New York City officials and unions have formed an advisory committee to develop proposals for faster, modernized hiring in municipal agencies.
New York City is forming a Civil Service Modernization Advisory Committee to identify internal changes and prepare legislative proposals aimed at simplifying recruitment for city agencies. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Yume Kitasei announced the initiative. Kitasei will chair the committee, with Henry Garrido as vice-chair.
The committee will include city officials and union representatives. Named members include Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson; agency officials Renee Campion, Sherif Soliman, Steve Banks, Ramzi Kassem and Erin Dalton; and union leaders Gloria Middleton, Joseph A. Colangelo, Anthony Wells and Benny Boscio Jr.
The group will focus on four priorities: speeding up hiring while preserving merit-based selection; making procedures more transparent; improving career pathways in municipal service; and introducing 21st-century digital interfaces for applicants and agencies. Mamdani said finding a well-paying city job should be easy, quick and fair.
The initiative adds to free civil-service exams announced in July 2026 for high-school students and first-time test takers. The mayor’s announcement did not set a timeline for the committee’s proposals or specify changes to hiring rules.