Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the appointment of Suzanne Beddoe as the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), an administrative tribunal that conducts hearings on disciplinary, vehicle seizure, and licensing cases brought by City agencies. OATH also supervises the operation of the Environmental Control Board, which Judge Beddoe has led since 2008. Judge Beddoe replaces outgoing Chief Administrative Law Judge Roberto Velez who will leave City government to become Vice President for Corporate Compliance and Counsel at Promesa, an organization that provides a range of services to Bronx communities.

“With her remarkable experience and performance at the Environmental Control Board, I know Judge Beddoe will excel in this new position and continue to make OATH accessible to all who participate in this administrative tribunal,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “I’d also like to thank Judge Velez for his years of dedicated service to our City and for his focus on the importance of delivering fairness and transparency in the administrative justice process.”

“I am deeply honored to serve the City in this new role,” said Judge Beddoe. “I look forward to educating the public about the ways in which OATH/ECB can better serve them.  Through innovation and reform, we will reduce delays and create a truly user-friendly peoples’ tribunal.”

“It has been an honor to serve under the Bloomberg Administration,” said Judge Velez. “Together with the Mayor’s Administrative Justice Coordinator, we have been able to transform the City’s largest administrative tribunal to one that is more accessible and ensures impartial and fair resolutions for thousands of cases impacting the lives of New Yorkers in all five boroughs.”

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings has been led by Judge Velez since 2002. During his tenure, he created the Center for Mediation Services which is responsible for mediating workplace disputes and training managers on conflict resolution. Judge Velez facilitated the expansion of OATH to include the Environmental Control Board, an independent administrative tribunal that hears cases on violations of City laws that protect health, safety and a clean environment. The board is made up of 13 members who represent both the City agencies who write and serve violations, and non-government affiliated citizens. The Chair of the Environmental Control Board is the Chief Administrative Law Judge at OATH. In 2008, Mayor Bloomberg signed legislation transferring the Board to OATH.

Judge Beddoe currently serves as Executive Director of the Environmental Control Board.  Since 2008, she has reformed the Environmental Control Board by eliminating a backlog of thousands of cases, creating greater efficiency in the agency’s business process, and introducing best practices in the areas of data reporting and accountability, use of technology and public information. Judge Beddoe will now be responsible for administering OATH’s annual budget of $17 million and overseeing five borough offices with approximately 200 administrative law judges who hear over 250,000 cases annually. Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Carol Robles-Roman oversees the operations of OATH and the Environmental Control Board.

Judge Beddoe has a diverse background in both the private and public sectors.  Before joining ECB she served as a Director at Merrill Lynch. She began her legal career as a litigator at the NYC Office of the Corporation Counsel.  She then spent several years in the private sector serving as an associate at Davis, Polk & Wardwell and as trial counsel at a boutique litigation firm.  She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Yale University and received her law degree from Columbia Law School.  She lives with her spouse, Dr. Jody Lester, in Manhattan’s Battery Park City.