Indian American Meera Joshi Appointed Deputy Mayor Of New York
New York City’s Mayor-elect Eric Adams has chosen Indian-American Meera Joshi to serve as his Deputy Mayor for Operations, charting yet another historic milestone for the Indian-American community but also for one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world.
Joshi, who previously served as head of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission for five years, will be one of five women Deputy Mayors that Adams announced on December 20, 2021. She will start in the new position around the end of January according to news reports.
“As Deputy Mayor for Operations, Meera Joshi will ensure that our City is able to respond in real-time to meet and exceed the needs of every community and be a model of excellence for all urban centers,” Mayor-elect Adams tweeted.
“I am deeply honored to serve Mayor-elect Eric Adams and all New Yorkers,” Joshi said to New York Post. “Our work ahead is clear. The operations of our city must meet and exceed the needs of every community, respond in real-time, and be a model of excellence for all urban centers.”
Mayor Adams created more history by announcing five women as his Deputy Mayors to administer the city.
"Someone asked me how to get stuff done, and it was, give it to a woman. Give it to a busy woman. And give it to a single, working mother,"
Mayor-elect Eric Adams appoints five women deputy mayors https://t.co/SwsFn45gnz
— Gloria Pazmino (@GloriaPazmino) December 21, 2021
Meera Joshi is currently the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Most recently she served as General Manager of the New York office of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants, and before that as chief regulator of New York City’s for-hire vehicle industry.
“Under her leadership, New York City mandated the reporting of granular trip data from large app operators, which informed landmark data-driven safety reforms, enforceable pay standards for drivers, and meaningful access to service for the disabled,” her profile on the transportation.gov says.
A favorite of the transportation industry, Meera Joshi was nominated by President Joe Biden in April to head FMCSA, and she was on track to become FMCSA’s administrator, backed wholeheartedly by the American Trucking Association and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
However, she has chosen to be Deputy Mayor of New York City instead. Prior to being nominated by Biden, Joshi had been serving as acting head of FMCSA from January 20, 2021.
Meera Joshi was born in Philadelphia, PA, and grew up there. She did her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, and she got her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1995.
In its biography for the nomination, the White House noted her experience of more than 16 years leading government oversight agencies.
Prior to transportation regulation, Joshi was the Inspector General for New York City’s Department of Corrections, responsible for the investigation of corruption and criminality at all levels of New York City’s jail operations. She was also the First Deputy Executive Director of New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, leading investigations of police misconduct.
In addition to her government positions, Joshi served as General Manager for the New York Office of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants and was a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy.
