Hochul taps former DEC commissioner to lead Olympic authority board

Lake Placid resident Joe Martens returns to state post

By James M. Odato

Former Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens is the new head of the Olympic Regional Development Authority board.

Gov. Kathy Hochul chose him as a replacement for Kelly Cummings, who has been the chair of the ORDA board after being selected by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The state Senate confirmed Martens. He had been ORDA board chair from June 2007 to January 2011.

“Joe Martens is a familiar face who knows ORDA operations well. We look forward to his return,” ORDA CEO Mike Pratt, said in a statement, adding thanks to Cummings. He said Cummings, who was director of operations to the governor, retired.

Martens, 66, of Lake Placid, takes the post as ORDA prepares to host the FISU World University Games and the World Championships for Synchronized Figure Skating and Bobsled/Skeleton.

The authority operates the Olympic facilities in the Lake Placid region as well the downhill facilities at Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks and Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills.

Martens is the former director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, a coalition of business, labor and environmental organizations committed to promoting the development of offshore wind energy off New York’s coast. He was a senior fellow at the Open Space Institute. He served as DEC commissioner from March 2011 to July 2015 under Cuomo.

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