NEW YORK – A new chairman was appointed to head The Battery Park City Authority on June 19. George Tsunis, who chairs the Nassau Health Care Corp. (NuHealth), the health system that operates Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), has been tapped to succeed Dennis Mehiel, who resigned last week following a six year tenure.

Mr. Tsunis was appointed to the board of The Battery Park City Authority last year by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Tsunis also serves on the board of directors of the New York Convention Center Development Corporation and the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation. Additionally, Tsunis is chairman and CEO of Chartwell Hotels. The Battery Park City Authority is the state public benefit corporation that oversees Battery Park City, the 92-acre planned development on Manhattan’s lower west side.

“I am honored by the trust placed in me by my fellow Board Members and will endeavor each day to validate their decision, guided by the principle that our residents and community will always be priority one,” Tsunis said.

Tsunis is a member of the board of trustees of Friends Academy in Locust Valley and Hofstra University on Long Island. Tsunis also underwrote the James and Eleni Tsunis Library at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons in honor of his parents. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University and his Juris Doctor from St. John’s University’s School of Law. Tsunis and his wife, Olga, live in Matinecock, NY with their three children.