
Cas Holloway
Cas Holloway, as commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, is responsible for protecting the City’s environment. This includes ensuring that clean drinking water from upstate aqueducts reach the City’s 950,000 buildings and that the City’s 14,000 miles of water and sewer mains remain in good working order. The agency also plays a major role in implementing PlaNYC by promoting the use of modern, “green” infrastructure.
Holloway joined the Department of Parks and Recreation under Commissioner Henry J. Stern after graduating from Harvard College in 1996 with a degree in government. After spending a year generating private sponsorships for parks, Stern named Holloway as his chief of staff.
Two years later, Holloway enrolled at the University of Chicago Law School, earning his law degree in 2002. He began his legal career as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and then served as a clerk for Judge Dennis G. Jacobs, now Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Holloway later joined Debevoise & Plimpton where he focused on corporate litigation and regulatory investigations. (more…)

Elijah M. Hutchinson, the new Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. Image Credit: Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice.
On September 25, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams appointed Elijah M. Hutchinson as the new executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. (more…)

Image credit: New York City Council.
On August 3, 2023, the City Council voted to pass Int. 689-A, which reduces financial barriers in building environmentally-friendly homes. The bill was co-sponsored by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Council Member Sandy Nurse. (more…)

Children play on the new equipment at Monsignor Kett Playground. Image Credit: Parks.
On July 26, 2023, Parks Department Commissioner Sue Donoghue, NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Assembly Member Manny De Los Santos, Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, and Community Board 12 joined community members to cut the ribbon on the renovated Monsignor Kett Playground in Inwood, Manhattan. The project—which required $9.5 million in funding from the Mayor’s Office—is the largest reinvestment the City has made in this open space. (more…)

A flood gate is installed in the northern section of the park in February 2022. Image Credit: DDC.
On May 31, 2023, Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Thomas Foley, Economic Development Corporation Executive Vice President Josh Kraus, elected officials, and community leaders celebrated the opening of the northern section of Stuyvesant Cove Park. The opened section of the park runs from East 20th Street to East 23rd Street along the East River; the remaining section of the park from East 18th Street to East 20th Street is expected to open this summer. (more…)