Top Legal Aid Lawyer to Head NYC Social-Welfare Office

A longtime leading New York legal-aid attorney who has often fought City Hall over policies affecting the poor and homeless will now join it as head of the city’s Human Resources Administration, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal report.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday announced the appointment of Steven Banks to lead the municipal agency in charge of administering food stamps, senior care, HIV/AIDS support services, and other social programs. As attorney-in-chief at the nonprofit Legal Aid Society, Mr. Banks has litigated numerous cases against the city and been an outspoken activist on poverty and economic inequality.

Although Mr. Banks and Mr. de Blasio ran against each other in 2001 for a Brooklyn City Council seat, won by Mr. de Blasio, both have been outspoken liberal critics of city social policies. Noting that he had served with the Legal Aid Society through five mayoral administrations, Mr. Banks joked, “This is the first one I’m not going to bring a lawsuit against.”