Land use planner and economist Elizabeth Cheteny will replace the retiring Susan Habel as White Plains planning commissioner, Mayor Thomas Roach announced Sept. 24.
With more than 25 years’ experience in planning and land use, Cheteny most recently served as environmental program manager of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, located in Buffalo, where she directed all aspects of the state environmental quality review (SEQR) process for a proposed new clinical science center.
Cheteny previously served as director of planning for the Urban Design Project, a center in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Buffalo, and as vice president of the environmental and planning firm AKRF Inc., working at the company’s New York City and Westchester County locations before opening and managing AKRF’s western New York office.
She replaces Habel, who retired last month from her official role as planning commissioner after a career in the city of White Plains Planning Department that spanned more than 25 years.
Habel will stay on as a temporary contract employee to help oversee the transfer to Cheteny, city officials said.
Cheteny holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Her annual salary will be $144,330.
“Betty Cheteny brings an extraordinary breadth of experience to the city’s Planning Department,” Roach said in a prepared statement. “Whether working with municipal governments, academic institutions, health care institutions or private sector clients, Ms. Cheteny has brought a thoughtful and informed approach to planning.”
