Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced new appointments across New York City government, naming Paul Ochoa as Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction, Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz as Commissioner of the Department of Records and Information Services, and Annie Levers as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations.
Key facts
Date: April 22, 2026
Announced by: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Position: DDC Commissioner — Paul Ochoa
Position: DORIS Commissioner — Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz
Position: Director of Mayor’s Office of Operations — Annie Levers
Focus: Government efficiency, transparency, and service delivery
Ochoa background: NYC DOT Executive Deputy Commissioner
Smith-Cruz background: Dean of Barnard College Library
Levers background: Deputy Comptroller for Policy
City goal: Improve infrastructure, access to information, and operational performance
Q&A pairs
Question: What did Mayor Mamdani announce?
Answer: He announced three major appointments across New York City government agencies.
Question: Who is the new Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction?
Answer: Paul Ochoa was appointed as Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction.
Question: Who will lead the Department of Records and Information Services?
Answer: Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz was appointed as Commissioner of DORIS.
Question: Who is the new Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations?
Answer: Annie Levers was appointed to lead the Mayor’s Office of Operations.
Question: What is the goal of these appointments?
Answer: The appointments aim to improve government performance, transparency, and service delivery for New Yorkers.
Mayor Mamdani Appoints Leaders Across City Government, Including the Department of Design and Construction and Department of Records and Information Services
— Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced three appointments across key City agencies and offices. Mayor Mamdani appointed Paul Ochoa as Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz as Commissioner of the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) and Annie Levers as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations.
“These are leaders who believe government must deliver in service of the public good,” said Mayor Mamdani. “They understand how to pull the levers of government to deliver for New Yorkers and reflect the histories and aspirations of our neighborhoods in the city we are building together. I am proud to welcome their expertise and dedication to this administration as we get to work delivering a new era for New York City.”
“This administration is laser-focused on effective, innovative approaches to governing that reject the status quo and deliver for all 8.5 million New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson. “These leaders bring the experience and creativity necessary to build a city that is responsive, accountable and committed to a better future.”
About DDC Commissioner Paul Ochoa
Paul A. Ochoa joined the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) in 2022 as Executive Deputy Commissioner, where he oversees administrative divisions, including a $1.5 billion expense budget and a $34 billion 10-year capital plan. He also leads DOT’s Capital Program Management division, working closely with DDC on street reconstruction projects..
Ochoa previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at the Department of Sanitation and Director of City Legislative Affairs in the Mayor’s Office. Earlier in his career, he worked at the California State Assembly on labor issues, immigrant rights and environmental protection policy.
Ochoa holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, San Diego. A proud first-generation immigrant from Tijuana, Mexico, Ochoa lives in Brooklyn with his wife, son and dog Petunia.
“The Department of Design and Construction delivers projects that are essential to the daily lives of New Yorkers. From the resilient East River Park in Lower Manhattan, to the protected bike lanes along Queens Boulevard, to the brand-new Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in Brooklyn. DDC projects benefit New Yorkers in many ways,” said incoming DDC Commissioner Paul A. Ochoa. “I am honored to be entrusted with this tremendous responsibility by Mayor Mamdani, and I will work tirelessly to ensure capital projects are delivered for NYC.”
“Paul Ochoa has been an extraordinary leader at NYC DOT and a driving force behind some of our most impactful work,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “He brings a deep commitment to public service, a sharp strategic mind and a keen focus on delivering results. While we’ll miss his leadership at DOT, New Yorkers are in excellent hands as he takes on this new role as Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction. I’m proud to count him as a colleague and deeply grateful for everything he achieved at our agency. I look forward to seeing all he accomplishes next.”
“All of NYC will benefit from Mayor Mamdani’s appointment of Paul Ochoa to lead the Department of Design and Construction,” said Meera Joshi, former Deputy Mayor for Operations. “Under Paul’s leadership, DDC will build better, faster, cheaper and cleaner. New Yorkers won’t wait a lifetime for critical public infrastructure. Paul is an exceptional public servant and comes to DDC with the perfect balance of leadership, innovation and technical expertise to help the agency deliver what New Yorkers deserve.”
“Paul has a demonstrated track record of getting things done for the City, and I’m confident he will bring those skills to the critical work of delivering public infrastructure and buildings,” said Jamie Torres Springer, President of MTA Construction & Development. “As a former Commissioner of DDC, I’m excited to see someone with Paul’s skillset take the helm of the agency. As the President of MTA Construction & Development, I look forward to partnering as DDC deploys innovative tools to deliver better, faster and cheaper.”
“DDC plays a central role in delivering safe and livable streets for New Yorkers. I’ve worked with Paul for the good part of a decade, first at City Hall, then at DOT in his capacity as Executive Deputy Commissioner,” said Ben Furnas, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “He is a good-hearted problem solver by nature, and no issue has been too big or too small for him to tackle. I’m optimistic that he will bring a much-needed fresh perspective to DDC, where for too long street reconstruction projects have moved too slowly. We look forward to working with Paul to accelerate this critical work and realize Mayor Mamdani’s vision for streets that are ‘the envy of the world.'”
About DORIS Commissioner Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz
Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz is a librarian and archivist with nearly 20 years of experience, most recently serving as Dean of the Barnard College Library. Her work has included expanding access to information for incarcerated people and curating award-wining exhibitions on groups like the Salsa Soul Sisters, NYC’s first lesbian of color organization.
She serves on the board of the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) and has held leadership roles at New York University, the CUNY Graduate Center, Brooklyn Public Library and Storycorps.
A Brooklyn native, Smith-Cruz co-founded the nonprofit Sister Outsider at age 17, supporting young women in East Flatbush and Brownsville through paid living wages to provide peer-education with a harm-reduction framework. Her Garifuna and Jamaican immigrant family history has centered her work philosophy on information access and transparency as necessary for equitable civic participation.
