Mitchell Silver

Elected in 2024, he currently serves as a City Council member in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he served as chief Planning and Development Officer and Planning Director from 2005 to 2014.

• Name — Mitchell Silver • Office — Member of the Raleigh City Council • Term Start — December 2, 2024 • Constituency — District A • Predecessor — Mary Black-Branch • Office2 — Parks Commissioner of New York City • Term Start2 — May 1, 2014 • Term End2 — July 30, 2021 • Predecessor2 — Liam Kavanagh • Successor2 — Gabrielle Fialkoff • Birthplace — Brooklyn, New York, U.S. • Education — Pratt Institute (BA) Hunter College (MA) • Born — 27 June 1960

Silver attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn. He has a bachelor's degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Master of Urban Planning from Hunter College. He is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a licensed Professional Planner (PP) in the State of New Jersey.

He held roles as a policy and planning director for the Manhattan Borough President's office, a city planner for the New York City Department of Planning, a principal of a New York City-based planning firm, a town manager in New Jersey, and deputy planning director in Washington, D.C. He served as chief Planning and Development Officer and Planning Director for the City of Raleigh, North Carolina previous to his NYC Parks Department position. He was president of the American Planning Association (APA) between 2011 and 2013, the first African American to hold the title. In Raleigh, Silver directed a staff of 230 employees in the Departments of City Planning, Community Development and Inspections, in addition to four offices: Transportation Planning, Economic Development, Development Services, and the City's Urban Design Center. He served on the City's Executive Leadership team with the City Manager, Assistant City Managers, CFO and CIO. Silver led the comprehensive plan update process in Raleigh and oversaw a rewrite of the Development Code. As president of APA, he led an international effort to elevate the value and rebirth of planning in the 21st century. In 2015, he told the New York Times that Brooklyn Bridge Park was one of his favorite city parks.

Mayor Bill de Blasio named Silver the New York City's Parks Commissioner in 2014. At the time, the Mayor said: "He has a passion for fairness and equality, and he brings it to the work of government, and understands that we have to ensure that parks and open spaces are available in every community, and are well-maintained in every community in this city." The New York Times wrote that "Mr. Silver’s selection suggests that the mayor plans to confront the issue of inequality in the city’s parks." In 2017, Silver appointed Marty Maher to the position of Brooklyn Parks Commissioner.

He is married to Mary, an administrator for the nonprofit Brooklyn Community Services, and they have a daughter. He is a confessed "social media addict."

The following is established of the heading itself.