Craig King, Commissioner of Development for the City of New Rochelle, passed away last night after a valiant 3-year battle. Craig was one of the good guys in City Hall. He dealt with development on an individual, case-by-case basis. While our paths crossed a few times it was always respectful. Craig came from Boston and adapted quickly to New Rochelle. His opinions/decisions were always void of politics and that’s what made him one of my favorite people. There was always room for disagreement including the Yankee v Red Sox rivalry. His shoes as a person and a commissioner will be tough to fill. My condolences to his family
Anthony Galletta
Announcement on City of New Rochelle web site:
The City of New Rochelle mourns the untimely passing of Commissioner of Development, Craig A. King. Commissioner King joined the City of New Rochelle in January, 2003 after a distinguished career in development spanning both the federal and state levels. While his experience and expertise were lent for many years to overseeing regional development and multi-million dollar projects, his primary passion remained for local economic development and city planning.
“During his tenure with the City, Craig led the Department of Development through changing economic conditions and worked to ensure that the future development of New Rochelle is appropriate and moving forward,” said City Manager Charles B. Strome, III. “He will be greatly missed.”
A Memorial Service will be held by his family on Saturday February 27, 2010 from 3-5 PM at Avalon-on-the-Sound, 40th floor, New Rochelle, NY
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in his name to the Empty Hand Zen Center, 45 Lawton Street, New Rochelle, New York 10801 www.emptyhandzen.org
From Craig King Profile on City of New Rochelle web site.
I was born and raised in Boston. I attended Boston University and graduated in 1978 with a BA in Urban Studies and Economics. Received an academic scholarship to study Urban Planning at Rutgers University. Graduated magna cum laude with an MS in Urban and Regional Planning in 1981.
My first job out of graduate school was executive director of a downtown development corporation in Plainfield New Jersey. Then went back to Boston and worked for the City of Somerville managing a number of major development projects in that City.
In 1986 I was recruited to work for a statewide development organization called Land Bank. At Land Bank, later to become MassDevelopment, I worked as a senior lending officer, senior development manager and as vice president in the Development Division. I was at MassDevelopment for over 10 years. During that time, MassDevelopment grew from a small quasi-public to one of the largest real estate and development finance agencies in the state with a real estate loan portfolio of over $250 million and yearly industrial development bond deals of over $2.0 billion. I was involved in waterfront development and development financing. Specific projects that were implemented under my direction were the redevelopment of the Watertown Arsenal ($250 million), redevelopment of the Provincetown Pier ($25 million), redevelopment of Gloucester Sate Pier ($30 million) as well as a number of smaller deals in the $5 to $10 million range.
In 2000, I was recruited to work for the General Services Administration – National Capital Region in Washington DC. GSA/NCR is responsible for the development and management of all federal real estate in the National Capital Region – from the White House to warehouses for the CIA. As Project Management Executive in the Senior Executive Service for the GSA, I worked directly with the agency administrator managing this entire agency of 1,700 people. I had oversight of every major development project in the region including the development of Department of Transportation Headquarters ($450 million) the build to suit lease of Patent and TradeMark Office ($700 million) and the development of the Southeast Federal Center. ($2.0 billion over ten years)
My primary reason for going to Washington was to get experience working on large development projects and running a development organization. My primary interest remains local economic development and city planning. After three years, I wanted to get closer to my home in Boston and I saw the Commissioner’s job on the Internet. I applied for the position and was impressed with the City when I came down for the interview. I have been Commissioner of Development in New Rochelle since January 6 2003.
A true gentleman
Respectful is a perfect word to describe Craigs demeanor whenever I spoke with him. Whether he agreed or disagreed with you, he always accepted comments and would respond with his point of view in a way that didn’t challenge or dismiss your concerns. As I said, a true gentleman. My condolences as well to his family and friends.