NEWS: New State Historic Preservation Officer Announced
From the Preservation League of New York State, www.preservenys.org:
According to a 1:00 p.m. report from The Associated Press, Governor-Elect Elliot Spitzer was in New York City today to name several people who will take over top jobs with his administration on January 1.
Carol Ash has been named commissioner of the Department of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. She has been executive director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission since 1999. From 1985 to 1992, she was a regional director of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
She will succeed one of Governor Pataki’s longest serving commissioners, Bernadette Castro.
At the time of her appointment to the Palisades Commission (1999), the Pataki Administration issued the following press release:
“Governors George E. Pataki and Christie Whitman of New Jersey today announced that the Commissioners of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) have selected Carol Ash of New York City to serve as the agency’s executive director. Ash will succeed Robert O. Binnewies who retired in December.
“Carol Ash and the Nature Conservancy have played a vitally important role in the protection of critical lands for the benefit of the citizens in the State of New York,” Governor Pataki said. “Carol’s extraordinary background in public service will be an incredible asset as she steps into her new role leading the Palisades Commission into the 21st century.”
Governor Whitman said, “I am delighted that Carol Ash has been named to this post. She has proven herself to be an ardent advocate for regional solutions to many of the environmental challenges our states face. She shares my commitment to preserving open space and brings important management experience to her new job.”
Since August 1994, Carol Ash has been the Director of the Nature Conservancy of New York State, overseeing a staff of 130 with an annual budget of more than $8 million. She was the first director of the Office of Environmental Policy and Management for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1992. For seven years she was the Director of the New York City region of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. She is a resident of New York City.”
We will look forward to working with Commissioner-Elect Ash on a number of important initiatives in 2007 and beyond.