Leaving City Hall: An Exit Interview with Molly Park

About this episode

Molly Park reflects on her 22 years in New York City government and discusses the complexities of managing the Department of Social Services.

Molly Park spent 22 years as a New York City public servant — moving from the Independent Budget Office to HPD to the Department of Homeless Services, and finally to Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, one of the largest and most complex agencies in city government. She left on February 27th, 2026. In this exit interview, Jamie and Molly take stock of what DSS actually does (hint: it's a lot more than homelessness), what the federal assault on the social safety net means for millions of New Yorkers, and what it takes to manage a $16 billion agency serving 3 million people. She reflects on what she's proud of, what challenges lie ahead for the agency, and what she hopes to carry into whatever comes next. https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/system-coordination-in-crisis-response-to-high-acuity-homelessness/ City website at https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/.

People in this episode

Host: Jamie Rubin

Guest: Molly Park

Topics covered

• social services
• public administration
• New York City government
• social safety net
• agency management
• homelessness

Keywords

• Molly Park
• Department of Social Services
• New York City
• social safety net
• public service
• agency management
• homelessness
• Jamie Rubin

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Department of Social Services, Department of Homeless Services, Independent Budget Office, HPD

Places: New York City

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