MAYOR MAMDANI APPOINTS RICHARD LEE AS COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

 

Lee is a dedicated public servant and expert in the municipal budget process 

 

As Commissioner, Lee will oversee agency responsible for collecting revenue that keeps City running 

Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the appointment of Richard Lee as the Commissioner of the Department of Finance (DOF).

DOF administers the City’s tax laws and collects the revenue that makes every essential City service possible. The agency collects more than $50 billion annually and values more than one million properties with a total market value exceeding $1.5 trillion. DOF also manages the City’s $10 billion treasury and plays a critical advisory role to the municipal pension systems and deferred compensation plan. 

“The Department of Finance plays an essential role in keeping our city running. New Yorkers are able to send their kids to public school, visit our parks and have their trash picked up because of the revenues DOF collects,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “Even as New York City faces a serious fiscal crisis, my Administration will never sacrifice the essential services New Yorkers depend on. That’s why I’m proud to appoint Richard Lee as our next Commissioner of the Department of Finance. His command of the City’s budgeting process makes him uniquely qualified to lead the Agency and ensure that our City continues meeting New Yorkers’ needs.”

“It is an honor to continue my lifelong commitment to New Yorkers by joining Mayor Mamdani’s administration as the next Department of Finance Commissioner,” said Commissioner Richard Lee. "Especially in the midst of an affordability crisis, New Yorkers are looking to their city government to ensure that they can remain here, in the city they love, to raise their families and build their legacies. We can work together to ensure that the City’s finances equitably serve the New Yorkers who make this city run: working people, immigrants, small business owners, and communities across our city. As a lifelong New Yorker and son of immigrants, I am thrilled to lead the Department of Finance into this new era, one of opportunity and dignity for all New Yorkers."

A dedicated public servant, Lee is an expert in the municipal budget process, who applied to his position through the City's job portal. Most recently, he served as Director of the New York City Council’s Finance Division, which provides Council Members with analysis of budgetary actions and their fiscal impact. The Division also works with Council Members to monitor and evaluate agency spending.

Previously, Lee served as Budget Director for the Queens Borough President, overseeing all aspects of the office’s budget process, including development of its expense and capital budgets. Before that, he was Director of Budget and Legislative Affairs for then-Council Member Leroy Comrie, overseeing the budget process for the Council Member and the Council’s Queens Delegation.

Lee began his career in public service at Asian Americans for Equality, where he directed policy and community advocacy. He received his B.S. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, and his M.P.A. in Public Policy from NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. A Queens native, Lee and his family live in Flushing.