In the interest of providing official guardianship for its vast inventory of public spaces, New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday (Feb. 16) announced former transit advocate Ya-Ting Liu will be the city's first-ever public realms officer.

According to the New York Times, her role was created to be a kind of “central point person” for various city agencies and newfound initiatives such as the Open Streets program and outside dining in line with proposals contained in the Making New York for Everyone plan that was developed by the administration and announced in late-December.

“Our city’s public spaces are too important to fall through the cracks of bureaucracy, and now they won’t," Adams said in a press release. "New Yorkers need to know there is one person at City Hall whose number one goal is to improve their quality of life by creating incredible, new public spaces and ensuring the ones we have are clean, equitable, and safe."

In an statement to Gothamist, Liu said, “I think that now, as the city's trying to recover, there's just this kind of broad consensus that creating vibrant, attractive, inclusive public spaces is absolutely critical to the city's recovery,” referring to the pandemic and relationship between mental health and urban environments. The publication also mentioned Liu's stated opposition to hostile architecture.

Liu will begin immediately and report to Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi as part of her role. She has said her first priority will be the establishment of permanent rules surrounding outdoor dining. She will also be tasked with executing Adams’ new Working People’s Agenda, which includes a vital $375 million investment in expanding public space in the city. 

“New York wouldn’t be New York without its extraordinary public realm,” Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick said finally. “Parks, privately-owned public spaces, shared streets, waterfront access, and Open Restaurants are just some of the ways DCP is connecting New Yorkers. We’re excited and ready to work with the dedicated, passionate Ya-Ting Liu to make our public spaces even better. Together, we’ll create a healthier, safer, more walkable city for all.”