Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to appoint a state-level operations official as the city’s next sanitation boss, officials confirmed with THE CITY. 

Gregory Anderson, who is currently the deputy director of state operations in Albany, will be formally announced for the job later this week.

Before his state gig — where he worked under former city sanitation commissioner and 2021 mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia — he spent more than nine years with DSNY, ending up as the deputy commissioner for policy and strategic initiatives.

His appointment was confirmed by City Hall officials who called it a “well-deserved homecoming.” 

“As commissioner, Gregory will carry forward the transformative projects he helped build, from waste containerization and curbside composting to commercial waste reform,” Mamdani said in a statement. 

Javier Lojan, the acting commissioner, was appointed to the job in November 2024 after former Commissioner Jessica Tisch left to lead the police department.

Sources told THE CITY Lojan, who joined the sanitation department in 1999, wasn’t interested in remaining in the commissioner role. 

“I am pleased to welcome Greg Anderson as the new DSNY Commissioner, and I’m confident that the Department will continue to thrive under his leadership,” Lojan, who will return as First Deputy Commissioner, said in a statement. 

The department has had a busy winter, with two major snowstorms since the start of the year, including a blustery February blizzard that dumped up to two feet of snow in some parts of the city. 

More than 2,500 sanitation workers worked multiple 12-hour shifts to clear snow, and then the garbage and trash that had piled up during the storms. 

Lojan testified this week in front of the City Council about DSNY’s budget — and the nearly impossible task of enforcing the so-called “Pooper Scooper” law.

Because of the snowfall this winter and the persistent cold that kept it from melting, removal costs including overtime increased by around $100 million during the current fiscal year from what had been initially allotted based in part on the average cost of snow removal over the previous five years. 

The incoming commissioner will have to oversee the continued rollout of mandatory bins with lids as the city moves to fully containerizing its residential trash. 

The bins will be required for all buildings with between one and nine units by this June.

Related