Meet the New Boss...Same as the Old Boss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dan Doctoroff, a top deputy to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who helped orchestrate the city's real estate revival after the September 11 attacks, will resign to become president of the mayor's private media company, Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg has called Doctoroff the most influential official in transforming the city since Robert Moses, the former housing, parks and transportation official who dominated New York City politics for decades.

Bloomberg announced Doctoroff's resignation as deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding, effective December 31, and said Doctoroff would take over in February as president of the news and financial information company that the mayor founded and continues to majority own.

The mayor is not involved in daily operations of Bloomberg L.P., which has made him a billionaire several times over. But Bloomberg remains involved in the company's strategic and policy discussions.

I wish Deputy Mayor Doctoroff luck and success in his new post. He will be missed in New York politics. He was the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development. He was at the helm of New York City's economic revival after September 11. He was instrumental in obtaining approval for the new New York Mets and New York Yankee Stadiums, and the new Nets arena in Brooklyn. He is responsible for the planned expansion of the 7 train line to the west side, PlaNYC 2030, an initiative to make the city “sustainable;” Queens West, a proposed middle-income housing development; the development of Hudson Yards and the construction of Moynihan Station.

When I met him several years ago, he joked that he was the "Deputy Mayor of the Olympics", as he created NYC2012, the organization which spearheaded New York's campaign to land the 2012 summer Olympics. NYC2012 was sabotaged by Sheldon Silver and the State legislature, who refused to approve an expansion of the Javits Convention Center, which would have served as the Olympic Stadium, and subsequently, the new home the New York Jets (as well as provide New York with much needed additional convention space.)