She holds a master’s degree in library science with a concentration in archives and a master’s in fine arts with a focus on fiction from Queens College, CUNY, as well as a bachelor’s degree from the CUNY Baccalaureate Program.
“It is an absolute honor to be called to serve as Commissioner of the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) under Mayor Mamdani’s administration, which feels to be a moment in NYC political history of great importance and collective endeavor,” said incoming DORIS Commissioner Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz. “Providing access to government records, documents and data is our municipal responsibility. Embracing and preserving a comprehensive imprint of NYC histories, as representative of our many communities, is the mission of DORIS that I aim to uphold. I am excited to explore processes of appraisal for which sufficient value can be named to ensure the inclusion, access and celebration of our historical memory. After 20 years working across academic libraries, public libraries, library schools and with institutional and community-based archives, as Commissioner I intend to ensure an informed citizenry. Transparency and access to digital government information, through principles that are FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), together, we can continue to work toward robust and complete information dissemination, while also honoring the multiple histories of all New Yorkers.”
“The New York City Department of Records and Information plays a vital role in making the work of municipal government more accessible to the public,” said Laura Ann Rosenbury, President of Barnard College. “During her time at Barnard, Shawn Smith-Cruz helped advance transparent, equitable access to information, and we are excited to see her continue this important work on behalf of New York City.”
“New York City is incredibly fortunate to have Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz leading the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS),” said Steven G. Fullwood, Community Archivist and Co-director of the Nomadic Archivist Project. “I have known Shawn(ta) for over 15 years and have consistently observed her commitment to ethical practice in public institutions — demonstrating compassion, expertise and a clear forward-looking vision. Her appointment represents a strong asset for NYC and for an administration dedicated to public service.”
“I am thrilled to see that Mayor Mamdani has chosen Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz to lead the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS),” said Nate Hill, Executive Director of the Metropolitan New York Library Council. “As a board member at the Metropolitan New York Library Council, Shawn has taken her commitment to equitable access to information beyond any single institution and shown her vision for serving the entire region. Shawn has the experience and the creativity to lead DORIS, and she will build the future of information services for New Yorkers.”
“For the past 20 years I have been inspired by Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz’s dedication and tenacity in preserving priceless histories and advocating for information access across a range of important institutions,” said Alexis Pauline Gumbs, PhD, writer, scholar and community archivist. “Her profound commitment, attention to detail and ethic of possibility will support all New Yorkers to have more access to the information they need to make informed decisions in every area of life. Her credibility with a range of communities will empower information workers and residents across the city. The only thing as inspiring as Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz’s love for her work is her remarkable ability to accomplish major shifts with efficiency and grace. The City of New York is fortunate to have this nuanced thinker and unstoppable champion on the job.”
About Mayor’s Office of Operations Director Annie Levers
Annie Levers brings more than a decade of experience in policy, operations and service delivery across New York City government. She most recently served as Deputy Comptroller for Policy at the New York City Comptroller’s Office, where she led public policy development and built a high-impact policy and organizing team.
Her work has spanned budget, procurement, capital delivery, education, public safety, criminal justice, immigration, climate resilience, economic justice, workers’ rights, housing and transportation, with a focus on improving how government delivers results. She co-chaired the City’s Joint Task Force to Get Nonprofits Paid on Time, helping reduce contract delays and improve payment practices.
Levers previously worked in the New York City Council and across nonprofit and academic institutions, including the Pratt Center for Community Development and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding.
She holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Pratt Institute and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Ithaca College. She lives in Sunnyside, Queens with her husband, son and their dog Jojo.
“I’m honored to serve as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations and to help deliver on the Mayor’s bold agenda for New Yorkers,” said Annie Levers, incoming Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations. “In his first 100 days, his leadership has brought new energy and urgency to public service and delivered meaningful results. I look forward to building on that progress, partnering across agencies to strengthen performance, improve accountability and transparency and use data to drive better outcomes so New Yorkers continue to see and feel tangible improvements in their daily lives.”
“Annie Levers understands that effective government is built on accountability, transparency and improving how public systems serve people,” said Noel Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC. “As Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, she will ensure Ops is a true engine for data-driven management, public trust and better service delivery. Her record reflects a clear appreciation for how public interest tech, oversight and participatory democracy strengthen government performance and expand access to services and opportunities.”
“Annie Levers has been a long-time partner to the Human Services Council, ensuring nonprofit sector issues are raised in City government and tackling the entrenched bureaucratic barriers that slow delivery of lifesaving services,” said Michelle Jackson, Executive Director of the Human Services Council. “I am thrilled she will bring her expertise navigating systems challenges to an administration focused on real solutions for everyday New Yorkers. That can only happen through strong partnership with nonprofit providers and frontline workers, and as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, Annie will help ensure we best serve our communities together.”
“We’re thrilled that Annie Levers has been appointed Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations,” said Barika X. Williams, Executive Director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD). “At the City Council and Comptroller’s Office, she ensured the voices and priorities of community-based organizations and everyday New Yorkers shaped government, and has been a steadfast champion of equity, transparency and accountability. We look forward to working with her again in this new role.”
“Annie understands that the true test of government is whether it delivers in people’s daily lives,” said Betsy Plum, Executive Director of Riders Alliance. “The Mayor’s Office of Operations plays a critical role in turning big ideas into results, and Annie brings the clarity, urgency and follow-through to make that happen. We’re excited for her leadership and to work together to ensure New Yorkers feel the impact of this administration’s commitments on the ground.”
April 22, 2026
NEW YORK
Sources: nyc.gov permanent adress Big New York news BigNY.com
