Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday tapped a new head of the agency that oversees the city’s real estate portfolio.
Mamdani named Yume Kitasei as the new commissioner of the city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services, or DCAS.
Kitasei previously served as deputy chief of staff to First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright during the Adams administration and as chief of staff to Deputy Mayor of Operations Laura Anglin under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Before that, she held various other city jobs and worked as chief of staff and director of budget and legislation for Council member Margaret Chin.
She also brings experience that doesn’t often appear on a résumé otherwise dominated by public service: Kitasei is an author of speculative fiction. Her forthcoming novel, “Envoy,” is described as a sci-fi mystery thriller about five astronauts who become the target of an unknown killer.
DCAS, among other responsibilities, manages the city’s roughly 400 leases at private properties, spanning 22 million square feet, alongside the city’s own 15 million square feet. The little-known agency was recently dragged into the limelight after investigators seized the phones of Adams’ administration officials as they were returning from vacation together in late 2024.
Those officials included Jesse Hamilton, then the deputy commissioner of real estate at the DCAS. The incident heightened scrutiny around some of the deals Hamilton worked on or promoted, including a warehouse in the Bronx the city ultimately decided against buying. Hamilton was indicted in August on a conspiracy charge related to allegedly working with Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a former top aide to the mayor, to speed up certain developers’ projects and steer city contracts to preferred players. He resigned in August.
Kitasei is stepping into the role after J. Carolina Chavez, who has served as acting commissioner since Commissioner Louis Molina resigned last month.
Read more
Adams protege Jesse Hamilton resigns after indictments
Hamilton’s hold: How an Adams ally wields power over NYC leases