TLC Commissioners

David Do

Commissioner

Commissioner Kenneth Chan

Kenneth Chan is a Brooklyn resident and a small business owner who brings a unique and extensive experience in business partnerships, as well as technology development and implementation.

Chan was nominated to serve as Commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission by Mayor Eric Adams on April 28, 2023 and confirmed by the City Council on May 26, 2023

Previously, Chan worked as Asia regional intellectual property counsel and director of intellectual property strategy at Corning, Inc., where he helped establish and lead intellectual property law functions in Asia to support the company’s investments and growth.

Prior to his work at Corning, Chan was senior intellectual property counsel and director of trademarks and transactional practice at Avaya, Inc. While there, he successfully worked on complex commercial arrangements, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, strategic alliances, and technology licenses.

Additionally, Chan also served as corporate counsel at United Technologies Corporation (now Raytheon Technologies Corporation). While there, Chan successfully helped seal crucial supply management transactions and technology development efforts, and counseled on a wide range of regulatory compliance matters.

Chan is a graduate of Cornell University and Syracuse University College of Law.

Commissioner Sarah Kaufman

Sarah Kaufman joined the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission with extensive experience in transportation policymaking, research, and education. Kaufman is the interim executive director of the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation, where she researches, advocates for and teaches about cutting-edge technologies in transportation. She is also an adjunct professor of planning, teaching Intelligent Cities and Advanced Projects in Urban Planning.

Kaufman joined NYU Wagner in 2011 after nearly five years at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where she led the open data program, created a conference and online exchange between the MTA and software developers, and assisted in developing the agency's social media program. She also serves on the advisory board of Transportation Alternatives.

Mayor Eric Adams nominated Kaufman to serve as Commissioner on April 28, 2023, and the City Council confirmed her on May 26, 2023.

Kaufman currently directs several projects related to improving transportation through technology, such as The Pink Tax on Transportation, an analysis of how safety concerns impact women's travel patterns in New York City; Intelligent Paratransit, to rethink how we transport seniors and the disabled; and the Emerging Leaders in Transportation Fellowship, a program to enhance innovation at all levels of transportation planning and policymaking.

Kaufman was honored by City & State New York with a Transportation Power 100 Award in 2022 and 2021, a Responsible 100 Award in 2018 and a Tech Power 50 Award in February 2019.

She holds master’s degrees from NYU in both technology and innovation management as well as urban planning.

Commissioner Kenneth C. Mitchell

Kenneth C. Mitchell is Executive Director of the Staten Island Zoological Society, Inc., a position he has held since September 2011. Mitchell is responsible for the overall administration and the day-to-day operation of the Staten Island Zoo, a destination for more than 190,000 visitors annually.

Under his guidance, the 80-year-old zoological park has more than doubled its collection to 1,200 animals, representing 350 species, 72 of which are endangered or threatened in the wild. Since 2014, the zoo has experienced the development of a 4,500-square-foot outdoor habitat for the zoo’s Amur Leopards – the world’s rarest big cat – and a Conservation Carousel composed of 25 hand-sculpted wildlife, most of which are vulnerable in their native habitats. Most recently, the zoo developed its sprawling Sahara Exhibit, where a Scimitar Horned Oryx was born as part of an international effort to repopulate an extinct species. The Zoo is in the process of renovating its Aquarium with an expected completion in the spring of 2018.

Previously, Mitchell was a member of the New York City Council, representing Staten Island’s north shore communities, following his service as Chief of Staff and General Counsel to former council member Michael E. McMahon.

A native Staten Islander who grew up less than 100 yards from the Zoo, Mitchell graduated St. Peter’s Boys High School, and later earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration at Wagner College. Awarded his law degree at New York Law School, he was admitted to the bars of New York, New Jersey, and the eastern and southern directs of New York.

Mitchell remains active in the Island community with particular interests in the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation; United Activities Unlimited, and Lifestyles for the Disabled. Upon the recommendation of the Staten Island borough delegation of the New York City Council he was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission in November 2016.

Commissioner Thomas Sorrentino

Thomas Sorrentino is a life-long resident of Brooklyn, NY and is a partner in the accounting firm of PKF O’Connor Davies LLP with more than thirty years of experience in public accounting. In that capacity, Sorrentino services both public and privately-held clients in the commercial sector, not-for-profit organizations (including membership associations, foundations and social service organizations), and a variety of real estate entities which include cooperative housing corporations, condominium associations, rental properties, and REITs.

Sorrentino was nominated to the board of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission by the Brooklyn delegation of the New York City Council and appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to a term expiring January 31, 2022.

A graduate of New York University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting, Sorrentino is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the States of New York and New Jersey. His professional affiliations include membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Over the years, Sorrentino has volunteered his time to a variety of charitable, civic, community and business related activities and organizations which includes involvement with his Parish, St. Bernard Church where he is a member of the Finance Committee and serves on the Board and as Treasurer of the St. Bernard Academy.

