Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Prospect Park Alliance Board Chairman Albert H. Garner announced today that Emily Lloyd has been chosen as successor to retiring Prospect Park Administrator and Prospect Park Alliance President, Tupper Thomas. Lloyd will assume the dual positions that Thomas has held since 1980 and 1987 respectively, beginning January 31, 2011.
Lloyd's years of public service make her a well known and respected figure in New York. She has served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and Commissioner of the Department of Sanitation, as well as an Executive Vice President at Columbia University and most recently Chief Operating Officer at Trinity Real Estate.
"It's great news for Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and the people of New York City that Emily Lloyd is taking on a new challenge as Prospect Park Administrator and President of the Prospect Park Alliance," said Commissioner Benepe. "Emily is a proven leader with a wealth of experience managing complex projects at the intersection of the public realm and citizen activism in New York City. I have every confidence that the park's stunning transformation overseen by Tupper Thomas will continue and thrive under Emily's new leadership."
"The Prospect Park Alliance has had a formative hand in the Park's transformation over the past 30 years under Tupper Thomas' leadership," said Garner. "Emily Lloyd has the experience necessary to maintain our many existing achievements, and the vision to build upon them for the future. The Alliance is ready to welcome Emily as both its new President and the new Park Administrator."
Lloyd, a Brooklyn resident of over 25 years, is a frequent user of the 585-acre Park. As Park Administrator and Alliance President, she is looking forward to getting to better know the community of Park users.
"I am honored, and enormously excited, to be joining the Parks Department and the Prospect Park Alliance as part of the team that cares for such an amazing public green space," said Lloyd. "In my years in city government and the private sector, I have visited almost every nook and cranny of New York City. Each time I visit Prospect Park I'm always delighted to see how much people love being out in the Park. I look forward to working with the Department of Parks & Recreation, the Alliance board, staff, volunteers and the community to make sure Prospect Park has the resources it needs to continue to enrich the lives of everyone who uses it."
Because Lloyd will assume the joint role of Prospect Park Administrator and President of the Prospect Park Alliance, her appointment is by agreement of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and the Prospect Park Alliance. Lloyd was one of many candidates interviewed as part of a national search overseen by a committee headed by Alliance board member Libby Ryan, and handled by the highly regarded national recruiting firm of Phillips Oppenheim.
The Alliance continues its work to restore Prospect Park (which is visited by more than nine million people annually), and prepare for the future. Work is underway on Lakeside: the renovation of 26 acres of parkland, including a new facility with two rinks, and opportunities for year-round recreation. Lakeside is the result of years of planning, community input and the generous support of individuals, foundations, businesses and government.
Prospect Park and the Prospect Park Alliance were fortunate to have had Tupper Thomas as the Park's champion for so many years. Under the leadership of Emily Lloyd, with her experience and insights into managing complex projects and the efficient delivery of services, the Alliance will continue to provide the public with the best possible facilities, programs, and user experiences found in any urban park in the nation.
