Mayor Adams elevates Shampa Chanda to BSA Chair, Salvatore Scibetta to Vice Chair

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on December 30, 2022 designated Shampa Chanda as chair of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) and Salvatore Scibetta as vice chair. Chanda and Salvatore are both current commissioners on the BSA with extensive experience in land use, planning, and zoning. The BSA is an integral part of the city’s system for regulating land use, development, and construction, and was established as an independent board to grant “relief” from the zoning code.

“In their time as Board of Standards and Appeals commissioners, Shampa and Sal have demonstrated their expertise, their abilities, and their commitment to New Yorkers, and I know they will continue to serve the city faithfully in their new roles,” said Mayor Adams. “Our administration is using our land use and zoning tools aggressively to build the housing New Yorkers need and to help our economy recover. We look forward to continuing that work with this team leading BSA.”

“The Board of Standards and Appeals has already benefitted from Shampa and Sal’s expertise, dedication, and unwavering commitment to a more vibrant and inclusive New York City,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “I am excited to see Shampa become the new chair and Sal the new vice chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals, bringing their extensive backgrounds and perspective to these roles.”

“I am honored and humbled to be named chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals,” said Shampa Chanda, incoming chair, BSA. “I thank Mayor Adams and Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer for having placed their faith in me. I have spent my career in city government service alongside dedicated professionals. It is exciting and a great privilege for me to be able to serve this city that has made me feel at home ever since I arrived here from India during my high school years. I look forward to representing the board, the city, and its diverse neighborhoods in the best possible manner in the coming years.”

“It has been a privilege to serve on the Board of Standards and Appeals for the last five years, and I am honored to be designated vice chair,” said Sal Scibetta, incoming vice chair, BSA. “I am a firm believer that New York City is the greatest city in the world, and I look forward to working with my fellow commissioners to uphold that benchmark of excellence.”

Shampa Chanda become a commissioner on the BSA in 2015 and vice chair in 2017. She has more than 30 years of experience as a city planner and extensive knowledge in the field of land use, zoning, urban design, affordable housing, public policy, and transportation planning.

Chanda started her city service at the New York City Department of City Planning as an intern in 1988. From there, she held different positions in the agency working on a range of projects from transportation to land use planning, from large-scale developments to neighborhood-based rezonings and citywide zoning texts.

At the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, she held a variety of roles, including as an assistant commissioner helping to steer development projects through the land use process and working with city agencies to identify potential development sites and leverage zoning tools to create affordable housing. She also led a team of architects, in collaboration with affordable housing providers, to develop design guidelines for affordable housing, including supportive housing.

Chanda previously served on Queens Community Board 2.

She was born in India and came to New York during her high school years. Chanda is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the City College of New York.

Salvatore Scibetta has served as a commissioner on the BSA since 2018. He has over 15 years of legal experience, beginning his legal career at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services before ultimately serving as a partner at Lee Anav Chung White Kim Ruger & Richter LLP. An expert in real estate law, he has litigated a wide range of issues in all five boroughs and across New York State.

A first-generation New Yorker, Scibetta serves as president of the Columbia Lawyers Association of Brooklyn and is a member of both the Brooklyn Bar Association and the Richmond County Bar Association. He also serves on the board of the Staten Island Children’s Museum.

Scibetta is a graduate of Fordham University and Brooklyn Law School.

Image courtesy of (Image courtesy: telegraphindia.com)

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