Sorrentino also served the community as a member of Kings County Community Board 18 for approximately five years, where he chaired its Transportation Committee. A longstanding member of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Sorrentino currently serves on the Chamber’s Board of Directors and is a member of its Executive and Audit Committee(s).

Commissioner Elisa Velazquez

Elisa Velazquez has spent almost her entire 25 plus year career in New York City government. Elisa is currently Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) where she oversees several critical functions including Expense and Miscellaneous Revenue Budget, Facilities Maintenance and Construction, the Agency Chief Contracting Office and Executive Support and Administration. Prior to serving in her current role, Elisa was the Agency Chief Contracting Officer (“ACCO”) and Assistant Commissioner where she managed the procurement and fiscal operations for New York City’s water and wastewater utility, totaling approximately $1.2 billion in contracts and $1.5 billion in payments per fiscal year.

Prior to DEP, Elisa was Counsel to the Queens Borough President Melinda Katz where she advised the Borough President and staff on various legal and policy issues including conflicts of interests, land use and community board issues, compliance and budget issues and corporate governance. Elisa represented the Borough President on NYCERS, the Franchise Concession and Review Committee, the Queens Public Library and on the Port Authority Technical Advisory Committees for JFK and LGA Part 150 Noise Studies. Elisa also acted as ACCO, overseeing the award of over 100 discretionary expense contracts to non-profits each fiscal year.

From 2003-2013, Elisa was General Counsel in the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services where she advised the City Chief Procurement Officer, staff and agency contracting staff on various aspects of procurement law and general office operations. Elisa supervised attorneys implementing various legislative and policy reforms in such areas as Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise incentives, environmentally preferable purchasing, and “Pay-to-Play” laws and supervised staff responsible for providing technical assistance to agencies in the areas of vendor responsibility, research, performance and procurement ethics. Elisa helped to establish a new unit responsible for reviewing not-for-profit City vendors in the areas of contract management, corporate governance and fiscal responsibility and for providing technical assistance to human service vendors to develop best practices in these areas

Before her time in the Mayor’s Office, Elisa was Assistant Counsel to Public Advocate Mark Green where she drafted legislation, litigation papers and prepared testimony. She organized a ground-breaking coalition called SAFE@WORK, consisting of government, businesses, labor unions, educational institutions and domestic violence advocates to educate employers on domestic violence and its impact on the workplace.

Elisa also served as Assistant Counsel to the Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, where she was the lead counsel with respect to Community Boards, contracts and FOIL issues. She also supervised Constituent Services.

Elisa was born in Queens and has lived only in New York City. She has two children, received her JD from New York Law School and her BA from Fordham University.

Commissioner Paul Bader

Paul Bader has long been an active member in his community. He has served on Manhattan Community Board 2 and Brooklyn Community Board 6 and was a member of the board of the New York State Health Foundation, Danspace at St. Marks, and the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation

He has also advised policymakers as part of the NYC Printing Industry Task Force and represented manufacturing tenants on the Industrial Loft Advisory Commission.

He was nominated to serve as Commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission by the Queens delegation of the City Council on April 28, 2023, and appointed by Mayor Adams on May 26, 2023.

Prior to his time with the Commission, Bader worked in the NYC Comptroller’s Office and for the Speaker of the NY State Assembly. Additionally, he brings first-hand experience as a driving instructor and as a yellow cab driver.

A native New Yorker, Bader—who owns a printing and design business in Long Island City—graduated from Bayside High School and studied at Columbia University School of General Studies. Bader currently resides in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Commissioner Andrea Bierstein

Andrea Bierstein is a Manhattan resident and lawyer and a partner at the New York office of Simmons Hanly Conroy. For the past 28 years, she has represented individuals and local governments seeking restitution from corporations. Her primary expertise is in consumer fraud and pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. Since 2017, she has represented municipalities across the country – including New York City – in litigation against manufacturers, distributors, and dispensers of prescription opioids, seeking compensation for the opioid crisis.

That litigation has resulted in settlements totaling approximately $500 million for New York City. Prior to her work as a plaintiffs’ lawyer, Bierstein was a law professor and ran a civil litigation clinic focusing on civil rights/anti-discrimination litigation. Before that, she practiced in general commercial litigation, during which time she was part of a team representing the New York City Transit Authority in its suit against a manufacturer of defective buses.

Bierstein was born in New York City and returned to live here in 1980. With the exception of a sojourn in New England while she was teaching, she has lived in the New York since – first in Brooklyn, then in Queens, and, since 1996, in Manhattan. She received her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and her law degree from New York University. In addition to her legal work, Bierstein serves on the Board of Directors of Kingsbridge Heights Community Center in The Bronx.

Bierstein was nominated to serve on the Board of Commissioners at the Taxi and Limousine Commission by Mayor Eric Adams on March 20, 2024, and, after confirmation by the City Council, was appointed on April 24, 2024.