Contact: Colleen Roche/Curt Ritter (212) 788-2958
"It is a pleasure to declare today, September 30, 1998 John Doherty Day in New York City," said Mayor Giuliani. "Commissioner Doherty is only the fifth uniformed member of the Department in its 117 year history to rise through the ranks to the position of Commissioner. And under his leadership our City's streets are the cleanest they have been in more than 20 years. The Citywide scorecard rating system for our streets is at an all-time high -- rising to an average of 85 percent clean in fiscal year 1998 from an average of 71.6 percent clean in fiscal year 1994.
"Though, perhaps one of John's toughest tasks was back during the blizzard of 1996 when he and so many other Sanitation workers rose to the occasion and cleared all of the City's main traffic arteries of 30 inches of snow in 24 hours," the Mayor continued. "While other cities might have been paralyzed for days, we were back on our feet with remarkable speed. I want to wish John all the best, because he has set the highest example for the men and women of this Department, and I want to thank him for his 38 years of service to the citizens of New York City."
Commissioner Doherty began his career with the Department on February 29, 1960 as a sanitation worker. He rose steadily through the ranks, becoming an Assistant Foreman, then Foreman, District Superintendent, Assistant BoroughSuperintendent, Assistant Chief of Snow, Chief of Bureau Operations, Director of the Bureau of Cleaning and Collection, Deputy Commissioner for Operations and First Deputy Commissioner.
In 1981, when Doherty served as the Director of the Bureau of Cleaning and Collection, he played a critical role in the implementation of the Department's most innovative productivity program -- the reduction from three worker truck crews to two worker truck crews.
Doherty is a graduate of the City's Top 40 Program and in 1984 he completed the Senior Executive Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
He is a native of Staten Island where he still resides with his wife Janet in the Annadale section. The couple has four children and five grandchildren.