Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed Julie Menin to lead the Department of Consumer Affairs, saying that she “understands that small businesses are the key to economic growth in our city.”
“I know she will apply regulations with public safety, not city revenues, in mind,” de Blasio said in a statement announcing the appointment on Thursday.
As public advocate, de Blasio had been critical of the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Bloomberg administration, saying it unnecessarily targeted small businesses with petty fines.
Menin is probably best known for her work as chairwoman of Community Board 1 in lower Manhattan. In 2010, she became the face of local challenge to a plan by the U.S. Department of Justice to try the 9/11 plotters in federal court blocks from ground zero. The Obama administration later dropped the plan.
Menin unsuccessfully ran for the office of Manhattan borough president in 2013.
Menin also brings experience as a former restaurant owner and regulatory attorney to her new job as the new consumer affairs commissioner.
The DCAC enforces consumer protection laws.
