By: Fern Sidman
New York City Mayor-Elect Eric Adams on Thursday announced a slate of appointments for his incoming administration. The appointees – one of whom will head a newly-created Mayor’s Office – reflect Mayor-elect Adams’ stated commitment to building a team that looks like the people it serves, and will ensure that he can deliver on his vision for a safer, more prosperous, and more equitable city for all.
José Bayona will serve as the inaugural Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media. The office was established by Local Law 83, which passed the City Council in June 2021. It aims to promote City services and programs through partnerships and campaigns with a diverse array of media outlets that serve people across the five boroughs, particularly those living in immigrant communities and communities with a high proportion of people who do not speak English as a first language.
Speaking to the Jewish Voice, Mr. Bayona (who is the Senior Adviser and incoming Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media) said: “The new Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media, the first one of its kind in our country, is a historic recognition of the hard work of hundreds of ethnic and community media outlets that are the voice of millions of immigrants, working-class and every day New Yorkers living in our communities throughout this city. I deeply thank Mayor-elect Eric Adams for the opportunity to lead this newly-created Office in his administration and proudly serve the most diverse city in the world.”
Mr. Bayona has served as spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio and held the title of Director of Community and Ethnic Media and Deputy Press Secretary at the Mayor’s Office where he managed communications for 20 city agencies, including the Administration for Children’s Services, Department of Youth & Community Development, NYC 2020 Census Office, Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, Board of Elections, Democracy NYC, Civic Engagement Commission, Charter Revision Commission, and the NYC Department of Veteran Services.
At City Hall, Mr. Bayona also supervised the implementation of the Executive Order 47, which required City agencies to spend at least half of their annual print and digital advertising budget on Community and Ethnic media, and managed the City’s Community and Ethnic Media directory for advertising purposes, which includes more than 350 outlets citywide.
During the 2021 mayoral primary campaign, Bayona crafted the proposal for the new Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media (MOECM), the first Mayor’s office in the United States dedicated to strengthening the relationship between city government and ethnic media outlets. The NYC City Council approved the legislation for the MOECM in June 2021.
As a bilingual communication professional with vast experience in government affairs and communications, and the digital, print, and broadcast media industries, Mr. Bayona is also the founder of Grassroots Strategies (grassroots.nyc), a consulting firm based in New York City.
Mr. Bayona spent most of his years in the field of journalism at the New York Daily News. He started as community reporter for the Spanish weekly Hora Hispana. Later, he was a writer for NY1 Noticias and Metro Editor for El Diario before transitioning in to city government as deputy press secretary for the Department of Transportation and press secretary for the Administration for Children’s Services. He has worked with non-profit organizations in creating their communications strategy, and was as an adjunct professor for Hofstra University and CUNY’s Baruch College.
A native from Colombia with Venezuelan roots, Mr. Bayona holds an M.A. in Journalism from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism – Urban and Interactive reporting concentrations – and graduated Cum Laude from the CUNY Baccalaureate Program in Journalism and Political Science from Baruch College.
