shola olatoye

MAYOR OF THE 400,000-strong city within a city that is the New York City Housing Authority, Chairwoman Shola Olatoye endured a grim first year that included a madman’s stabbing of two children in an elevator, the police shooting of Akai Gurley and a stubborn infestation of drugrelated crime. All the while, she laid the foundation to transform crumbling housing projects into more decent places to live.

To get there, Olatoye will need to win concessions from employees’ union local — whose members work bankers’ hours while their tenants have 24/7 needs — and find a way to unleash money-making development on NYCHA’s 2,056 acres of open space to fill gaping holes in the authority’s budget.

One more project for 2015: a third child, due in May.