The mayor has little to do with the logistics of snow removal. John J. Doherty, a long-time veteran of the Department of Sanitation, returned as the 42nd Commissioner on February 1, 2002. Prior to his three-year sabbatical, Doherty served as the Department's 40th Commissioner from 1994 through 1998. Giuliani served as mayor of New York City from 1994 through 2001.
Doherty began his career with the Department as a Sanitation Worker in 1960. He quickly advanced himself within the Department to hold key positions such as Assistant Chief of Snow Operations, Chief of Bureau Operations, Director of the Bureau of Cleaning and Collection (the Department's largest division), Deputy Commissioner for Operations, and First Deputy Commissioner. After rising through the ranks over 38 years, Doherty quit in 1998 for personal reasons, City Hall sources said. Doherty was appointed by Mayor Giuliani to the top job in 1994.
The job of Sanitation Commissioner had become more high profile in 1998 as the Giuliani administration has introduced complicated, controversial plans to divert the flow of residential garbage from Fresh Kills to transfer stations throughout the city, and ultimately to out-of-state landfills. Responding to intense pressure from voters and Republican leaders on Staten Island, Giuliani and Gov. George E. Pataki promised in 1996 that the landfill would close by Dec. 31, 2001.
Farrell replaced John J. Doherty, who resigned as Sanitation Commissioner in September after Doherty served four years in the job. Doherty joined the Sanitation Department as a garbage collector in 1960, and had slowly risen through the ranks. After Doherty resigned last fall, Michael Carpinello, the department's First Deputy Commissioner, became Acting Commissioner.
At the time, Mr. Farrell, 58, had spent his entire 37-year career in the Police Department. He was most recently the executive officer of the Detective Bureau, supervising all of the department's detective squads. He had also served as the commanding officer overseeing the 26 detective squads in Manhattan, and in supervisory positions in Queens, on Staten Island and at the Police Academy.
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani
said at Doherty's first retirement in 1998: "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." "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."