NYC DEP Announces New Borough Commissioners for Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island
September 17, 2026
Appointees Will Lead Community Engagement and Advance DEP Priorities
Hires Succeed Former Staff Who Retired or Transitioned to New Roles Outside the Agency
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has named Borough Commissioners for Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island to serve as chief liaisons for community members, stakeholders, and elected officials. Taya Mueller will serve as Borough Commissioner for Brooklyn, Antonio Whitaker will serve as Borough Commissioner for Queens, and Jennifer Sammartino‑Mallen will serve as Borough Commissioner for Staten Island. These appointments succeed former staff who retired or transitioned to new roles outside the agency. The three newly named Borough Commissioners join Manhattan Borough Commissioner Marty Fatooh and Bronx Borough Commissioner Effie Ardizzone, who continue to serve in their roles.
Borough Commissioners work closely with elected officials, community boards, neighborhood associations, environmental groups, sports and cultural organizations, and other interested stakeholders to address community concerns. They coordinate with city, state, and federal agencies to deliver services to their constituents while supporting key DEP initiatives including: the advancement of critical capital projects that address flooding; the monitoring of air and noise issues; and assisting property owners and all DEP customers.
All Borough Commissioners report to Deputy Commissioner for Public Affairs Beth DeFalco and keep the DEP Commissioner and senior leadership apprised on issues concerning projects, personnel, programs, and facilities within their respective boroughs.
BROOKLYN—Borough Commissioner Taya Mueller has 27 years of management, leadership, and consulting experience in the nonprofit, private, and public sectors. From 2020-2026, Taya served as the District Manager of Brooklyn Community Board 2, where she collaborated with City agencies and elected officials to drive local priorities and service improvements for Downtown Brooklyn and Northwestern Brooklyn, including 11,000 residents of the district’s four NYCHA campuses. Taya brings a systems-thinking approach to public service, shaped by studies in Sociocultural Anthropology at Columbia University and an MBA in Design Strategy from the California College of the Arts. She attributes her dedication to public service and lifelong love of learning to the privilege of being raised in a family of public school teachers. CONTACT: Brooklyn-related inquiries can be sent to BrooklynDEP@dep.nyc.gov.
QUEENS—Borough Commissioner Antonio Whitaker is a 20-year civil service veteran and life-long New Yorker born in the Bronx and raised in Queens. He last served a as the Assistant Director for the Bureau of Public Affairs with the NYC Department of Sanitation where he represented the department at all public-facing functions and liaised between elected officials, community boards, business improvement districts and non-profit organizations. Prior to this role he served as a Deputy Director with the Treasury Division at the NYC Department of Finance. He has also worked in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the NYC Department of Education and as a Director of Legislative and Budget Affairs with the New York City Council. Antonio holds a Masters in Public Administration from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and comes to this role with a deep knowledge of the borough of Queens, skilled in community engagement, government relations, program management, strategic planning, legislative research and financial analysis. CONTACT: Queens-related inquiries can be sent to QueensDEP@dep.nyc.gov.
STATEN ISLAND—Borough Commissioner Jennifer Sammartino-Mallen is a life-long Staten Islander with more than 20 years of experience in communications, stakeholder engagement, public affairs and program development. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of Community Media of Staten Island, the borough’s only public access network, overseeing all operations, staff and a $1.6M budget. She previously served in various roles with the Office of the Staten Island Borough President James Oddo, first as Director of Communications and External Affairs before working her way up to Deputy Chief of Staff. Jennifer has also worked as a Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Director of Communications & Marketing for the Richmond University Medical Center. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the College of Staten Island. CONTACT: Staten Island-related inquiries can be sent to StatenIslandDEP@dep.nyc.gov.
MANHATTAN—Borough Commissioner Marty Fatooh was appointed in 2025. He previously served at the NYC Office of Asylum Seeker Operations, where he was Senior Advisor for Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to that, he worked for the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, where he led the overall legislative, intergovernmental affairs, and engagement strategy. Before coming to NYC, he worked for the City of San Francisco and then for the California School Boards Association, where he advised more than 350 school board members in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. CONTACT: Manhattan-related inquiries can be sent to ManhattanDEP@dep.nyc.gov.
THE BRONX—Borough Commissioner Effie Ardizzone was appointed in 2024. She previously served as Deputy Director of Community Affairs at DEP where she spent nearly 20 years liaising with local, state, and federal agencies, advisory boards, community boards, civic associations, and environmental groups. She has long overseen DEP’s Bronx‑specific community affairs and has strong local stakeholder relationships. CONTACT: Bronx-related inquiries can be sent to BronxDEP@dep.nyc.gov.
About the NYC Department of Environmental Protection
DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water each day to nearly 10 million residents, including 8.5 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP also protects the health and safety of New Yorkers by enforcing the Air and Noise Codes and asbestos rules. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on X and Instagram.