NYC Mayor Appoints Noah Genel as BIC Commissioner and Chair

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio just announced the appointment of Noah D. Genel as commissioner and chair of the Business Integrity Commission (BIC).

The news comes after former BIC Commissioner Daniel Brownell announced his resignation in March following months of news coverage and complaints from lawmakers that BIC had been too lax in its oversight of the city’s private trash collection industry. Brownell was appointed to lead the BIC by de Blasio in 2014. In a statement made earlier in March, de Blasio called Brownell’s resignation voluntary and said that he played “a big role in crafting legislation to protect the most vulnerable workers in the trade waste industry.”

According to the city, Genel is an experienced former prosecutor and has spent the last four years at BIC, most recently as acting commissioner and general counsel for the commission. He will draw on his two decades in the field to lead the agency’s efforts to eliminate organized crime and various forms of corruption in the trade waste industry and New York City’s public wholesale markets.

“Noah Genel is a dedicated public servant with a proven track record of fighting organized crime and corruption. As commissioner, he will ensure the trade waste industry is fair, workers are protected and our streets are safe,” said de Blasio in a statement.

Genel also will continue advancing BIC’s initiatives to improve pedestrian and worker safety in the trade waste industry, including joint traffic enforcement operations with the New York Police Department, registering trade waste unions with BIC and working with the City of New York Department of Sanitation and the City Council to enact commercial waste zones later this year.

“It is my honor to serve the city of New York as the commissioner and chair of BIC. BIC will continue to actively enforce its rules and regulations, working to keep the trade waste industry and public wholesale markets free of corruption. We will also pursue companies in the trade waste industry that are operating unsafely, keeping our city’s streets safe for everyone as part of the mayor’s Vision Zero plan,” said Genel in a statement.

“Noah Genel is an excellent choice to lead BIC in its critical mission regulating the private carting industry,” said Council Member Antonio Reynoso, chair of the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, in a statement. “BIC oversees an industry that is rife with unsafe labor practices, mistreatment of workers and poor environmental practices. At a time when we are moving toward comprehensive reform of the commercial sanitation system, it is more important than ever that we have a seasoned hand leading BIC. I want to congratulate Commissioner Genel, and I look forward to working closely with him in the coming months.”