MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS PETER HATCH AS COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND WORKER PROTECTION

 

 Mayor Bill de Blasio today appointed Peter Hatch as Commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), the largest municipal consumer protection agency in the country. Mr. Hatch, currently the City’s COVID-19 Public-Private Partnership Czar, is an experienced leader with a long record of public service dedicated to improving the lives of working families. As Commissioner, he will focus on ensuring a just and equitable recovery for all New Yorkers.

 

“Peter Hatch is a truly progressive government leader, policymaker, and lawyer who delivers for New Yorkers in times of crisis," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “From delivering more than a million meals to essential workers to providing tens of millions of dollars in emergency financial assistance to families in need, Peter was critical to responding to the pandemic and getting relief to New Yorkers. I have full confidence that he will supercharge DCWP's work combatting inequality and ensuring that New York's most economically vulnerable recover from the pandemic. I also want to thank Acting Commissioner Sandra Abeles for her partnership during these last months.”

“Peter has fought on behalf of working families his entire career, most recently ensuring that our pandemic response was equitable and included all New Yorkers. His experience and passion make him the right leader for the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, especially in this critical moment for our comeback. I look forward to continue working together to build stronger and more just New York City,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson.

“I am excited to join DCWP’s stellar team and lead the City’s multi-agency campaign to ensure eligible families claim the Child Tax Credit, enforce our Paid Sick Leave law to boost vaccination rates among working New Yorkers, and protect consumers from COVID-related price gouging and other predatory practices. Together with leaders across New York City we will build a recovery that works for all of us,” said Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Peter Hatch. “It has been the privilege of my professional life to serve my fellow New Yorkers from City Hall, and it will be an honor to continue serving them as Commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.”

 

About Peter Hatch:

 

In March of 2020, Mr. Hatch was named the COVID-19 Public-Private Partnership Czar as part of the Mayor’s new senior leadership team combatting the pandemic. In that role he fueled the City’s response to the pandemic with fast, flexible resources by raising more than $100 million in cash and in-kind contributions to fund and launch successful efforts to obtain and distribute personal protective equipment, feed essential workers, and provide emergency financial assistance to the most vulnerable New Yorkers including cash, rental, and burial assistance for New Yorkers originally ineligible for federal and state relief, short-term payroll support for 100 local restaurants committed to paying the full minimum wage and providing free meals to hard-hit communities, and innovative unconditional cash transfer programs including for low-income families in City quarantine hotels and the nation’s first direct cash transfer pilot for runaway and homeless youth.

 

Prior to working on the City's response to COVID-19, Mr. Hatch served four years as the Chief of Staff to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, where he oversaw the functions of 13 agencies and Mayoral Offices, including the Human Resource Administration and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In that role, Mr. Hatch helped craft and launch NYC Care, the nation's most comprehensive guaranteed health care access plan for uninsured New Yorkers. Concurrently in 2019, Mr. Hatch served as Senior Advisor to the Mayor on Street and Subway Homelessness, leading the Mayor’s 12 agency task force responsible for the development and implementation of The Journey Home, the first-in-the-nation action plan to end long-term street homelessness. 

In the Mayor’s first term, Mr. Hatch served as Senior Advisor to the First Deputy Mayor. He personally oversaw agencies including the Fire Department and Parks Department, playing a leading role in the review to strengthen 911 operations, the launch of innovative EMS initiatives, the successful effort to end chronic veteran homelessness, and the implementation of the Mayor’s parks equity agenda. He also Chaired the Franchise and Concession Review Committee, the Banking Commission, and the Community Investment Advisory Board.

Mr. Hatch received a B.A. in the history of science from Columbia College, a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a J.D. from Fordham University. He practiced employment, labor, and education law at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP and co-founded BeneStream, a mission-driven start up to close the “unclaimed” benefits gap for union, gig, and low-wage workers, before returning to public service. He is a native New Yorker and lives in Manhattan with his wife and their two daughters.