This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling.(December 2023) |
Sheena Wright | |
---|---|
First Deputy Mayor of New York City | |
Assumed office January 1, 2023 | |
Mayor | Eric Adams |
Preceded by | Lorraine Grillo |
Deputy Mayor of New York City for Strategic Initiatives | |
In office January 1,2022 –December 31,2022 | |
Mayor | Eric Adams |
Succeeded by | Ana Almanzar |
Personal details | |
Born | January 6,1970 |
Domestic partner | David Banks |
Relatives | Tanya Wright (sister) |
Education | Columbia University (BA,JD) |
Sheena Wright (born January 6,1970) is an American nonprofit executive and civil servant. She is the First Deputy Mayor of New York City and formerly the president of the United Way of New York City. In August 2021,she was chosen as the chair of New York City mayor-elect Eric Adams's transition team. Wright was named deputy mayor for Strategic Initiatives by Adams on December 6,2022 and began in January 2023. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Wright is a native of The Bronx,daughter of,Debra Fraser-Howze,an AIDS activist who founded the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. [5] [6] She also founded the Choose Healthy Life,a network of churches providing coronavirus testing and administering vaccines. [7] Her sister,Tanya Wright,is an actress. [8]
She was educated at the George School in Pennsylvania. [9] She then enrolled at Columbia University and was a member of the school's varsity track and field team. [10] She graduated from Columbia College in 1990 and Columbia Law School in 1994.
After graduation from law school,Wright worked as a lawyer for Wachtell,Lipton,Rosen &Katz,in private equity firms and served as general counsel for Crave Technologies,a minority-owned software startup. [11]
Wright served as president and executive director of the Abyssinian Development Corporation,the economic arm of the influential Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. [12] [13] On April 1,2013,Wright was subpoenaed to speak with federal prosecutors about her tenure at Abyssinian because of the sale of a townhouse intended for buyers making less than $130,000 to Todd Hunter,son of NBA union executive Billy Hunter,through an Abyssinian subsidiary while Wright was leading the organization. [3] Wright's tenure as CEO and President at Abyssinian has been described in an unflattering light by former employees who note over $500,000 spent on team-building,leadership events and conferences that these employees describe as "junkets or vacations for favored senior staff" to Martha's Vineyard,the Bahamas,and Jamaica. [3]
In 2012,she became the first female head of the United Way of New York City in the organization's 79-year history. [14] As president and CEO of United Way,she has been involved in Hurricane Sandy and COVID-19 relief work. [15] She also led the ReadNYC initiative to support child literacy. [16] [17]
In August 2021,she was named by Eric Adams to lead the mayoral candidate's transition team. [1]
On January 5,2013,Gregg Walker,Wright's former husband and then an executive at Sony,called Harlem's 30th Precinct to report that Wright had assaulted him. Both Wright and Walker were arrested,though Wright's charges were dropped the same night while Walker's were not dropped for several weeks. [3] [4] It was reported that Wright's family members contacted influential New Yorkers while she was detained,including Calvin O. Butts,who subsequently contacted Wright's future partner,David C. Banks and this brother,then-NYPD Chief Philip Banks III. [3] [4] The next day,Walker’s mother alleged that Wright slapped her in the face,scratched her arm,and pushed her. [3]
She is formerly a trustee of her alma mater,Columbia University,a position she was elected to in March 2021. [18] [19]
Wright's current partner,David C. Banks,serves as New York City Schools Chancellor in the Adams administration. [20] [21] [22]
The Apollo Theater is a multi-use theater at 253 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a popular venue for black American performers and is the home of the TV show Showtime at the Apollo. The theater,which has approximately 1,500 seats across three levels,was designed by George Keister with elements of the neoclassical style. The facade and interior of the theater are New York City designated landmarks and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The nonprofit Apollo Theater Foundation (ATF) operates the theater,as well as two smaller auditoriums at the Victoria Theater and a recording studio at the Apollo.
