 In May 1959 she was hired by the city to create a neighborhood conservation program and was given a second position in 1960 as an assistant to the mayor on slum clearance issues.On April 12, 1962, Mayor of New York City Robert F. Wagner, Jr. appointed her to head the city's Rent and Rehabilitation Agency, in which she oversaw the nearly 5,000,000 residents living in rent controlled apartments.Gabel was appointed to the New York State Supreme Court in 1975.