Commissioner of Correction Jacqueline McMickens has appointed Supervising Warden Gloria Lee as Chief of Operations, the highest ranking uniformed position in the Department of Correction.

Chief Lee succeeds Commissioner McMickens, who had served as Chief of Operations from October, 1979, until her appointment as Commissioner. Chief Lee had been one of three supervising wardens since 1982.

Commissioner McMickens also said that First Deputy Commissioner Peter Seitchik will remain in that position and Deputy Chief of Operations Martin Monteiro will be promoted to Supervising Warden to succeed Chief Lee.

Image & caption from June 1985 issue:

OPEN HOUSE:The Department's new baby nursery on Rikers Island was dedicated with a ribbon cutting (left) with Jerline Jones of the Monteflore Medical Center, Deputy Commissioner Frank Headley, Asst. Commissioner Evelyn Bridges, NY City Human Resources Administration Commissioner George Gross, Nursery Director Deirdre Budd of Montefiore and Commissioner Jacqueline McMickens participating in the ceremony. . . .

Joseph Bussetti, Warden of the Queens House of Detention for Men, has been appointed to be the first warden of the new municipal correctional facility on the site of the old Navy Brig in Brooklyn. Warden Bussetti assume that post immediately to help oversee renovation work. The facility is expected to open with 200 inmates in May and 200 more in June.

Kathleen Sera was named to succeed Bussetti as warden of the Queens House of Detention for Men, Vernon Bain was named warden of the Correctional Institution for Men on Rikers Island, Otis Bantum was named warden of the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, and Dante Albertie was named warden of the Correctional Institution for Women on Rikers Island.

All had previously served as wardens -- Sera at the women's facility, Bain at the Kross Center, Bantum as head of the transportation division and Albertie as warden of the department's prison hospital units.

From Dec. 1984 issue:

NEW ON THE BLOCK. . . . Deputy Commissioners Judith Keefer (Management and Budget) and Frank Headley (Programs) have been at work for some months now, and they were joined recently by Robert Riley (Food Services). Janie Jeffers has returned from her stint at the National Institution of Correction to assume the role of Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Field Audits, and Evelyn Bridges is now Assistant Commissioner for Programs. She was succeeded as Director of Social Services by Adolph K. Smith. At Personnel, Alan Vengersky is the new director, coming over from the Health and Hospitals Corporation. His assistant personnel directors are Amelia Jefferson and Carolyn Berry, who was replaced as D.O.C. Equal Employment Opportunity Officer by Gail Boyd. Other new directors are in place. Dan Cronin (Budget) and Leslie Keenan (Management Analysis). In the Legal Division, erstwhile Director Robert Daly has moved up to Special Counsel to the Commissioner and his spot has gone to Marcia Coffin, who had served several years ago as Executive Assistant to the First Deputy Commissioner of Correction and is back with the title of Managing Attorney and Chief of the Legal Division.

John Gallagher, erstwhile deputy warden in command of the Rikers Island Infirmary, was promoted to Warden of the Transportation Division. He was replaced by Deputy Warden James Larkin, who was succeeded at the Manhattan Court Facility by Deputy Warden John Clark.

Commissioner McMickens said, "For more than three decades, Gloria Lee has been an inspiration to virtually all of our employees previleged to work with and for her.

"She is an individual of extraordinary talent and energy and a truly caring person. I am certain that she will lead our uniformed staff with distinction."

When Chief Lee was named warden of the Bronx House of Detention for Men in 1977 it marked the first time that a woman had been given command of a major all-male jail in the nation.

Three years later, her assignment at the Kross Center made her the first woman to command one of the major male institutions on Rikers Island.

In 1982, she was the recipient of a public service award of the Fund of the City of New York in commenoration of her outstanding record.

"I am honored to be named Chief of Operations and I look forward to dealing with the challenge this position certainly holds for me," Chief Lee said.

"I thank Commissioner McMickens for the confidence she has placed in me and I only hope that I can reward her trust by performing as ably as she performed as Chief."

Commissioner McMickens said that her appointments of Seitchik and Monteiro "reflect the outstanding work they have done in helping to bring our agency through a very difficult period."

Seitchik served as Deputy Director for Productivity and Management Services in the Mayor's Office of Operations before his original appointment as First Deputy Commissioner of Correction last April. He filled in as Acting Commissioner McMicken's appointment.

Image & caption from Spring 1986 issue:

DESERVING:At the end of a prenatal care class for pregnant inmates someone suggested Mother Hale be invited to the Nursery at CIFW. Mother Hale, known worldwide for her work with the neglected children of Harlem at Hale House, attended a ceremony given in her honor for many years of dedicated service. Seven expectant moms received course completion certificates from Mother Hale. Left to right are Jerline Jones, Director of Nursing of the Monteflore Medical Center, Mother Hale and Commissioner Jacqueline McMickens.

Monteiro, has served as second in command of the department's Office of Operations since October, 1982, and has also directed the Correction Emergency Response Team during that time. A resident of Jamaica, Queens, he marked his 21st anniversary with the department in January.

Commissioner McMickens and Chief Lee also announced the promotion of Assistant Chief of Operations George Vierno to Deputy Chief of Operations to succeed Monteiro and of Capt. Peter Mahon to Assistant Chief to succeed Vierno.

The appointment of a warden to the new Brig facility will provide important on-site input from the department as renovation work there proceeds. "In the coming weeks," Commissioner McMickens said, "Warden Bussetti's key staff will be assembled and we will have appropriate personnel trained and in place by the time the first 200 inmates are transferred to the Brig in May."