Statecraft: "How to Run New York City"

Host: Santi Ruiz
Guest: Maria Torres-Springer (First Deputy Mayor of NYC, Bloomberg/de Blasio/Adams administrations)
Date: October 31, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Statecraft dives deep into the machinery behind New York City's governance, focusing on what it actually takes to run the city. Host Santi Ruiz speaks with Maria Torres-Springer, whose two decades of high-level policy work across three mayoral administrations provide a rare, practical perspective. The discussion is broken into two main parts:

1. The Process — How City Hall manages operations under different leadership styles.
2. The Outcomes — Behind the scenes of the "City of Yes," a major initiative to radically expand NYC housing.

Throughout, Torres-Springer shares candid insights on management philosophies, institutional culture, the pragmatics of reform, and what future city leaders need to know.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Building a Career Across Three Administrations (02:37–04:21)

• Unusual Tenure: Torres-Springer reflects on her unique path as a top official under Mayors Bloomberg, de Blasio, and Adams. While it's common for staff to persist across mayors, it's rare at senior levels.
  • Quote:
    “I do feel wildly fortunate. Different times in the city's history, times of both growth and crisis…” (03:04)

2. Mayoral Styles & Governing Philosophies (04:21–08:10)

• Bloomberg: Emphasized data, strong management, and delegation.
  • “He hired really well and delegated a lot of responsibility...You saw some very good management techniques for how to manage a sprawling bureaucracy.” (04:21)
• de Blasio: North Star priorities (e.g., Universal Pre-K), clear direction for teams.
  • “Because it was so clear what those priorities were, that allowed government to organize itself to the formulation, therefore allowed for the quick and I think successful implementation of...ambitious initiatives.” (06:05)
• Adams: Accessibility, focus on constituent services, “porousness” so New Yorkers are heard.
  • “He very much prioritized being…accessible to everyday New Yorkers and to create kind of a porousness…” (07:00)

Institutional Continuity:
- Despite changes, there is a core public workforce “incredibly focused on…turning mayoral agendas into very practical results.” (07:45)

3. Managing City Hall: From Data to Office Culture (08:10–17:31)

Data-Driven, Team-Oriented Management (08:51–10:36)

• Key lessons from Bloomberg: Data use, starting with the best solution before politics, and team empowerment.
  • “The most important asset that any senior leader has in government is the team that he or she is leading.” (09:41)

Hiring and Cultivating Mission-Driven Teams (10:36–14:20)

• Hiring for GOVERNMENT is about qualifications and a “real sense of personal mission.”
  • Quote:
    “This wasn’t just a matter of highfalutin policy...It was actually a matter of life or death for the people who were trying to serve.” (11:24)

Practical Culture: The "Bullpen" Office (14:20–17:26)

• Open office plan (the "bullpen") initiated under Bloomberg, persists today. Purpose: improved communication, breaking silos, transparency.
  • “You’re literally taking down the barriers that often exist between people...you are collapsing the distance of communication in action.” (15:18)
• Modeling transparency and low drama: Senior staff worked in rotating desks, visible and accessible.

4. Creating Space for Deep Work & Priority Setting (17:31–22:12)

• Intentional reflection:
  • Torres-Springer scheduled monthly portfolio lunches for agency heads to “not just share critical priorities...but...tackle problems together.” (18:48)
• Blueprints & Moonshots:
  • Early in Adams’ administration, set clear—and ambitious—goals:
    • 500,000 homes over 10 years
    • 1 million jobs regained, surpassing pre-pandemic records
    • 30,000 apprenticeships
  • “Because the goals were meant to…be moonshots…I distinguish from pipe dreams. They weren’t foolishly derived, but they were ambitious enough...” (21:25)

5. Evolution of Management: Decision-Memos & Organizational Design (22:12–32:07)

De Blasio’s “Decision Memo Matrix” (22:26–26:23)

• Pros: Structure, role clarity, avoids informal/bureaucratic confusion.
• Cons: Risk of oversimplification & bottlenecks.
  • “It was important...to supplement with...discussion...to contend with really gnarly decisions that you can’t quite summarize in a...memo.” (24:56)

Torres-Springer’s Three Management Principles (26:44–32:07)

1. Bureaucratic friction: Minimize silos, clarify org charts, reduce direct reports to the mayor.
2. Communication: Ensure information and mayoral access are not artificially scarce to avoid intrigue and confusion.
   • “The major currency in a place like City Hall is information and access to the mayor.” (28:08)
3. Low drama: Model honesty, prioritize priorities, walk a “straight line” through distractions.
   • Quote: “You set the culture early on and it spreads…If what you want is a no nonsense, low drama…then you have teams that do just that even during times of crisis and challenge.” (31:28)

6. Navigating Political Leanings vs. Operational Reality (32:07–34:34)

• de Blasio’s anti-business stance:
  • Operational work less ideological in practice; public/private partnership is essential to development.
  • “Everything that I did...doesn’t happen…because of government alone. Every unit of housing...was built because it was a partnership between public and private.” (33:14)

7. "City of Yes": Transformative Housing Reform (34:34–43:36)

What is City of Yes? (35:22–40:17)

• Three citywide zoning amendments: carbon neutrality, economic development, and—most politically significant—housing opportunity.

  • “It enables a little bit more housing in every neighborhood of New York...by clearing out a lot of the barnacles in our zoning code.” (35:54)
  • Notable elements:
    • Density bonuses for affordable housing
    • Legalizing accessory dwelling units (ADUs)
    • Relaxed parking requirements
    • Focused “town center”/mid-density zones

• Quote:
  “We turned a corner...on imagining how we can modernize the regulatory system, how we can do things that are politically hard.” (38:53)

Political Process, Trade-offs, and Implementation (40:17–43:36)

• Some original proposals trimmed—parking and ADUs in particular—due to politics.

