Sanit chief quits, eyes Blaz’s job

City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia is stepping down from that post to explore a possible run for mayor.

Garcia confirmed the move Tuesday morning after The New York Times first reported it. She said her last official day on the job would be Sept. 18.

“I leave with a heavy heart as many of our most innovative programs designed to fight climate change were the first to fall to the budget ax. Climate change is not going away due to the pandemic, and confronting it demands sustained leadership to protect the city,” she said in her resignation letter. “At a time when protecting public health is of the essence, cutting basic sanitation services is unconscionable. For these reasons, after 14 years of city service, I have decided that it is time to explore new opportunities.”

Talk of Garcia running for City Hall’s top job has been swirling in political circles for weeks. If she does opt for a mayoral run, she’ll join what’s already shaping up to be a crowded race.

The candidates so far are Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; city Comptroller Scott Stringer; City Council

Speaker Corey Johnson; Loree Sutton, Mayor de Blasio’s former veterans services commissioner, and former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.

Maya Wiley, another former top de Blasio adviser, is also considering a run.

Garcia, 50, of Park Slope, Brooklyn, has served as a go-to administrator under de Blasio. Aside from leading the Sanitation Department, she’s also served as interim CEO of the New York City Housing Authority, senior adviser for citywide lead prevention and de Blasio’s COVID-19 food czar, in charge of ensuring New Yorkers are adequately fed during the pandemic.

Before her time in de Blasio’s administration, she served as chief operating officer of the city Environmental Protection Department for eight years under Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Garcia, who’s roundly viewed as a competent and tireless administrator, also worked as a policy analyst at the city Finance Department and at the nonprofit Appleseed, where she specialized in economic development and urban planning.

She attended Stuyvesant High School and graduated from the University of Wisconsin.