through donations from individuals, corporations and foundations, the fund works in the public sphere. Its broad mandate includes everything from the arts to the environment to disaster recovery.
At the end of November, the Fund announced it had raised $14 Million in private money to help Superstorm Sandy homeowners not eligible for Build it Back, the city’s housing rebuilding program.