  • “You have to have enough humility to say we didn’t get every single proposal 100% right...but it was one piece of a larger strategy to confront the housing crisis.” (39:41)

• Implementation:

  • Need willingness to keep amending as needed
  • Must continue parallel reforms: public land, finance, charter changes

Building the Coalition (43:36–46:48)

• Required aligning city, Albany (state), council members, and massive coalitions involving religious, labor, business, and advocacy groups.
  • “This really wasn’t just about building homes...it was actually a matter of who belonged in our city and whether we were going to create a city for generations to come...” (43:46)
  • $5B package tied to passage

8. The Plumbing of Government: Permitting & Process (46:48–52:10)

• Digitizing the bureaucracy:
  • NYC’s move to online development permits a big advance over cities like LA (which still require manual plan drop-offs).
  • Quote:
    “Fixing the plumbing...is fundamental to fixing the process...map it out...understand how long is it taking? Where are the bottlenecks?” (48:10)
• Small Business example:
  • One business interface, unique ID for all agencies (saves time, “time tax”)
  • Still, multi-agency sign-off and complicated processes remain future targets for streamlining

9. NYCHA: Public Housing’s Unique Management Hurdles (52:10–59:45)

• NYCHA’s challenges: Aging stock (avg. 50+ years), massive unfunded needs, slow turnover
• Not just mismanagement: Structural disinvestment, federal monitor, union/civil-service rules, and public pressure complicate any fix.
  • “Too often...it’s easy to say this is managerial incompetence…but really this is, I think, a deeper, harder story about governance and investment.” (53:23)
• What’s in the city’s control:
  • Set specific, public, measurable goals (e.g., vacant unit turnaround times)
  • Use innovative models to stretch public dollars
  • Map rules and workforce bottlenecks methodically

10. Private Housing Gap: Incentives & Payment Processes (59:45–65:32)

• Unlocking Doors program: Little uptake due to program design, not just delayed city payments.
  • Quote:
    “That’s a perfect example of...this program has not met its original aspirations. And is it because it’s taken too long...or is it...terms...not as attractive?” (61:01)
• Procurement complexity: Needed controls to prevent waste/fraud create delays—painful for small contractors and nonprofits.
  • Fixing “the least glamorous...least sexy work in government” is crucial for execution. (64:11)

11. The Path Forward for Mayors & New York (65:32–74:04)

• Population changes: Big drop in under-5s; post-COVID impacts linger despite 2024 recovery.

• Advice for the future:

  • Don’t “just manage decline”
  • Invest in NYC’s “foundations” (public safety, infrastructure, housing, amenities)
  • Maintain optimism—see turnaround post-crisis as the job
  • Focus on both affordability and aspirational quality of life
    • “That must mean something for this generation of New Yorkers and future ones.” (69:51)

• Jobs & Economic Development:

  • Don’t pick winners (“be agnostic of sectors”), but ensure city is attractive for talent, with foundations for job growth (public safety, infrastructure, housing)
  • Diversify: support green shoots like AI/life sciences, support legacy sectors
  • Ensure access: “It’s to ensure that more New Yorkers have access to those particular jobs.” (73:47)

12. Maria’s Syllabus: How to Learn About NYC Governance (74:26–77:45)

• Start with wonky government sources (e.g., Mayor’s Management Report).
• Seek long-form, policy-oriented journalism (e.g., Vital City)
• Civic involvement: Real-world conversations, local meetings, hearings, ballot initiatives—essential for understanding and impact.
  • “I don’t think anything surpasses [being civically involved] in terms of grappling with the issues.” (76:12)
  • Ballot initiatives: Stay informed about current reform proposals (especially on housing) and take part in those conversations

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You’re literally taking down the barriers that often exist between people...because so much of government is so siloed, you are collapsing the distance of communication in action.” — Maria Torres-Springer (15:18)
• “We had this mantra in my team that we have to walk a straight line through the initiatives that we set out...despite all of the distractions known or that will come our way.” — Maria Torres-Springer (30:54)
• “This really wasn’t just about building homes, this was actually a matter of who belonged in our city and whether we were going to create a city for generations to come or a city for the privileged few.” — Maria Torres-Springer (43:46)
• “It’s probably the least glamorous, least sexy work in government is to fix procurement. But it’s so critical.” — Maria Torres-Springer (64:11)
• “As mayor, your job is not to just manage decline…every mayor’s job is to not just ensure that the city comes out of that particular crisis…but takes a great leap forward. So really, it’s an exercise in optimism.” — Maria Torres-Springer (67:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 04:21 – Contrasting Bloomberg, de Blasio, and Adams’ governing styles
• 09:41 – Principles for hiring and building high-performing city teams
• 15:18 – Open office (bullpen) and the communication culture at City Hall
• 21:22 – Setting “moonshot” goals and policy blueprints
• 24:08 – Pros and cons of rigid decision memo systems
• 28:08 – Organizational communication and its influence on trust and drama
• 35:22 – City of Yes: What it is and how it was achieved
• 43:46 – The coalition and political maneuvering behind City of Yes
• 48:10 – Digitizing the “plumbing” of city government
• 53:23 – Diagnosing NYCHA’s vacant unit problem
• 61:01 – Payment pain: The non-glamorous, but crucial side of public procurement
• 69:50 – The future: Beyond crisis, toward aspirational city-building

Final Takeaways

Maria Torres-Springer’s account is a masterclass in the nuts and bolts of managing America’s most complex city. Whether discussing organizational charts or multi-billion dollar reforms, she emphasizes clarity of purpose, transparency, ongoing coalition-building, and the lived experience of governance. Her advice is invaluable for both current and future policymakers—and for any listener who wants to understand how cities actually work.