The holdover commissioner of New York City‘s Department of Social Services handed in her resignation to Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday after the city recorded 18 deaths caused by extremely cold weather in recent weeks.
Molly Wasow Park, who was appointed by former New York City Mayor Eric Adams in 2023, stepped down after facing weeks of job uncertainty under the new mayor.
Her resignation followed a major winter storm that rolled through the city last month. At least 18 people have been found dead outside in the frigid temperatures, leading to increased pressure on the Mamdani administration’s homeless outreach services.
Park’s departure was unrelated to the deadly cold snap that hit New York City because Mamdani was reconsidering the department’s leadership beforehand, the New York Times reported. Her resignation was reported by the Gothamist.
“When the final evaluation happens, I’m sure there’s going to be instances where we find instances where we could have done something different,” she told the New York Times.