Morningside Park is a 30-acre (12-hectare) public park in Upper Manhattan,New York City. The park is bounded by 110th Street to the south,123rd Street to the north,Morningside Avenue to the east,and Morningside Drive to the west. A cliff made of Manhattan schist runs through the park and separates Morningside Heights,above the cliff to the west,from Harlem. The park includes other rock outcroppings;a human-made ornamental pond and waterfall;three sculptures;several athletic fields;playgrounds;and an arboretum. Morningside Park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation,although the group Friends of Morningside Park helps maintain it.
Sixth Avenue –also known as Avenue of the Americas,although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers –is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan,on which traffic runs northbound,or "uptown". It is commercial for much of its length.
The Abyssinian Baptist Church is a Baptist megachurch located at 132 West 138th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan,New York City. It is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention,USA and American Baptist Churches USA.
Julie Menin is a member of the New York City Council from District 5. Before she was elected to this position,she served as an American attorney,civil servant,non-profit executive,professor and small business owner. In January 2019,she was appointed Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy. Previously,she had worked as the Commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and Commissioner of New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs.
Calvin Otis Butts III was an American academic administrator and a senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church,which historically was the largest black church in New York City. He led the Abyssinian Development Corporation,which focuses on Harlem,and was president of the State University of New York College at Old Westbury.
Highbridge Park is a public park on the western bank of the Harlem River in Washington Heights,Manhattan,New York City. It stretches between 155th Street and Dyckman Street in Upper Manhattan. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The City maintains the southern half of the park,while the northern half is maintained by the non-profit New York Restoration Project. Prominent in the park are the Manhattan end of the High Bridge,the High Bridge Water Tower,and the Highbridge Play Center.
1585 Broadway,also called the Morgan Stanley Building,is a 42-story office building on Times Square in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by Gwathmey Siegel &Associates Architects and Emery Roth &Sons and was developed by David and Jean Solomon. 1585 Broadway occupies a site on the west side of Broadway between 47th and 48th Streets. The building has served as the headquarters of financial-services company Morgan Stanley since 1995.
Eric Leroy Adams is an American politician and former police officer,currently serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. An ideologically moderate member of the Democratic Party,Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for more than 20 years,retiring at the rank of captain. He served in the New York State Senate from 2006 to 2013,representing the 20th Senate district in Brooklyn. In November 2013,Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President,the first African-American to hold the position,and reelected in November 2017.
Fannie Emma Pennington was an American activist,organizer,and fundraising coordinator for U.S. Congressional Representative (Harlem) Adam Clayton Powell Jr.'s Isaac Democratic Club and the Abyssinian Baptist Church A.C.P. Overseas Club. She was also a member of the New York City Board of Elections and the Frederick E. Samuel Community Democratic Club,the Satellite Club,the Courtesy Guild,the Progressive Ladies Usher Board of the Abyssinian Baptist Church,the ABC Welcome and Hospitality Committee. She was an official representative of the Barmaid Charity Organization. She was a New York leader of the bus organizing efforts in 1963 for the March on Washington.
Jackie Robinson Park is a public park in the Hamilton Heights and Harlem neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. The approximately 12.77-acre (5.17 ha) park is bounded by Bradhurst Avenue to the east,155th Street to the north,Edgecombe Avenue to the west,and 145th Street to the south. The park has baseball fields,basketball courts,restrooms,and a bandshell,which are arranged around the park's steep terrain. It also includes the Jackie Robinson Play Center,which consists of a recreation center and a pool. Jackie Robinson Park is maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Brian A. Benjamin is an American politician and businessman who was the lieutenant governor of New York from September 2021 until his resignation on April 12,2022. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously represented the 30th district in the New York State Senate from 2017 to 2021.
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Pearl River Mart is an Asian-American retail brand and family-run business in New York City. The business was founded in 1971 in Chinatown,Manhattan,as Chinese Native Products by Ming Yi Chen and a group of student activists from China,Hong Kong,and Taiwan. Chen has said that he and his colleagues "wanted to create a small window into the Chinese culture". Its products include braided straw slippers,paper lanterns,cheongsams,cotton Mary Janes,and copies of Mao's Little Red Book. Pearl River Mart has become a New York City institution. The business has an art gallery in its main location,and hosts in-store events and performances.
The 2021 New York City mayoral election was held on November 2,2021. Incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election.
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