Hochul replaces human rights official
Governor didn’t specify reasons for Maria L. Imperial’s departure in latest shakeup
ALBANY — In another personnel shakeup in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration, the executive director of the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs has been tapped to replace Division of Human Rights Commissioner Maria L. Imperial.
Sources with knowledge of the situation said Imperial’s departure was related to unsatisfactory job performance. An audit soon to be released by the Office of the State Comptroller is expected to identify issues related to insufficient record-keeping of complaints made to the division, according to one person familiar with the personnel change.
Under Imperial’s leadership, the division had apparently been unable to locate certain records related to complaints.
She had been serving as Human Rights commissioner since she was appointed by Hochul in October 2021, just weeks after the resignation of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
Imperial will be replaced by the Justice Center’s Denise Miranda, according to a release from Hochul’s office late Friday afternoon that made no mention of the outgoing commissioner or the reasons behind her departure. Miranda will begin as acting commissioner on Monday.
One source said the departure was at least partially tied to internal unrest stemming from a decades-long backlog of cases that investigators within the department had been unable to work through because of insufficient staff capacity. The backlog ballooned in part because of recent measures undertaken by Hochul’s administration to strengthen protections for victims of workplace sexual harassment, including a statewide hotline that promised New Yorkers they would be connected with experienced pro bono attorneys to advise them on their cases.
Complaints made to the division have since significantly increased in volume, one source familiar with the department’s inner workings said.
The shakeup continues a recent trend for Hochul’s administration: Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos recently announced his departure from that role. Also, Office for People with Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Kerri Neifeld is expected to depart in upcoming months as well.
Imperial, a Harvard Law School graduate, served as the CEO of the YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester prior to her appointment, according to her biography on the Human Rights website. Miranda has served as director of the Justice Center since 2017.
“New York’s nation-leading human rights law is a critical tool to protect vulnerable people across our state,” Hochul said in the release. “With her decades of experience and strong commitment to justice and equality, Denise Miranda is the right leader to lead the Division of Human Rights into the future.”