Mr. Kendall is the chairman and chief executive officer of Mitchell Titus, one of the leading minority-controlled accounting firms in the United States. He has led the firm, which is headquartered on Battery Place in the Financial District, since 2009.
On Wednesday evening, State Senator Brian Kavanagh rose in Albany to cheer Mr. Kendall’s nomination, saying, “he is someone who has lived and worked in Battery Park City for many years. He’s a very distinguished nominee, who has been the chief executive officer of a major accounting firm in our community. But for our purposes tonight, it is particularly noteworthy that he is the second resident of Battery Park City who is being appointed to the seven-person board.” This was a reference to Martha Gallo, a former BPCA board member, who was, on Monday, nominated by Governor Cuomo to rejoin the Authority’s board, and confirmed on Tuesday.
“That is pursuant to a piece of legislation that was negotiated in the past in this chamber and signed by the governor in December with a recent amendment to make it effective,” Senator Kavanagh continued. “I want to thank all those who brought this nomination forward, and more than that, the people of Battery Park City who fought very long and very hard to have real representation on that board. And I want to acknowledge the great work of my predecessor, Daniel Squadron, who worked long and hard to get this done.”
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State Senator Brian Kavanagh
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Mr. Kavanagh was referring to a law enacted by the legislature in June 2017, and signed by Governor Cuomo in December, then amended in May of this year, which requires that future appointments to the BPCA’s board allocate two seats (out of seven) to people who live within the community governed by the Authority. This measure was the culmination of a year’s long campaign by residents, community leaders, and elected officials, who were trying to formalize a role and a voice for residents in decisions made by the agency that governs the community.
In response to the appointments, BPCA president Benjamin Jones said, “the Authority is delighted to welcome Martha Gallo and Anthony Kendall to our board. We look forward to their valuable insights as we further engage our community to make great things happen in Battery Park City.”
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Dennis Mehiel and George Tsunis
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Mr. Kendall will take over the BPCA board seat previously held by Hector Batista, the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, who joined the Authority in 2015. (Ms. Gallo will be assuming the seat previously held by BPCA board chairman Dennis Mehiel, who announced his departure on Tuesday. But Mr. Mehiel’s former role as chairman will be taken over by current Authority board member George Tsunis.)
The Governor’s appointment of two Battery Park City residents to the BPCA’s board follows not only the legislation that Senator Kavanagh referred to, but also a June 11 letter from six elected officials representing Lower Manhattan, urging Mr. Cuomo to remove two of the three BPCA board members who were serving expired terms, and appoint residents in their stead. (As a practical matter, board members at State authorities often continue to serve after their terms have expired, until they are reappointed or replaced by the governor.)
In the June letter, Senator Brian Kavanagh, U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Assembly members Deborah Glick and Yuh-Line Niou, and City Council member Margaret Chin argued that, “to make the Board’s composition consistent with this legislation, we respectfully request two of the three Board members currently serving with expired terms be replaced by residents of Battery Park City, in accordance with the new statute.”
“As you know,” the letter continued, “the Board makes decisions that influence the daily lives of thousands of our constituents, and having residents’ voices on the Board will present an important opportunity for the community to participate in its own governance.”
It concluded, “we are glad that the right of this community to have its voice heard with two seats on the Board has been enshrined in law. In the spirit of that law, we urge you to appoint two residents as soon as possible.”