Commissioner Cross also serves as Commissioner of Water for the City of Albany, having been appointed by Mayor Gerald D. Jennings in February 1996. He is responsible for management and supervision of the City of Albany Department of Water and Water Supply, which operates the system supplying drinking water to the City as well as the neighboring communities which purchase Albany water.

From 1987 to 1995, Commissioner Cross served as Assistant Commissioner for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). A career DEC employee, Commissioner Cross joined the DEC in 1978 and served in a variety of positions until his appointment as Assistant Commissioner in 1987.

Commissioner Cross also serves as Chairman of the Mayor’s Task Force on Water Resources which is responsible for management of all water resources within the City. He holds B.S. and M.A. degrees in biology, and previously served on the Albany City Planning Board, the Governor's Task Force on the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and the State Drought Management Task Force.

Commissioner Cross is also the author of the presidential biography, Sailor in the White House: The Seafaring Life of FDR, published 2003 by the Naval Institute Press in Annapolis, Maryland.