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.
Hutchinson has a master’s in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard. He previously served as vice president for waterfronts at the New York City Economic Development Corporation working on coastal resilience and greenway initiatives. Some of his work at EDC included helping launch the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resilience project and securing federal funding for the citywide greenway master plan.
As executive director, Hutchinson will be responsible for helping implement the administration’s sustainability strategy “PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done.” The Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice works to help improve building efficiency and resiliency, protect infrastructure from climate change, and make energy clean.
Victoria Cerullo, the acting executive director, will transition to First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright’s team in a senior role.
Mayor Adams stated, “The Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice is charged with fighting on the front lines of the climate crisis. Elijah Hutchinson will lead New York City’s efforts to protect New Yorkers from extreme heat and flooding, clean the air New Yorkers’ breathe, and decarbonize our city’s buildings, transportation, and food networks. I am grateful to Vicki Cerullo for her leadership and commitment to climate justice and look forward to working with her in her new role.”
Executive Director Hutchinson stated, “With the most ambitious climate agenda in the nation, we can do more than secure the future of New York. We can improve the daily life of New Yorkers, create jobs and housing, provide more transit and energy options, protect our waterways and environment, and keep our neighborhoods and neighbors healthy and safe. By 2050, emissions from large buildings will be reduced to zero, and, by 2040, we will be powered entirely by clean renewable energy. This will only be possible by giving all New Yorkers the tools, resources, and technologies they need to be resilient in a rapidly changing climate. We must do this with urgency and without leaving vulnerable populations behind. I look forward to working with our local communities, our state and federal partners, and global leaders to future-proof the New York that I love.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)