Often regarded as one of the more thankless City Hall gigs, the head of the Department of Buildings is tasked with overseeing 1.1 million buildings and more than 45,000 active construction sites.
Melanie La Rocca, who previously served as vice president at the School Construction Authority, stepped in as DOB commissioner in June, taking over for Rick Chandler. She stepped into the role at a time when the city is continuing to see high levels of construction activity but is also grappling with construction-related deaths and accidents. The agency is now charged with enforcing new training requirements aimed at improving site safety. It’s also continuing to digitize its filing system through DOB Now, a public portal that will eventually replace its existing Building Information Search (BIS) tool. La Rocca is also taking the helm during the final three years of de Blasio’s tenure.
La Rocca recently sat down with The Real Deal to discuss the agency’s priorities and her goals over the next few years.
