White could meet the same disastrous fate as Black, former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern warned today.
Stern is questioning why Mayor Bloomberg named Veronica White, who heads his anti-poverty Center for Economic Opportunity, to replace Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe when her parks experience is limited and so many other qualified candidates are available.
“Her specific background in parks is comparable to that of Ms. Catherine Black, who was appointed Schools Chancellor on January 3, 2011 and served until April 27, 2011, when she resigned, “ Stern, now a government gadfly, wrote on his New York Civic web site.
“Her tenure was not regarded as successful. We share the hope that Ms. White will be more effective in parks than Ms. Black turned out to be in schools. We do wonder, however, if there were competent managers in Parks…why they should not have been considered. The choice of commissioners is, however, a mayoral prerogative.”
Stern, who served as parks chief under both mayors Koch and Giuliani, has generally been supportive of the administration and its initiatives.
So his stinging comparison of White to Black caught the attention of the city’s political class.
“Did you see what Henry wrote?” one senior government official outside the administration notified a reporter.
In naming White on Monday, Bloomberg described her as a “great” candidate for the position.
“Veronica brings to the table all the qualities needed most at the Parks Department at this critical, dynamic moment in history — continued innovative leadership, experienced management and a proven ability to build partnerships with members of the public, private and non-profit sectors,” the mayor said.
In fact, he said White is so highly regarded that mayoral aides have been “trying to find a spot for her that keeps increasing her responsibility.”
“When this became open, it was the obvious choice,” Bloomberg added.
One administration source pointed out that Stern served in the City Council before he landed at Parks in 1983.
“Henry also had not worked at Parks before being appointed commissioner and he did a great job,” the source said, admonishing Stern as gently as possible.
Stern told The Post he’s prepared to give White, a Harvard-trained lawyer married to federal Judge Victor Marrero, a chance to prove herself.
“You have to reserve judgment,” he said. “You have to see what she does. She’ll have to be judged on her performance.”
Koch, Stern’s one-time boss, said he was “distressed” by his comments.
“I’m hopeful she’ll be a superb parks commissioner,” said Koch. “I wish I were 10 years younger and I’d be her advance person.”
david.seifman@nypost.com