As we went to press, we learned that Rita Kessler will be retiring from her job as district manager of Community Board 7. Kessler will be remembered as a dedicated watchdog for our neighborhoods.

Unprepared or unresponsive representatives of city agencies who came before the board to address a particular problem did not leave meetings with Kessler unscathed. Loath to take “no” for an answer, the plucky district manager considered city inaction completely unacceptable. The district manager position is critically important. District 7 has more than 140,000 people, larger than many U.S. cities. The district manager serves as ombudsman, someone who can identify problems, field community complaints and cut through red tape to get action from city agencies.

This opening comes at a critical time for Community board 7. A plan for redeveloping the Kingsbridge Armory will likely come before the Board in the next few months (members looked at proposals on Tuesday evening). The board has already embarked on a 197-c planning process with a focus on zoning for Webster Avenue. The district manager is the paid staffer that facilitates these initiatives as directed by the all-volunteer board.

It is also boom time in the district. Residential buildings are going up in every neighborhood, sometimes on slivers of land previously unconsidered for development. Inevitably, construction brings safety violations, resident complaints and stalled work sites.

With all this in mind, the next district manager will clearly need to be someone who has relationships with community leaders and residents in every corner of the district and is well versed in city planning and navigating the bureaucracy.

The hiring of a new district manager will involve politics. The borough president appoints board members and he and the Democratic Party are certain to suggest potential candidates. We will watch that process closely.

But regardless of how the job is filled, we deserve a top-notch, energetic district manager whose primary allegiance is to the people of Community District 7.